Family reunification: insuring your partner and children in Switzerland

Family reunification: each person, their own deadline, their own policy

If you come to Switzerland alone first and bring your family over later, you must arrange health insurance for each family member individually. There is no family insurance in basic health insurance in which partners or children are co-insured (FOPH). The requirement to take out insurance applies to each person themselves.

This results in the following rules:

The three-month deadline to take out insurance for your partner or your children therefore does not depend on your own arrival. If your family arrives six months after you, a new 3-month deadline starts for them. If a child is born in Switzerland after the move, the deadline runs from the birth (Art. 3 para. 1 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG).

Step by step: insuring your family

1. Note the registration dates with the municipality. For each family member, note the day of registration and add 3 months.
2. Clarify the country of residence. If everyone moves to Switzerland, the Swiss requirement applies to everyone. If family members stay in the EU, read the section below on families abroad.
3. Compare premiums for each age group. Children, young adults and adults have their own premiums. The premium calculator shows the offers in your municipality for each person.
4. Decide whether to keep the children with one insurer. If several children are with the same insurer, their co-payment is capped jointly. A cheaper insurer for each child may still save more. Work out both options.
5. Register each person individually. Even if you register everyone together, each person receives their own policy and health insurance card.
6. Apply for a premium subsidy. With a larger family, the household budget changes. Recheck your entitlement in the canton; the rules are under Premium subsidy.
7. Sort out supplementary insurance for children. It is voluntary, and the insurer may ask health questions. What counts are the general terms and conditions and the information from the insurer.

What basic health insurance costs for a family

Every insurer must set a lower premium for children than for young adults, and a lower premium for both than for adults (Art. 61 para. 3 KVG). Premiums 2026, municipality of Bern (region 1), with accident cover; source FOPH:

The children’s premium depends on the year of birth. The FOPH publishes next year’s premiums at the end of September.

Co-payment for children. There is no standard deductible for children, and the retention fee is capped at half, CHF 350 a year (Art. 64 para. 4 KVG, Art. 103 para. 2 KVV). Children’s deductibles from CHF 100 to 600 can be chosen (Art. 93 KVV). If several children are with the same insurer, together they pay at most the deductible and retention fee of one adult (Art. 64 para. 4 KVG). Children pay no hospital contribution (Art. 104 para. 2 KVV).

Family discount. The KVG has no family discount in basic health insurance: in the same region and age group, the insurer charges everyone the same premium (Art. 61 para. 1 KVG). Discounts for families exist in supplementary insurance, under the conditions of the insurer concerned.

Premium subsidy. For lower and middle incomes, the cantons reduce children’s premiums by at least 80 % and those of young adults in education by at least 50 % (Art. 65 para. 1bis KVG). With a permit for 3 months or more, you are entitled if you meet the canton’s requirements (Art. 106 KVV).

Sample calculation: joining family in Bern

Example with fictitious people. Nuno, 37, has been working in Bern with a B permit since March 2026 and is insured there. His partner Sara, 37, and the twins Lia and Tiago (born in 2019) join him and register with the municipality on 03.08.2026. Their deadline runs until 03.11.2026, regardless of Nuno’s deadline in the spring.

The difference between the lowest and the median offer comes mainly from the models: in Bern, the lowest premiums belong to telemedicine models. Which rules apply there is explained on the page Insurance models. You can do the maths with the children’s premiums for your municipality in the children’s premium calculator.

Family stays in the EU: who is insured where

Not every family moves at the same time. If you work in Switzerland and your partner or children stay in an EU or EFTA state without gainful employment of their own, the coordination rules of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons apply. According to the FOPH:

• Principle: Family members who are not gainfully employed of people who work in Switzerland must take out insurance in Switzerland if they live in an EU state, in Iceland or in Norway (Art. 1 para. 2 let. d and e KVV).
• Right of option: For some countries of residence, there is a right of option between the country of residence and Switzerland. The FOPH overview names Germany, Austria, France and Italy, among others. The family members apply for the exemption (Art. 2 para. 6 KVV).
• United Kingdom: Family members resident there take out insurance in their country of residence.

For family members resident in the EU, Iceland or Norway, insurers calculate the premium per state of residence (Art. 61 para. 4 KVG); Priminfo publishes the amounts. The deadline is 3 months from when the requirement to take out insurance arises (Art. 7 para. 8 KVV). The competent cantonal office confirms which rule applies to your country of residence.

Special cases

A child is born in Switzerland. The deadline is 3 months from birth; if registered in time, the child is insured from birth (Art. 3 para. 1, Art. 5 para. 1 KVG). For supplementary insurance, it is worth registering before the birth, because afterwards the insurer may ask health questions.

Families of students and posted workers. Accompanying spouses and children up to 18, or up to 25 if in education, can be exempted from the requirement together with the student or posted person if they have equivalent insurance (Art. 2 para. 4 and 5, Art. 3 para. 2 KVV). Details in the article International students.

Family members with a short-term permit. If your partner comes with an L permit, the rules from the article Short-term residents apply.

Young adults. Children who turn 19 in the current year pay the young adult premium (Art. 16a para. 1 KVG). It is lower than the adult premium, but higher than the children’s premium.

Common mistakes

• Assuming your family is co-insured. Each person needs their own policy, including babies and children.
• Counting the deadline from your own arrival. For each family member, their own registration counts.
• Automatically putting all children with your own insurer. The choice is free. But compare what the joint cap on the co-payment is worth.
• Forgetting family members in the EU. Depending on the country of residence, the Swiss requirement applies to them even though they never live here.
• Not rechecking the premium subsidy. With more people in the household, your entitlement may change.

How to insure yourself in the first three months is explained in the article Health insurance within three months. You can find key figures for all insurers in the health insurer profiles. All topics around moving to Switzerland are in the topic area New to Switzerland.