Moving abroad: deregistering from your health insurer and avoiding gaps

Moving away means the obligation ends, not that the contract is cancelled

Swiss basic health insurance is tied to residence in Switzerland (Art. 3 para. 1 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG; Art. 1 para. 1 of the Health Insurance Ordinance, KVV). If you move it abroad, you are no longer subject to the requirement to take out insurance, and the insurance ends by operation of law (Art. 5 para. 3 KVG). According to the FOPH, it generally ends at the time you leave Switzerland. Moving away is therefore not a change of health insurer: there is no notice period and no 30 November deadline. You report your departure and provide proof of it.

This does not apply to some groups: they remain subject to compulsory insurance in Switzerland despite living abroad. Check this first before you write to your health insurer.

Who stays insured in Switzerland despite moving away

For pensioners living abroad, the following applies: if you want to be insured in your country of residence, you apply for an exemption to the Common Institution under the Federal Health Insurance Act in Olten within 3 months of your first pension payment or your move; in Spain, at any time (FOPH). A tacit choice does not count. If you remain insured in Switzerland, the insurer calculates the premium for your country of residence (Art. 61 para. 4 KVG), and optional deductibles as well as GP, HMO or telemedicine models are not open to you (Art. 101a KVV).

Step by step: deregistering properly

1. Check whether you fall under an exception. If so, you remain insured and only inform your health insurer of your new address.
2. Arrange insurance in your new country of residence. From the day after basic health insurance ends, you are no longer covered under the KVG. Clarify your admission in the destination country before you leave.
3. Deregister with your municipality. Report your actual date of departure. The confirmation of deregistration is your proof for the health insurer.
4. Inform your health insurer in writing. Send the date of departure, your new address and the confirmation of deregistration, preferably by registered mail. You can use the cancellation letter as a template; replace the cancellation date with your date of departure and give moving away as the reason.
5. Deal with each supplementary insurance separately. Read the general terms and conditions: does it end when you move away, does it continue, or do you have to cancel? Only you as the policyholder have the ordinary right of cancellation (Art. 35a para. 4 of the Insurance Contract Act, ICA).
6. Check the final statement. The insurer confirms the end date. You request a refund of premiums paid in advance for the period after that. You submit bills for treatment before your departure as usual.

Travel or moving away? Residence decides

Not every long stay abroad is a move away. On a trip around the world, a language stay or a semester abroad, you remain subject to compulsory insurance in Switzerland as long as you keep your residence here (FOPH). Basic health insurance can then be neither cancelled nor suspended. Once established, a residence continues until a new one is acquired; according to the FOPH, deregistering with the municipality alone does not end it.

For this period, the cover abroad of basic health insurance applies:

• In the EU, EFTA and UK, you receive the medically necessary benefits with the European Health Insurance Card in the same way as a person insured there (FOPH).
• Elsewhere, basic health insurance pays for emergencies up to at most twice the amount the treatment would have cost in Switzerland (Art. 36 para. 2 and 4 KVV); for a hospital stay, according to the FOPH, that is at most 90 % of the Swiss costs.
• Repatriation to Switzerland is not paid for by basic health insurance. For that you need travel insurance or supplementary insurance; their general terms and conditions are decisive.

Voluntary continued insurance: what health insurers may offer

If your obligation to be insured ends, health insurers may offer you continued insurance cover on a contractual basis, with your current or another insurer (Art. 7a KVV). The FOPH mentions this option for moves outside the EU, EFTA and UK. Important:

• Health insurers can offer such contracts, but do not have to.
• The contract is governed by the ICA, not the KVG. The insurer sets the conditions and premium and may ask health questions.
• Benefits corresponding to those of basic health insurance are financed according to the principles of social health insurance (Art. 7a KVV); everything else is governed by the contract.

If you cannot find suitable insurance in your country of residence as a Swiss abroad, compare such offers with local insurance. The insurers’ contact channels are in the health insurer profiles.

Sample calculation: moving to Canada at the end of June

Example with fictitious people. Sandra, 40, lives in Zurich and moves to Canada for a job on 30.06.2026. She has basic health insurance with a CHF 300 deductible and accident cover at the median of CHF 580.00 per month (premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich, region 1, adults born in 1986; source FOPH) as well as supplementary hospital insurance.

If Sandra had only received a Swiss pension and moved to France, the situation would be different: she would then generally remain subject to compulsory insurance in Switzerland. Whether she can choose French insurance through the right of option is clarified by the Common Institution under the Federal Health Insurance Act; the application must be made within 3 months (FOPH).

Returning to Switzerland

If you return and take up residence in Switzerland again, a new 3-month deadline begins (Art. 3 para. 1 KVG). If you register in time, your cover applies retroactively from the date you moved in (Art. 5 para. 1 KVG). Every health insurer must accept you without a health questionnaire; you do not have to go back to your former insurer. If you miss the deadline, you are only insured from the date you join and, if the delay is not excusable, you pay a premium surcharge of 30 to 50 % (Art. 8 KVV). The procedure is explained in the article Health insurance within three months.

Special cases

Foreign nationals with a permit. The insurance ends on the date of departure registered with the municipality, and in any case on the day you actually leave the country (Art. 7 para. 3 KVV).

Students. If you go abroad for a semester and keep your residence, you remain insured. International students who leave Switzerland after their studies will find the rules in the article International students.

Switching health insurer shortly before moving away. If you move away in the middle of the year, you do not need a switch with a deadline. The regular switching dates are shown by the deadline calculator; they only apply as long as you stay in Switzerland.

Common mistakes

• Expecting a notice period. Basic health insurance ends when you move away, not at the end of the year.
• Not sending proof. Without a confirmation of deregistration, the insurer will not end the insurance and will keep charging premiums.
• Moving to the EU as a pensioner and cancelling. With only a Swiss pension, you usually remain subject to compulsory insurance in Switzerland.
• Forgetting supplementary insurance. It continues, with premiums, until you end it according to the general terms and conditions.
• Deregistering too early. If you deregister with the municipality but still live in Switzerland, you create uncertainty about the end date. Report your actual date of departure.

All topics relating to moving to and away from Switzerland are in the topic section New to Switzerland.