Residence permit

For all questions related to your residence permit, you can contact the Cantonal Population and Migration Office (OCPM, link in French).

Health and accident insurance

If you are compulsorily insured under the law of your country of origin and provided that the coverage is equivalent to that of Swiss law, the Health Insurance Service (SAM) can exempt you from the Swiss insurance obligation.

Your request for exemption must be sent by mail to the SAM within 3 months of your arrival in the canton of Geneva. Please note that the exemption is valid only if you are not in gainful employment.

If you are a student from outside Europe, you can take out insurance with our partner scorestudies, which offers very advantageous and comprehensive offers for students.

Helpful links

• Department of Health Insurance (SAM) (in French)
• Download the exemption request form (in French)
• List of health insurers for students (in French)
• Scorestudies brochure 2020-2021

Employment

For all questions related to employment and work permits, please contact the UNIGE Career Center or the Cantonal Employment Office (OCE, link in French).

If you are a European student:

Students wishing to engage in gainful employment must apply for a work permit from the OCPM. This authorization allows them to work a maximum of 15 hours per week during class periods and full time during university vacations.

If you are a student from outside Europe with a residence permit:

Non-European students are not allowed to engage in any gainful activity during the first 6 months following the beginning of the course or arrival on the territory.

After this waiting period, students wishing to engage in a gainful activity must apply for a work permit from the OCPM. This authorization allows students to work a maximum of 15 hours per week during class periods and full time during university vacations.