Living in Basel as an expat

New residents of the canton register with the residents' office (Einwohneramt) of Bevölkerungsdienste und Migration at Spiegelgasse 6. From 2 November 2026, during renovation, its counters move to a temporary building on Schwarzwaldallee, opposite the Badischer Bahnhof. The deadline is 14 days after moving in, and the date of your online booking counts. Registration costs CHF 25 per person; the migration office (Migrationsamt) bills the permit card separately (Einwohneramt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026).

People arriving from abroad attend in person for a welcome talk (Begrüssungsgespräch), fingerprints and a photo. For moves within Switzerland, the online form shows whether eUmzug is possible. Documents must be in German or translated; civil status certificates are also accepted in English, French or Italian (Einwohneramt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Documents to bring

• A registration form and a criminal record and residence declaration (Vorstrafen- und Wohnsitzerklärung) for each adult (Einwohneramt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026).
• A passport or EU/EFTA identity card; other nationals also bring the entry permit or assurance and, where required, a Swiss visa.
• Your lease or flat certificate with the official dwelling number (AWN).
• EU/EFTA nationals from abroad: an employment contract for more than three months.
• Marriage and birth certificates for family members.

Permit types are explained in B, L and C permits explained; the general steps are in registering at your commune and your first 90 days in Switzerland.

Basel-Stadt has about 110,000 dwellings, including about 80,000 rented and 10,000 cooperative flats (Genossenschaftswohnungen) (Mietpreisraster, checked 21 Oct 2026). On 1 June 2026, 912 flats stood empty, a vacancy rate of 0.8%, down from 0.9%; for 3-room flats it was 0.6%. Rates were highest in Vorstädte (2.4%) and Altstadt Grossbasel (1.5%), lowest in Wettstein (0.2%) and Bachletten (0.3%). The city of Zurich was at 0.1%, Bern and Geneva at 0.4% (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Rents by quarter. The statistics office publishes a rent grid (Mietpreisraster) four times a year. In August 2026 a renovated 3-room flat in a building from 1961 to 1970 cost CHF 16 to CHF 21 per square metre a month in net rent, depending on the quarter, and CHF 24 to CHF 29 in buildings from 2011 onwards. Altstadt Grossbasel is 20% above the reference quarter Iselin; Klybeck is 7% below (Mietpreisraster, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Deposit rules are in rental deposits in Switzerland; apartment search services and relocation agencies are listed in the directory.

Riehen and Bettingen

The canton's two other communes lie north-east of the city, on the German border. Single-family houses make up 65.5% of residential buildings in Riehen and 77.5% in Bettingen, and green space covers 79.3% and 89.9% of their area (2024) (Statistisches Amt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026). Both set their own commune tax.

Basel-Landschaft

Most suburbs belong to Basel-Landschaft, a separate canton with its own tax law; the table gives commune populations at the end of 2025 (Statistisches Amt BL, checked 21 Oct 2026). Its communes set their tax as a share of the cantonal tax; among the four in the table, the 2026 rates run from 49% in Binningen to 60% in Münchenstein (Statistisches Amt BL, checked 21 Oct 2026). The FSO average net rent of a 3-room flat there was CHF 1,469 in 2024 (FSO, checked 21 Oct 2026), and the vacancy rate fell to 0.6% in 2026 (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Living in Germany or France

EU and EFTA nationals who live in an EU or EFTA country and work in Switzerland receive a cross-border commuter permit (G permit) and return home at least once a week. With a permanent contract the permit is valid for five years (SEM, checked 21 Oct 2026). Commuters who live in Germany and return home daily pay Basel tax at source of at most 4.5%, credited in Germany; those living in France are taxed in France with a French residence certificate (Steuerverwaltung BS, checked 21 Oct 2026). The U-Abo pass is valid in nearby German and French zones (TNW, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The rent figure is the FSO average for existing tenancies, without service and heating charges (Nebenkosten); the Swiss average was CHF 1,446 (FSO, checked 21 Oct 2026). Newer buildings cost more per square metre (Mietpreisraster, checked 21 Oct 2026). Health insurance is above the Swiss average of CHF 487.60 for adults in 2027; Basel-Landschaft is at CHF 544.50 and Zurich at CHF 477.00 (FOPH, checked 21 Oct 2026). Every household also pays the radio and TV fee: CHF 335 a year in 2026 and CHF 312 in 2027 (DETEC, checked 21 Oct 2026). For moving costs, see international movers.

The city of Basel has no commune multiplier: people taxed in the city pay the full cantonal tax and owe no commune tax. Residents of Riehen and Bettingen pay cantonal income tax reduced to 50%, plus a commune tax of 40% in Riehen and 37.5% in Bettingen in 2026 (Steuerverwaltung BS, checked 21 Oct 2026). Tariff A applies to single people, tariff B to married couples and to single people who support children in their household (Steuerverwaltung BS, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Tax at source on a B permit

Foreign employees living in Basel-Stadt without a C permit pay tax at source, deducted from salary. Above CHF 120,000 of such income in a year, a full tax return follows; below it, residents can request one by 31 March of the following year (Steuerverwaltung BS, checked 21 Oct 2026). See tax advisors in Basel and how to find an English-speaking tax advisor.

Deadlines

Tax returns are due by 31 March of the following year; an online extension to 30 September is free, later ones cost CHF 40 (Steuerverwaltung BS, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Public schools are run by the Volksschulen Basel-Stadt; Riehen runs its own kindergartens and primary schools (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). Newly arrived families register a four- or five-year-old with a form sent to kindergaerten@bs.ch, and processing takes one to two weeks (Volksschulen BS, checked 21 Oct 2026). Children who speak little or no German attend a compulsory playgroup (Spielgruppe) on three half-days a week in the year before kindergarten (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026).

International and bilingual schools, in alphabetical order: Academia International School, with secondary programmes in Basel; International School Basel, with campuses in Aesch and Reinach in Basel-Landschaft; and Swiss International School Basel, which teaches in two languages. See international schools in Basel and the directory of international schools and bilingual schools.

Childcare contributions

Kitas in the cantonal scheme receive childcare contributions (Betreuungsbeiträge) based on household income and wealth, and parents pay the difference. The child lives in Basel-Stadt and attends at least 40% of the week, and the parents work, train or look for work. Eligible families pay at most CHF 1,600 a month for a full-time place, and care is free from the third sibling. Applications go to the Fachstelle Tagesbetreuung two to three months before the start (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). See daycare in Basel.

The canton points people first to their family doctor (Hausarzt) or paediatrician. When they cannot be reached, the Medizinische Notrufzentrale (MNZ) is the official 24-hour line. Walk-in clinics (Permanencen) open 365 days a year, and a 24-hour pharmacy is opposite the Universitätsspital's emergency department (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). See how to find an English-speaking doctor and doctors and dentists in Basel.

Health insurance

Everyone who settles in Switzerland takes out basic insurance within three months, and insurers must accept every applicant (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). The 2027 FOPH average in Basel-Stadt is CHF 570.60 a month for adults, 4.5% more than in 2026, CHF 408.50 for ages 19 to 25 and CHF 155.20 for children (FOPH, checked 21 Oct 2026). Lower-income households can apply for a premium reduction (Prämienverbilligung); arrivals from abroad who apply within three months get it from the start of their insurance (Amt für Sozialbeiträge, checked 21 Oct 2026). More in Swiss health insurance for expats.

Young people under 25 registered in Basel-Stadt can buy a year for CHF 365, and the pass is valid in RVL zones 1 to 3 in Germany, including Weil am Rhein and Lörrach, and in the French Distribus area, but not on TER or SNCF trains (TNW, checked 21 Oct 2026). Tram 8 runs to Weil am Rhein, and bus 50 links Basel SBB station with EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.

Respondents to the FSO structural survey can name more than one main language. In the city in 2024, Italian followed at 6.1% and French at 4.5% (FSO, checked 21 Oct 2026). At the end of 2025 the largest foreign groups were Germans (15,883) and Italians (8,353); 1,596 British and 1,302 US nationals lived in the city (Statistisches Amt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The voucher is valid for one year with the providers on deutschkurse.bs.ch (opens in a new tab) (Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). See also language schools in Basel.