Living in Bern as an expat

The office's name lists its tasks: residents' services, migration and the aliens police (Fremdenpolizei)(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). Moves from another Swiss commune are reported through the national portal eUmzugCH within 14 days, but the portal cannot be used for an arrival from abroad(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026).

EU/EFTA citizens moving to Bern from abroad register with one of two web forms, one for employees and one for students(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). Nationals of other countries (third states) fill in the arrival form and send it with the documents within 14 days; the office checks the file and then invites them to the counter(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026) (bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The form asks for:

• A copy of a valid travel document (passport)
• A copy of the entry visa with the entry stamp
• A copy of the family book, if married or in a registered partnership
• The lease, and if you sublet, a confirmation from the property management

The city invites newcomers to welcome events that start with a walk through their own neighbourhood(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The guides to registering at a Swiss commune and to the B, L and C permits explain the national rules, and the first 90 days checklist covers the next steps.

The city's vacancy rate was 0.44% on 1 June 2026, unchanged from 2025, with 351 empty homes(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026). By district it ranged from 0.27% in Breitenrain-Lorraine to 0.75% in the Innere Stadt(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The city says flats are scarce, as in other city centres, and that its own portfolio of rental flats, managed by Immobilien Stadt Bern, is small. It points flat hunters to the large property managers and to portals such as Homegate, ImmoScout24, newhome and the Anzeiger Region Bern(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The city also lets flats in a lower-cost segment (günstiger Wohnraum mit Vermietungskriterien) to tenants who meet set criteria(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). See the rental deposit guide and the directory of apartment search services in Bern.

Rents

Across all rented and cooperative flats the average net rent was CHF 1,340 in November 2025. For 3-room flats it was CHF 1,338, for 2-room flats CHF 1,125 and for 4-room flats CHF 1,666; heating and hot water are not included(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026). The survey covers existing tenancies, some running for years, not advertised prices, and the city's rent index rose 1.4% in the year to November 2025(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The six districts

The table combines three city statistics. Bümpliz-Oberbottigen is the largest district by population and has the most foreign residents and the lowest rents; the Innere Stadt, the old town, is the smallest and has the highest rents for every flat size(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026) (Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The table uses official averages, not quotes: rents from Statistik Stadt Bern, which counts existing tenancies rather than advertised flats(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026), 2027 health premiums from the FOPH across all deductibles and models(FOPH, checked 21 Oct 2026), the Libero fare(Libero, checked 21 Oct 2026) and the household radio and TV fee (Serafe)(Serafe, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Childcare vouchers

Kitas and day families in Bern are paid for partly through childcare vouchers (Betreuungsgutscheine). From 1 August 2026 the canton's maximum voucher per day in a Kita is CHF 157.50 for babies up to 18 months and CHF 105 for small children until kindergarten. Families living in the city also get a city supplement of up to CHF 31 a day, which falls with income and stops at CHF 140,000(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The city's voucher calculator gives an estimate(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The cantonal multiplier (Steueranlage) for individuals fell from 3.025 in 2024 to 2.975 in 2025 and stays at 2.975 in 2026; the City of Bern levies 1.54(fin.be.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). Members of a recognised church also pay church tax, for example 0.184 times the simple tax for the Reformed church in the city(fin.be.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Tax at source on a B or L permit

Foreign employees who do not hold a settlement permit (C) pay tax at source, deducted from their salary. A later ordinary assessment is compulsory from CHF 120,000 gross a year; below that it can be requested by 31 March of the following year, for example to claim deductions the tariff does not include(ESTV, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Deadlines

The cantonal tax office extends the filing deadline on request: online it is free until 15 July, then CHF 20 to 15 September and CHF 40 to 15 November; by letter, email, phone or at the counter each step costs CHF 20 more(sv.fin.be.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). For 2025 returns, the last deadline moves from 15 to 30 November 2026 because the office is changing its software(sv.fin.be.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). For help in English, see finding an English-speaking tax advisor and the directory of English-speaking tax advisers and Treuhand firms.

The city runs the public schools in six school districts (Schulkreise), each with three or four sites that have kindergartens, primary and lower secondary schools and day care (Tagesbetreuung)(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). After two years of kindergarten come six years of primary school and three years of lower secondary school. Children who were 4 by 31 July started kindergarten in August 2026(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026).

French-language public schooling is offered by the cantonal French-language school in Bern (École cantonale de langue française, ECLF)(ECLF, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Private and international schools

The Bern Economic Development Agency lists these international and private schools, here in alphabetical order(Bern Economic Development Agency, checked 21 Oct 2026):

• British School Bern, Rüfenacht: English-language day school for ages 3 to 18, with American or British curricula from grade 10
• Divergenta International School: full-day school from grade 5, preparing pupils for iGCSEs and A Levels
• École Française de Berne: French-language private school for ages 3 to 15, founded in 1962
• Feusi Preschool: English and German preschool for children aged 3 and 4
• International School of Berne: English-language school for ages 3 to 19, with the International Baccalaureate Diploma
• John F. Kennedy International School, Saanen-Gstaad: English-language school for ages 4 to 16 in the Bernese Oberland

The international schools guide explains curricula and admissions; this page lists no fees. The directory lists international schools in Bern and bilingual schools in Bern.

Childcare

To use a childcare voucher, families first sign a contract with a Kita or day-family organisation that accepts vouchers, then apply to Familie & Quartier Stadt Bern, online through kiBon. The complete application must arrive at the latest in the month before care starts, as vouchers are not paid retroactively, and each voucher runs for a school year from 1 August(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). Parents must be working, in training, looking for work or have a health reason, with a combined workload of at least 105% for couples, and the income limit rose from CHF 160,000 to CHF 170,000 on 1 August 2026(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The directory lists schools and childcare in Bern.

The city's emergency page lists 144 for ambulances, the 24-hour emergency services of the Inselspital at Rosenbühlgasse 27 (adults +41 31 632 24 02, children and young people +41 31 632 92 77) and walk-in emergency practices such as the City-Notfall at Schanzenstrasse 4a, open daily from 7.00 to 22.00(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The doctors' emergency line (Ärzte-Notruf) is 0900 57 67 47 at CHF 3.23 a minute(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). It is run by Medphone, the doctors' own emergency call centre, which answers around the clock and refers callers to the doctor, dentist or psychiatrist on duty(Medphone, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Basic health insurance is compulsory within three months of taking up residence; if you sign up in time, cover is back-dated to your arrival, and a late sign-up brings a premium surcharge(FOPH, checked 21 Oct 2026). Average 2027 premiums in Canton Bern, across all deductibles and models, are CHF 494.40 a month for adults, CHF 336.70 for young adults aged 19 to 25 and CHF 125.80 for children, against a Swiss adult average of CHF 487.60(FOPH, checked 21 Oct 2026). The health insurance guide explains deductibles and models.

To find a family doctor who speaks English, see finding an English-speaking doctor and the directory of doctors and dentists in Bern.

In Bern you can choose between tram, bus, PostBus, night bus, S-Bahn and InterRegio and InterCity trains, with connections almost around the clock(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). BERNMOBIL's red trams and buses serve the city and the region(BERNMOBIL, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Libero passes for zones 100/101 cost adults CHF 82 a month or CHF 738 a year in second class, and CHF 136 a month or CHF 1,224 a year in first class. Young people up to their 25th birthday, women from 64 and men from 65 pay CHF 62 a month or CHF 558 a year, in second class only(Libero, checked 21 Oct 2026). The annual pass is priced at nine monthly passes, and the Half Fare travelcard gives no discount on Libero passes(Libero, checked 21 Oct 2026).

In the same survey 92,828 residents named German as their first main language and 3,655 French; German counts as the first main language whenever it is named(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026). For English, 2,766 named it as their first, 4,515 as their second and 1,779 as their third main language, 9,060 in all (our sum)(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026). Everyday speech is Bernese Swiss German: the city's welcome page uses dialect words such as «Ghüder» for rubbish(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026).

The city gives out 600 DeutschBons, plus 100 for the commune of Ostermundigen, each worth CHF 400 and valid at thirteen language schools in Bern; applications reopened on 1 September 2026(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The canton runs a search engine for German courses at be.ch/sprachkurse-migration(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). The directory lists language schools in Bern.

Working in the federal city

Bern is the federal city (Bundesstadt)(bern.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026). In 2024 it counted 202,010 jobs; health care employed the most people, 24,910, followed by public administration, defence and social security with 23,690(Statistik Stadt Bern, checked 21 Oct 2026). For French-speaking surroundings within reach, this site also covers Biel/Bienne, in the same canton, and Fribourg.