Living in Winterthur as an expat

The city's rule: you register with the Einwohnerkontrolle within 14 days of moving to Winterthur, after deregistering at your previous Swiss municipality if you had one(Stadt Winterthur, checked 21 Oct 2026). If you are moving from abroad, registration is only possible once you have entered Switzerland for good and moved in, and it is done in person at the counter(Stadt Winterthur, checked 21 Oct 2026). The general steps are in our guide to registering at your commune.

Foreign nationals arriving for the first time bring(Stadt Winterthur, checked 21 Oct 2026):

• a valid passport or identity card (original)
• a rental, sublease or purchase contract, or the landlord's confirmation of moving in (Einzugsbestätigung)
• a visa if you need one, and an employment contract (open-ended or valid for more than 3 months) or proof of studies
• original marriage and birth certificates for family members

EU/EFTA citizens with a job of three months or less are reported by their employer through the notification procedure; registration and a permit application are only possible with an open-ended contract or one of at least four months(Stadt Winterthur, checked 21 Oct 2026). Permit types are explained in Swiss permits B, L and C.

Health insurance is a separate step: basic insurance must be taken out within three months of taking up residence and is then backdated to your arrival(FOPH, checked 21 Oct 2026). See Swiss health insurance for expats.

The city is German-speaking. Its foreign share of 27.1% at the end of 2025 was slightly below the cantonal 29.2%; only the city of Zurich had more residents in the canton(FSO STATPOP, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Housing. The official count on 1 June 2026 found 116 empty dwellings in Winterthur, a vacancy rate of 0.20%, compared with 0.52% in the canton and 0.93% in Switzerland(FSO vacancy count, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Tax. Income and wealth tax is the simple cantonal tax multiplied by the canton's rate of 95% and the city's rate of 125% in 2026(zh.ch, checked 21 Oct 2026)(Kanton Zürich tax rates 2026, checked 21 Oct 2026). Members of a recognised church pay more: the city's total rate is 138% for Reformed and 142% for Catholic taxpayers(Kanton Zürich tax rates 2026, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Getting around. The city zone 120 is priced at the ZVV's 1–2 zone level: a personal NetzPass costs CHF 88 a month or CHF 813 a year for an adult in 2nd class(ZVV, checked 21 Oct 2026). From 13 December 2026 the same pass costs CHF 91 and CHF 840(ZVV prices from 13 Dec 2026, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Zurich. On a weekday morning in the 2026 timetable, direct trains reach Zurich main station in 19 to 25 minutes, depending on the line(SBB timetable, checked 21 Oct 2026). For the city itself, see living in Zurich.