Full-service relocation · Genève
Welcome Service is a family-owned relocation firm founded in 1990, with offices in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, handling permits, home search, schools and settling in for families and HR teams.
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Welcome Service is a family-run relocation company that Catherine Burrus founded in 1990 in Nyon, on the Vaud shore of Lake Geneva, to give incoming families personal help with their move. Her children, Laetitia Papilloud and Guillaume Bédat, took over ownership in 2020 and run the firm as managing partners, while Catherine now holds the title of honorary president. The company, Welcome Service Sàrl, is registered in Geneva (in the commercial register since 1998), and the Welcome Service Geneva office on Rue Zurlinden is its registered seat and head office.
The firm grew along the lake first, expanding to Geneva in 1995 and opening its Lausanne office in 2017. An immigration department followed in 2019, and in 2023 it took over Schweizer Relocation GmbH and Touchdown Relocation and opened an office in Zurich. The team now counts more than 40 relocation consultants, and from its three offices it also covers Zug, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Basel.
The services cover the whole arrival. One consultant runs the home search, from the brief through viewings, the rental dossier and negotiation to the lease, drawing on long-standing contacts with régies and property managers. That counts in Geneva and Zurich, where the firm notes that vacancy rates are often below one percent. Around the search come orientation tours of one or two days, furnished temporary flats for one month to a year, school advice across public, private and international options, and help with settling in: the entrance inspection (état des lieux), registration at the commune, a bank account, utilities and an introduction to health insurance advisors.
Immigration is handled in-house. For EU/EFTA nationals that means L, B, C and cross-border G permits, residency without gainful employment and family reunification. For non-EU nationals it means quota applications that pass the commune, the canton and the federal State Secretariat for Migration, which the firm plans at eight to twelve weeks. Staff of international organisations and diplomatic missions get help with the FDFA legitimation card, including family members and the switch to a regular permit when the posting ends.
Companies can agree a service-level agreement. Each of their assignees gets a dedicated consultant and access to the REX portal, where HR follows every case online. Moves out of Switzerland are coordinated through EuRA partners abroad, and the departure service deals with the usual three-month notice period, the final inspection, deregistration and the deposit. Welcome Service is a full member of SARA, the Swiss Association of Relocation Agents, and a member of EuRA. A first 30-minute video call is free.
One consultant follows the search from the first call to the handover. After agreeing on size, budget, distance to school and commute, they combine the open market with the agencies, property managers and private owners the firm has worked with for years, which sometimes brings up homes before they are listed online. They join the viewings, give you a frank view of each flat, prepare the rental dossier, negotiate and go through the lease with you.
Welcome Service works out which permit fits (L, B, C, or G for cross-border commuters), assembles the civil-status documents with translations where needed, files with the commune and the cantonal migration office and books the biometrics appointment. It also handles residency without gainful employment for retirees and people of independent means, as well as family reunification for spouses and children.
For third-country nationals, permits are subject to annual quotas and go through three levels: the commune, the canton and the federal State Secretariat for Migration. The firm builds the file with the employer, including the proof that no suitable candidate was found in Switzerland or the EU, times the application around quota availability and deals with the authorities directly. Plan on roughly eight to twelve weeks.
Staff of international organisations, diplomatic missions and consular posts in Switzerland receive a legitimation card from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) instead of a normal permit. Welcome Service prepares and submits the application together with the employing organisation, registers family members and handles renewals. When the posting ends, it manages the switch to a regular residence permit or the closure of the Swiss file.
The team explains how Swiss public schools, private schools and international curricula (IB, British, American, French) differ for your child's age, language and later plans. It then contacts admissions offices, prepares the application files and schedules entrance tests. For popular international schools in Geneva or Zurich it recommends starting about 12 months ahead. Support continues after placement, from tutors to after-school activities.
Serviced apartments or short-term rentals that the firm knows first-hand bridge the gap until the permanent home is ready, on leases from one month to a year, furnished and with utilities and Wi-Fi included. Orientation tours take one or two days: a consultant drives you through three to five neighbourhoods that match your priorities, shows you schools and services and times the commute before the property search begins.
After move-in, Welcome Service carries out the entrance inspection (état des lieux) with you, so your deposit is protected when you leave, and works through registration at the commune, opening a bank account, utilities, internet and phone. For health insurance it introduces advisors who explain the compulsory KVG/LAMal cover and optional extras. During the first weeks your consultant stays reachable for letters and forms you are unsure about.
The firm gathers quotes from international movers it has worked with for years, prepares Swiss customs form 18.44 for household goods and is on site on delivery day. When you leave, it plans backwards from the usual three-month notice period, organises cleaning and the final inspection, deregisters you with the commune, closes utilities and bank accounts and follows up on the deposit, with a power of attorney if you have already gone.
HR teams get one point of contact and can agree an SLA. Each assignee has a dedicated consultant and access to the REX portal, where HR can approve moves and see active mandates and appointments in real time. Executive moves are run by one senior consultant from the permit to family integration. For assignments abroad, Welcome Service coordinates EuRA partners in the destination city while remaining the Swiss contact.
Welcome Service does not publish prices; each mandate is quoted individually. What its site does say: the client pays the firm directly, and it takes no commissions from agencies, property managers or other third parties. The first step is a free 30-minute video call, and written enquiries get a reply within 24 hours. Companies that relocate staff regularly can agree a service-level agreement (SLA) with set terms; the firm offers these to employers in the Lake Geneva region and the Greater Zurich area.
English, German, French, Italian
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Welcome Service helps people move to and settle in Switzerland: home finding, temporary housing, orientation tours, school advice, settling-in support, move management, intercultural training and departure services. Its immigration team handles EU/EFTA and non-EU permits and the FDFA legitimation card, and for companies it runs executive and international relocations.
Welcome Service has offices in Geneva (Rue Zurlinden 6), Lausanne (Avenue Tissot 2) and Zurich (Nebelbachstrasse 9). From these it also serves Zug, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Basel, and it states that it works across all 26 cantons, with its roots in the Lake Geneva region.
Welcome Service does not publish prices; each mandate is quoted individually after a first conversation. The client pays the firm directly, and it says it accepts no commissions from agencies, property managers or other third parties. The first 30-minute video call is free, and companies with regular moves can agree an SLA.
Yes. Welcome Service has had its own immigration department since 2019. It prepares L, B, C and G permits for EU/EFTA nationals, quota-based applications for non-EU nationals, and family reunification. For staff of international organisations, diplomatic missions and consulates it handles the legitimation card issued by the FDFA, including family members and renewals.
Both. Welcome Service works with individuals and families moving to Switzerland for the first time or returning after years abroad, with HR and mobility teams relocating one hire or many, and with staff of international organisations. Corporate clients can agree service levels and track their assignees in the REX portal.
Yes. Catherine Burrus founded Welcome Service in 1990. Her daughter Laetitia Papilloud joined in 2004 and her son Guillaume Bédat in 2014. The two took over ownership in 2020 and run the company as managing partners, and Catherine has been honorary president since 2025.
Use the enquiry form on this page or call the Geneva head office on +41 22 707 61 50. Lausanne is on +41 21 353 61 50 and Zurich on +41 43 243 70 70, and general email goes to info@welcome-service.ch. The firm says it replies within 24 hours, and a free 30-minute video call can be booked on its site.
Full-service relocationApartment search servicesOrientation toursPermit applicationsServiced apartmentsSettling-in support
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