Prime Relocation
Full-service relocation · GenèvePrime Relocation is a family-owned relocation agency in Zug, founded in 2006, helping expats, families and HR teams with home search, permits, temporary housing, schools and settling in.
Immigration & permits
Permit applications in Genève
expat-services.ch lists 6 hand-checked English-speaking permit application services in Genève, including CONVINUS, Sgier + Partner, Prime Relocation (our partner) and ReloNest (our partner).
Besides English, they also work in German, French, Italian and Spanish. Every profile shows the services, languages and contact details, checked by hand before going live. See also Lawyers and notaries in Genève.
Permit applications in Genève
6 providers
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ReloNest
Destination services · GenèveReloNest is a Zurich-based relocation company, founded in 2023, that provides home search, school search, permits and settling-in help through consultants in nine Swiss cities.
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Auris Relocation
Full-service relocation · GenèveAuris Relocation is a Swiss relocation and global mobility firm with nine offices from Geneva to Lugano, handling permits, home search, schools and moves for companies and families.
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Welcome Service
Full-service relocation · GenèveWelcome 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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CONVINUS
Permit applications · GenèveGlobal mobility specialist since 2002 handling Swiss work and residence permits, business visas, family member permits and assignment management, with offices in Zürich, Basel, Geneva and Zug.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
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Sgier + Partner
Permit applications · GenèveZürich-based specialist for Swiss work and residence permits (L, B, G, C) in all cantons and Liechtenstein, plus permit checks and relocation support for employers and individuals.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?
Local facts
Permit applications: what's particular to Geneva
The OCPM prices each permit service separately. For an adult with biometric data, a duplicate permit costs CHF 65 for EU/EFTA nationals and CHF 82 for third-country nationals, a change of canton CHF 55 or CHF 137, and a change from B to C permit CHF 120 or CHF 137. An authorisation of absence costs CHF 65, a departure certificate CHF 25 and an address search CHF 20 per address (Canton of Geneva, checked ).
Published averages for these services are 10 days for a duplicate, 6 weeks for the absence authorisation of a C permit holder, 51 days for a change of address, 4 months for a cross-border permit and 12 months for an early C permit. The OCPM adds that mail takes 2 days to reach the right desk (Canton of Geneva, checked ).
Fingerprints and photographs for the card are taken only at the cantonal biometrics centre, in the ARCenter in Vernier (route de Peney 2–4), which opened in March 2022 and receives people by appointment (ge.ch OCPM, checked ). It has 11 booths, can see up to 700 people a day, and also sets up e-démarches accounts on the spot. Residents and cross-border workers come back every 5 or 10 years to renew the data (Canton of Geneva, checked ).
Registering in Geneva
Newcomers announce their arrival to the cantonal population and migration office (OCPM), route de Chancy 88 in Onex (ge.ch OCPM, checked ). Most procedures run online through an e-démarches account on ge.ch, and the counters open by appointment only. The deadline after arrival is 14 days (2026) (ge.ch arrival, checked ), and a first B or L permit costs an EU/EFTA adult CHF 65 (Canton of Geneva, checked ). The steps are in registering at your commune.
Read more C permit in Switzerland: requirements and how to switch from B to CB, L and C permits in Switzerland: what’s the difference
Checked by the expat-services.ch editorial team
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