Relocating anywhere can be a little daunting with everything you need to take, which is why we have come up with a guide to help with what you need when relocating to Switzerland. From practical items like medicine to sentimental items like your childhood teddy, everything can be important. However other items like household goods can be left behind, sold or given to charity, since it will be must easier to relocate without them.
If you are wondering how to move to Switzerland permanently, you may also want to check our other post on how we personally did it. But for here, we want to focus on the packing and moving items aspect!
Relocating To Switzerland: Required Items
We’ve summarised what required items is best to relocate with in to 4 main categories; practical items, sentimental items, clothing and shoes, and documents.
1. Practical Items
For practical items, these are items that you or others may need on a short term basis like in your first week onwards. Of course this should include items that you may use also on a daily basis, such as medicine or your phone charger.
Other practical items can include:
- medicine (for you or your pets)
- all necessary electronics + chargers
- plug adapter
- toiletries/make up
- study/language books
- the Switzerland lonely planet guide
- Swiss currency
2. Sentimental Items
Items that are sentimental to you should definitely be brought with you when relocating to Switzerland. These items are already cherished items that mean dearly to you, so they do not need to be left behind.
Some sentimental items that you may have are:
- personal souvenirs from past travels
- house accessories
- photographs
- gifts you’ve received from friends or family
- some childhood books
- your pet’s favourite toys
3. Clothing and shoes
Clothes and shoes are pretty important to take with you, since you will of course need these also in Switzerland. However keep in mind that you do not need all of your clothes that you own. When relocating, it’s the best time to have full clean out of what clothes you actually use, items you may use still depending on the seasons and items that you wont need any more if they do not fit.
Keep in mind the following:
- summer/winter clothes
- swimwear
- your favourite items
- fitness clothes
- timeless but practical clothing items
If you want more information on relocating to Switzerland, check our personal experiences on these other blogposts:
‘Moving To Switzerland in 2022: Everything You Need To Know‘
‘Crossing The German To Swiss Border Customs: Our Personal Experience‘
4. Documents
For relocating to Switzerland, it will be very important to bring all your important and valid documents. This can be for yourself, but also copies of these for all of those joining you too, including documentation for your pets. Keep in mind that you may also have to get legally translated, certified copies of certain documents too based on the Swiss canton that you will be moving to.
Documentation for your relocation:
- birth certificate
- marriage certificate
- passport / ID card
- Swiss contract
- drivers license
- visa (if applicable)
- pet passport
- vaccination book
Top Tip: We recommend that you use a filing organiser for all your documents, which can be easy to keep in a backpack when crossing the border controls and keeping with you if relocating by flying.
Relocating To Switzerland: items to sell Or Donate
So if you have the space and money for transportation, you can of course take a bit of everything that you own. However for those who don’t wish to take too much with them.
We can advise to not bring the following items:
- books
- furniture
- plants
- food and drink
- unwanted clothes
These are simply best not to bring as it does cost more with more items that you bring. If you have large furniture such as beds or wardrobes, it might work out cheaper to leave these behind and buy new or 2nd hand ones when you arrive instead. For food, drinks and plants, its worth also checking what you can officially bring, since there are also import rules for these.
We can highly recommend selling or donating any items you do not wish to bring, which will then help others as well. Most cities and locations have a selling group on Facebook for quick sales, else to use some local websites that allow you to sell items too. For donating, most 2nd hand and charity shops allow you drop items off daily, but some can even offer pick up for larger items too.
Relocating To Switzerland: Final Tips
For your move to Switzerland, we wanted to finalise this post with some final tips that we believe help best to make it a smooth process.
- Make sure all documents (such as passport and driving licence) are valid and not expiring as soon as you get there, as it might be best to renew before you leave.
- Sort as much as you can in advance > This is best if you wish to sell items before you leave, as it gives you plenty of time to sell and also send the items to the buyers.
- Make lists to stay organised > Whether its a to do list, list of inventory items, list of items to donate or a list of food you wish to eat before leaving, staying organised is best!
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