Before you start

Registration at the Einwohneramt
Address in the canton
Residence permit or registration confirmation
For commuters: a G permit and a decision on the exemption option

Step-by-step

1
Register first — the three-month clock runs from that date
Registering late shortens the window you have to choose an insurer, and the canton will assign you one if it expires.
In personWho: YouWithin 14 days of arrival
2
Compare on the federal premium tool
Basic KVG benefits are identical by law across insurers, so only price, service and model differ. The Federal Office of Public Health publishes every approved premium by canton, premium region and age band.
OnlineWho: You
3
Choose your franchise and model
Adults pick an annual deductible between CHF 300 and CHF 2,500, then pay 10% of costs above it up to an annual cap. Family doctor, HMO and telemedicine models cut the premium and mainly change who you contact first.
OnlineWho: You
4
Enrol within three months of registration
Cover backdates to your arrival date and anything you paid meanwhile is reimbursed. Miss the deadline and the canton assigns an insurer and bills retroactively anyway.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 3 months of registration≈CHF 545 / month average for a Basel-Stadt adult in 2026
5
Commuters: file the exemption request within three months of starting work
A resident of Germany or France working in Switzerland can request exemption from compulsory Swiss insurance and remain in their home statutory system. The request goes to the cantonal health insurance authority within three months of taking up employment. It is a single, effectively irrevocable choice.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 3 months of starting work
6
Add supplementary cover while you are healthy, or not at all
Basic insurance must accept everyone. Supplementary policies for private hospital rooms, dental and alternative medicine are underwritten and can decline you. Apply on arrival, not after a diagnosis.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Registration confirmation
Residence permit or G permit
Address in the canton
Passport
For commuters: proof of home-country cover

Things most newcomers don’t know

Crossing into Basel-Landschaft can change your health premium as well as your tax.

Premiums are approved per canton, and some cantons are split into premium regions. Allschwil, Binningen and Reinach are a tram ride from central Basel but in a different canton with its own approved premiums — for 2026 the average adult pays CHF 545.10 in Basel-Stadt against CHF 521.50 in Basel-Landschaft. Households compare rent between Basel-Stadt and its neighbours and forget that the insurance line moves too, for every person in the household.

Source: Federal Office of Public Health — 2026 approved premiums by canton

The commuter's exemption from Swiss insurance is a once-in-a-career decision made under a three-month deadline.

Live in Germany or France and work in Basel and you can stay in your home system instead of buying LAMal — but you must apply within three months of starting work, and the choice binds you while your situation is unchanged. Doing nothing means you are in the Swiss system by default, paying Swiss premiums for a family that may already have German or French cover.

Source: Compulsory insurance rules for cross-border workers under the free movement agreement

The identical legal product varies enormously in price, so switching insurer is rational every year.

Insurers cannot vary basic KVG benefits. What they vary is price, and the spread between the cheapest and most expensive approved premium in Basel-Stadt is large. Switching is a form and a notice period. Most people never do it and pay for that inertia every month.

Source: Federal Office of Public Health — health insurance

Basel's hospital care is unusually good for a city this size, which is part of what you are paying for.

The University Hospital, the University Children's Hospital and the pharma research base give the canton a concentration of specialist medicine well beyond its population. Access is through your insurer's model — a family-doctor or HMO policy routes you via a gatekeeper first, which is fine until you assume you can self-refer to a specialist.

Source: community-reported; cantonal health provision

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming your employer provides health insurance — no Swiss employer does.
Missing the three-month enrolment window and being assigned an insurer with retroactive premiums.
Comparing a Basel-Stadt flat with a Basel-Landschaft one on rent alone, ignoring the premium difference.
As a commuter, letting the three-month exemption window lapse and defaulting into Swiss cover by inaction.
Buying a restricted model policy and then trying to self-refer to a specialist.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.