Moving to Geneva: the checklist, from 60 days before to 14 days after

90 to 60 days before: lease, date and quote

• Give notice on your lease in writing, by registered letter, at least 3 months before one of the end dates in your contract. If you leave earlier, you can propose a solvent replacement tenant.
• Pick your date. The end of the month and Saturdays are the busiest days in Geneva: if you are flexible, a weekday mid-month is easier to book, and often cheaper.
• Ask for quotes and compare what they include: furniture and floor protection, insurance, dismantling and reassembly, fixed price or hourly billing. Our starting prices are published.
• Estimate your volume room by room, without forgetting the cellar, attic, balcony and garage.

30 days before: logistics

• Book the parking permit for the truck at least 10 days ahead, and earlier for the end of the month. We handle it from CHF 250.
• Inform both property managers (régies): lift booking and protection, permitted hours, access, keys and the date of the check-out inspection.
• Flag heavy items (piano, safe) and difficult access: a furniture lift or a larger team may be needed.
• Clear what you are not taking: council collection for a few items, a house clearance for the rest.

7 days before: boxes and contracts

• Pack room by room, starting with what you do not use. Keep fragile items separate and well wedged.
• Number every box and write the destination room (“kitchen”, “bedroom 2”): the movers put them straight in the right place.
• Electricity, internet, mail, home insurance: give your new address to SIG and your providers, and forward your mail with La Poste’s redirection service.

Moving day

• Be there or reachable for loading and delivery.
• Read the meters in the old and the new home.
• Check your belongings on delivery and report any damage quickly, in writing. At DL Company: within 3 days, to sinistre@dlcompany.ch, with photos.

Within 14 days: paperwork

• Register your new address with the OCPM, online, within 14 days. State services and the communes are then informed through the residents’ register. Who else to notify, and when: our change of address list.
• Inform yourself your children’s school, the vehicle office (driving licence and registration), your employer, your bank, your insurers and your subscriptions.
• Check-out inspection: a clean flat with no holes in the walls avoids deductions from your deposit. We offer end-of-tenancy cleaning.

Moving to Geneva from abroad?

• Register your arrival with the OCPM within 14 days. Your residence permit depends on your nationality: the process is online on ge.ch.
• Your furniture enters duty-free if you have used it for at least 6 months abroad and keep using it in Switzerland, with form 18.44. It must be imported within 2 years of your change of residence. Coming from France? Everything is in our guide Moving from France to Switzerland.
• We handle customs formalities for our international moves, and our team of expats speaks your language.

The 6 mistakes we see most often

1. Choosing the cheapest quote without checking what it includes. Extra hours, protection billed separately or a crew hired the day before end up costing more.
2. Requesting the parking permit too late. Without a reserved spot, the truck parks far away and loading takes hours longer.
3. Not telling the property manager. An unbooked lift or missing keys hold up the whole team.
4. Packing too late, or badly. Unclosed boxes on moving day slow everything down and put fragile items at risk.
5. Not numbering or labelling boxes. Without a destination room, everything piles up in the living room and it takes days to find your way.
6. Underestimating the volume. A forgotten cellar or balcony, and the planned truck is no longer big enough.