Before you start

OCPM registration
Geneva address
Residence permit or registration confirmation
For frontaliers: a G permit and a decision on the droit d'option

Step-by-step

1
Register with the OCPM first — the three-month clock runs from there
Registering late compresses the window you have to choose an insurer, and the canton will assign you one if you run out of time.
In personWho: YouWithin 14 days of arrival
2
Compare on the federal tool, not on a broker's shortlist
Basic LAMal benefits are identical by law across every insurer. Only price, service and model vary. The Federal Office of Public Health publishes every approved premium for your commune and age band.
OnlineWho: You
3
Choose your franchise and model
Adults choose an annual deductible between CHF 300 and CHF 2,500, then pay 10% of costs above it up to an annual cap. Restricted models — family doctor, HMO, telemedicine — cut the premium noticeably and mostly change who you call first.
OnlineWho: You
4
Enrol within three months of registration
Cover then backdates to your arrival date and anything you paid in the interim is reimbursed. Miss it and the canton assigns an insurer and bills you retroactively anyway, with no choice of policy.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 3 months of registration≈CHF 586 / month average for a Geneva adult in 2026
5
Apply for the cantonal subside if your income qualifies
Geneva runs a means-tested premium reduction assessed from your tax data. It is not automatic for newcomers with no Geneva tax history — you have to file for it.
OnlineWho: You
6
If you commute from France, exercise the droit d'option within three months
You choose once between Swiss LAMal and the French public system. The choice is irrevocable while your situation is unchanged, and doing nothing means you default into LAMal.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 3 months of starting work

Documents you’ll need

Registration confirmation
Residence permit or legitimation card
Geneva address
Passport
For the subside: your Geneva tax data or an income declaration

Things most newcomers don’t know

Geneva has the most expensive adult premiums in Switzerland, and the gap compounds across a family.

For 2026 the average Geneva adult premium is about CHF 586 against CHF 465.30 nationally — the highest adult figure in the country. The widely quoted CHF 489.80 is Geneva's all-ages average, which is second to Ticino; the two numbers are not interchangeable. Because every person is insured individually with no family cap, a couple with two children can be paying well over CHF 1,300 a month before anyone sees a doctor. Compare a Geneva offer net of that, not gross.

Source: Federal Office of Public Health — 2026 approved premiums

Legitimation card holders with privileges are exempt automatically — but their non-privileged family members are not.

Staff on B, C, D, E, G, L, P or S cards need do nothing; the exemption follows the card. Family members without privileges who are covered by the organisation's own plan must write to the cantonal health insurance service within three months of the affiliation to request exemption, and once granted they cannot change their mind while the sponsor stays with the organisation.

Source: FDFA Permanent Mission Geneva — health insurance

The frontalier droit d'option is one decision that lasts your whole career.

Living in France and working in Geneva, you choose between LAMal and the French public scheme within three months of starting work. It is irrevocable unless your situation genuinely changes — a first job, a return from unemployment, a move to another country of residence. Families often find the French option cheaper and Swiss access harder to replace; there is no undo.

Source: CLEISS — droit d'option of France-Switzerland cross-border workers

The subside is means-tested from tax data you may not have yet.

Geneva reduces premiums for lower and middle incomes, but the assessment runs off your cantonal tax file. A newcomer with no Geneva history is invisible to it and has to apply with a declaration of current income instead of waiting to be found. Households that qualify and never file simply pay the full premium for a year or more.

Source: Canton of Geneva — subsides d'assurance-maladie

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming your employer provides health cover, or that a UN-style plan automatically covers a non-privileged spouse.
Missing the three-month window and being assigned an insurer with retroactive premiums.
Comparing a Geneva salary without subtracting a premium for every member of the household.
As a frontalier, letting the three-month droit d'option lapse and defaulting into LAMal by inaction.
Never applying for the cantonal subside because nobody told you it is not automatic for new arrivals.

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