Parliament returns in September with a tax aimed squarely at foreign workers.

The week

An immigration tax reaches the autumn parliamentary session

The session opening on 14 September takes up a proposed immigration tax that would fall on employers of foreign workers and on adults arriving through family reunification. It is a proposal, not a law, and the parliamentary road is long. It is worth watching because measures of this kind change hiring behaviour well before they change statute, and family reunification is where the human cost would land first.

Source: The Local Switzerland

Two referendums on 27 September: neutrality and food

The neutrality initiative would write neutrality into the constitution, barring NATO membership except under direct attack and restricting the government's power to impose sanctions. The food initiative would oblige the country to secure high-quality, affordable food alongside stronger environmental rules in agriculture. Neither changes your permit. Both tell you a great deal about the country you have moved to.

Source: The Local Switzerland

2027 premiums due at the end of September, forecast near 3.7 percent

The Federal Office of Public Health publishes 2027 premiums at the end of the month. Comparis forecasts roughly 3.7 percent nationally, below the 4.4 percent that landed for 2026. Budget for it now rather than in October, because the notice and the cancellation deadline arrive close together.

Source: The Local Switzerland

Two holidays in September that close the shops

Geneva observes the Jeûne genevois on 10 September, and the rest of the country marks the Federal Day of Thanksgiving on Sunday 21 September. The Geneva one catches newcomers every year, because it is cantonal and the rest of Switzerland is at work. Check before you plan a delivery or a viewing.

Source: The Local Switzerland

This week if you're arriving

• If you are arriving in September, note the 10th in Geneva and the 21st nationally. Offices shut, and a missed appointment can cost you a fortnight.
• Your health-insurance decision for 2027 has to be made between the end-September notice and the 30 November cancellation deadline. That is the whole window.
• If your move depends on family reunification, follow the autumn session. Nothing is decided, and it is still the file to watch.

City in focus: Bern

• The federal city, which means the rhythm of the year follows the parliamentary sessions rather than the tourist season.
• Cheaper than Zürich and Geneva, slower than both, and the old town is a UNESCO site you actually live in rather than visit.
• The Aare in summer is the whole social life of the city. Learn where to get out before you learn where to get in.
• German here is Bernese German, which is a different proposition from what you studied. Locals will switch for you; they will also quietly appreciate it if you try first.

A quiet note

There is something clarifying about reading a parliamentary calendar and finding yourself in it. Not as a person, as a category. It is easy to take that personally, and it is more useful to take it seriously: this is a country that decides things slowly, in public, with a vote at the end. You are inside that process now even without a ballot. Read what is proposed. Form a view. The people who feel most at home here are usually the ones who bothered to.