European students only need to provide “plausible evidence” that they have sufficient financial means. Sufficient financial means are not defined by any specific monthly amount.1
Students are therefore in a privileged position compared to other EU citizens who are not engaged in gainful employment in Switzerland.
Legal basis: Art 24 para. 4 Annex I AFMP; Art. 16 para. 1 ASEO.
Generally, it is enough for students to submit a statement to the authorities. They can also provide this assurance by any other means of their choosing, notably by designating a guarantor (see the section on Non-European students on this subject).
At any rate, financial means are considered sufficient if they are above the threshold at which a Swiss person gets access to social assistance (access threshold).2
Legal basis: Art 24 para. 1 Annex I AFMP; Art. 16 para. 1 ASEO.
In Geneva, the thresholds for access to social assistance are set according to the number of dependents and are as follows (for November 2023):
| Number of people | Assistance (article 2 RIASI) |
Rent (article 3 RIASI) |
Health insurance |
| 1 | CHF 986 | Up to CHF 1,100 | – 0-18 years old: CHF 126.50 (cantonal average premium) |
| 2 | UP TO CHF 1,508 | Up to CHF 1,300 | – 19-25 years old: CHF 353 (cantonal reference premium) |
| 3 | UP TO CHF 1,833 | Up to CHF 1,500 | – from 26 years old: CHF 497 (cantonal reference premium) |
| 4 | CHF 2,110 | Up to CHF 1,650 | |
| 5 | CHF 2,386 | Up to CHF 1,800 |
(source: Form O available in French on the OCPM website).
In the assessment of an applicant’s financial situation, no importance is given to whether it is the applicant themself who is the source of their means, or whether these are provided by a third party.3 On this topic, however, see the section on the right to engage in gainful employment.
- Annotated Code of Migration Law vol. III Ad. Art. 6, N°14.
- ATAF 135 II 265 recital 3.3 269.
- TF 2C_375/2014 of 4.2.2015, consid. 3.2.