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Those European students who are insured in their home countries can provide an insurance certificate which will then exempt them from the obligation to be insured in Switzerland.

Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 4 Annex I AFMP

Those European students who are insured in their home countries can provide an insurance certificate which will then exempt them from the obligation to be insured in Switzerland.

Legal basis: Art. 3 HIA and 2 para. 7 HIO

This is a very important point. Health insurance is particular in Switzerland: it is very expensive.

It is therefore very important to apply to the cantonal health insurance office for an exemption within three months of your arrival in Switzerland. In Geneva, the relevant service is the Service d’assurance-maladie (SAM, website in French only).

Service de l’assurance-maladie
Route de Frontenex 62
1207 Geneva
tel. +41 22 546 19 00

If a student at the UNIGE is not insured in their country of origin, it is recommended that they first contact the University Financial Services, the OCAS or even the Health insurance Service (SAM, website in French) which will be able to advise them on affordable insurance.

Thanks to the European Health Insurance Card system, foreign students can benefit from health care in Switzerland as well as from all those services that are reimbursed according to Swiss legislation.

Further information can be found on the website of the LAMal common institution.

After six years of study in particular, students have to take out a policy with a Swiss health insurance company.

If they change their status and their residence permit for studies is converted into a residence permit with gainful employment.

In practice, the time limit of 15 hours work per week leads some students to apply for a residence permit with gainful employment.