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HEALTH

Coronavirus: Can I visit my second home in Switzerland?

With Switzerland relaxing its borders on May 11th - and with the weather improving - many people who own a second home in Switzerland are planning trips.

Coronavirus: Can I visit my second home in Switzerland?
A house adorned with the Swiss flag in Moudon. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Whether they will be allowed to take a trip to their second home however will depend largely on their documentation – and which borders they will need to cross. 

For anyone currently in Switzerland, they will be permitted to visit their second home. For anyone outside the country, this is a little less likely. 

Switzerland has been on lockdown since March. While there have been some relaxations, border controls have remained in place – and are likely to remain all summer. 

Coronavirus border closures: How does Switzerland's family reunion exception work?

Border closures

On March 25th, Switzerland closed all its borders to everyone except citizens, residents and cross-border permit holders – while also shutting down several border crossings. 

On April 16th, the border closures were extended to prohibit cross-border shopping. On May 11th, family reunions will again be permitted – however these were limited in scope. 

As reported in the NZZ on Wednesday May 6th, a think tank looking at how to reopen the Swiss economy has called upon authorities to allow all family and work-related crossings to again take place, particular in neighbouring regions which are less affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. 

Currently, unmarried couples and extended families are not able to cross the border to see each other. 

Representatives in border regions of France and Germany have written to the Swiss Federal Council to relax these restrictions. 

Swiss residents visiting their second home

For anyone already in Switzerland, they will be able to visit their second home without being restricted. 

Police had placed controls on some major roads in April to discourage – but not prevent – Swiss from travelling between cantons, particularly the heavily hit southern canton of Ticino. 

On May 12, Ticino reported no new fatalities or infections from the virus for the first time since February. The first infection to be detected in Switzerland was in Ticino on February 25th. 

People living outside Switzerland visiting their Swiss home

Entering for the purposes of visiting a second home is not currently allowed to non-residents of Switzerland, unless those entering have either Swiss citizenship, Swiss residency or a cross-border permit. 

Limited family reunions were allowed from May 11th, but only applies to married or registered couples or people seeing their children. Grandparents and extended families – as well as unmarried couples – are still not allowed to enter

The rules will be reconsidered on May 27th, although authorities have indicated that again allowing people to cross for the purposes of tourism is unlikely this summer

 

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HEALTH

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

If you just moved to Switzerland (or even if you have lived here for a while), your learning curve about health-related matters in the country may be steep. These sites will help you find the information you need.

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

Staying healthy is probably one of your top priorities, but doing so in a foreign country is not easy.

That is why having some reliable resources that you can check out and follow will be helpful.

First: The Local

No, we are not doctors, but we have published a number of factual articles over the years about many aspects of healthcare in Switzerland that our readers find helpful.

You can find a compilation of these health-related stories here

Federal Office of Public Health 

Obviously, when it comes to matters of health, the Health Ministry has lots of information that will be relevant to you at one time or another.

Aside from matters of health policy (which is important for all residents of Switzerland), the site also has a regularly updated Infectious Diseases Dashboard to let you know what communicable illnesses are currently circulating in Switzerland — and how to avoid them.

It also provides age-specific health information and recommendations — for instance, for children and teenagers, as well as for the elderly.

Hospital websites

Individual hospitals in your area are good sources of information as well, and many of them are in English.

You can find there general health information, care and treatment options, online emergency room signup, new medical technologies being used, and other patient resources:

Geneva University Hospitals (HUG)

Vaud University Hospital (CHUV)

Zurich University Hospital

Basel University Hospital 

If you live in an area without a university medical centre, your local hospital is also a valuable source of health-related information.

Appointment booking platform

This website is especially useful for people who don’t yet have a doctor in Switzerland but need to set an appointment with one. 

It gives you an option of choosing a specialty and location, and then displays doctor’s names and addresses, background information about them, and which time slots they have available.

You can easily set up an appointment this way.

Your health insurer’s website

This may not be an intuitive choice for impartial information about healthcare but you may be surprised.

For instance, Sanitas insurance site has information about emergency care decisions, and how to void unnecessary medical treatments.

CSS has health information geared specifically to men and women.

Helsana talks about ways to combat stress and sleep problems.

These are just a few examples on what valuable tips you can find on your insurer’s website.

Websites devoted to specific medical conditions

If you seek information about a specific illness — such as treatment options in Switzerland — there are plenty of online resources for that as well.

For instance:

Heart and cardiovascular 

Diabetes 

Osteoporosis 

Mental illness 

General pain 

Other diseases 

Last but not least, while not related to health, these websites will also provide useful information for international residents:

The Swiss websites that can help you save money
 
The most useful website resources to help you get Swiss citizenship 
 
 

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