Thanks!
I moved to Switzerland in January, so over four months ago and it took forever until I could finally apply for my B permit. That was on the 11th of April and I was told that the waiting times are 6-9 months at the moment. I thought I could get health insurance upon my arrival, or at least with the request for the b permit, but CSS told me today that I will have to wait for my permit to arrive. It all wouldn't be an issue for me, but I need to see the doctor immediately. I had surgery last year just before Christmas and they found a tumour. I thought I would just need a check up, but the same issues as I had last year are starting again. I have an appointment with a gynecologist on Wednesday and I will have to pay for it myself, which of course is okay but I am worried about the further treatment costs. I am in a normal job which doesn't pay great to have to worry about high medical bills. Is there anything I can do? Can I really not get health insurance before I have my residence permit?
Your insurance will be retroactive anyway to 1 April. So all your bills can pass through the insurance. technically already insured.
I'm surprised that the insurance companies will not let you apply for insurance before you have the permit in hand. Usually the form that says you have registered is enough. Maybe you should try a different company.
Yes, this is what I thought too, but CSS said no. I will look at different quotes now, but they all seemed to be a lot more expensive and the CSS quote is already taking a big chunck from my net salary.
I'm with Helsana, all they asked for was a letter to say that my permit was applied for .. After that they gave me a letter with the family policy numbers on it.. Doctors were happy that we were insured..
We didn;t actually start paying for some months which was rather painful when the bill arrived.
Why did it take you 4 months to register? You’re supposed to do it within 14 days of arriving if you had a job to come to.
I’m surprised too that the permit application wasn’t enough. Given that many cantons here seem to be VERY slow in processing permits and the law says you must have insurance within 3 months of registering it sounds odd that it’s not acceptable.
Have a look on www.comparis.ch and see if you can find an insurer at a similar price to CSS.
Thanks. I will contact Helsana and Swica (was recommend by someone in Lugano) tomorrow.
Don't ask. Long story... I work for a private employer and I am not happy about the way she did things.
I'm with Sanagate. They have never asked to see my permit.
What's covered is defined by law/regulation, in that there's no difference between any of the insurers with respect for basic insurance, neither does the organisational model (HMO, medico di famiglia, altri). What they differ in is service quality, but it's probably difficult to assess that beforehand and definitely not a dependent on price. Personally I'd not pay more than a few percent above the cheapest suitable offer, which rules out Helsana for Lugano (with the parameters I used, YMMV).
www.priminfo.ch is the official federal site, it lists all insurers available in Gemeinde you enter (that's not a given at all with comparis.ch), including all non-standard organization models.
Since you probably need to expect hefty bills during the remainder of the year, you almost certainly want to chose minimum franchise (deductible) of 300CHF. On top of the reduced cost to you that gives you an additional date (per june 30 with 3 months notice period) to cancel/switch insurer.
Some/many insurers offer a small(!) rebate (like 0.5% to 1%, but still) if you pay annually or semi-annually.
Hi Everyone,
I am a bit confused about this...
I am applying for a work permit as an Au Pair (non-EU).
The rules for a non-EU candidate applying for a work permit state I MUST be insured before my work permit is even issued... as in I am supposed to submit proof of insurance when I send in the work permit application to the government.
This is very confusing to me if I have to include either the permit application or have the physical permit before I can get insurance :S
And even if OP had applied upon arrival in Ticino, the permit process is completely messed up. Not sure whether because of lack of resources or the amount of frontalieris they try to accomodate. Having said this, Geneva gets more commuters and expats and still gets it done within relatively decent time. For moment B permit waiting time is about 6 months, when you go for C-permit one can expect to wait anything from 3 to 9 months.
You cannot apply for an au pair permit yourself, you have to go through an approved agency such as Perfect Way or Profilia.
"Au pairs:
"The Law on Foreign Nationals, in force since 1 January 2008, has introduced the following changes:
Au pairs from third countries (e.g. USA, Canada, Thailand, etc.) can only receive permits if they are placed through an agency which is approved and licensed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Currently there are only few such agencies specialising in the placement of au-pairs (e.g. profilia). However, we expect the number to increase throughout the year. Au pairs may now be placed only if they are between 18 to 25 years old."
The host family has to organise health insurance cover for you as part of the process.
So, I contacted several insurance provider and they all need my residence permit before I can take out health insurance. I was at the hospital today and basically it's the same as it was last year and therefore I need to see several specialists now. I can't afford to pay for this myself and hence will probably have to move back.
U can take Sanitas they are cheap but good. I also had no problem making policy with them even i didnt had permit at the time.
A "certificato di domicilio" is all you should need. You get/can get one when you register with the commune. Also as soon as you registred with the commune you must have a health insurance.
Hi
I am sorry to say but the Information you get here so far do not help your Problem. Fact is, that if you do not have an insurance and you do have a medical Problem, no insurance will take over the cost - they will exclude the Treatment of the Problem you had PRIOR the application, as Long as you have known it (and they will find out that you have known the Problem).
So with this Situation I can only hope that you are well insured in your Country and ask there whether they are going to pay the expenses for swiss doctors or whether you Need to travel home. If you also don't have an insurance at home than I think there are some real (financial) Problems for you and you should immediately search a specialist, it is not a trivial Situation as the Treatment can easily cost several 100k.
Hope you get it solved soon and all the best. C
Wrong.
Basic compulsory health insurance will cover it no question ask. It must. It is the law.
Basic compulsory health insurance covers you from the date you register with the commune if you sign up for the basic compulsory health insurance within three months of registering with the commune. It is the law.
Basic compulsory insurance will even will back charge you for any premium up and until the first day of the month you registred with the commune. It is the law.
The law
Registration seems to be somewhat of a challenge at the moment: "it took forever until I could finally apply for my B permit. That was on the 11th of April"
No permit -> no residence. No residence -> no KVG coverage in Switzerland.
And residence status itself seems to be somewhat challenging: "I moved to Switzerland in January" - it is more than 90 days later now, it was more than 90 days on 11 April, so this may have (already) turned into an unwelcome state already.
Question is: Which nationality does FromLondonToLugano have? Anything else but "core EU" will be a problem.
Agree, especially if they’ve been working since January without registering. Not sure even an EU national can get away with that.
But normal way is:
You register -> You are a resident -> you should sign up for basic health insurance-> you wait for your permit -> you get a reminder that you must have basic health insurance, or they will sign you up -> you get basic health insurance -> Permit arrives somewhen later.
(Assuming EU national)
So absolutely wrong, it’s not true.
Perhaps an official source will make it clear to you.
- Can a health insurance fund refuse to insure me or attach conditions?
No. As far as compulsory health insurance (basic insurance) is concerned, all health insurance funds are obliged to accept your application irrespective of your age and state of health, and without stipulating any conditions or waiting period.