Information for international employees and guests

[Translate to English:] dekoratives Bild

With around 2,100 Bachelor's and Master’s students and 650 teaching staff, Zurich University of the Arts is one of the largest universities of the arts in Europe. The study and research programme covers the areas of design, film, fine arts, music, dance, theatre, transdisciplinary studies, and the teaching of arts and design.

This page provides international employees and guests with an initial overview of life in Switzerland and important information on preparing, moving, and living in Switzerland.

Preparation

Residence and work permits

  • EU and EFTA nationals
  • Non-EU and EFTA nationals:
    • General information on permits
    • Visa:
      Non-EU/EFTA nationals require a visa to enter Switzerland for gainful employment. ZHdK lodges an application for a combined residence and work permit, which is checked by the immigration authority. Once approval has been granted, the immigration authority issues an electronic visa authorization to the Swiss embassy or consulate general of the country in question. The applicant must pick the visa up from there before they enter Switzerland. They may only enter Switzerland after they have received the visa and been approved for a residence permit.

Documents

You require the following documents to prepare your stay in Switzerland:

  • Valid official passport or identity card
  • Passport photo
  • Where relevant, documents detailing your civil status (family book, birth records of children, marriage certificate)

Moving

—  “Living in Switzerland” information sheet

Apartment hunting

—  Apartments:
     —  homegate.ch
     —  flatfox.ch
     —  ronorp.ch
     —  immoscout24.ch

—  Apartment rooms: Marktplatz Uni ZH
—  Shared accommodation: Rooms in shared accommodation
—  Temporary solution: Airbnb

    Arriving in Switzerland

    Registration

    Within 14 days of arriving in Switzerland, you must register at a regional office in the city of Zurich or at the residents’ registration office of your municipality of residence.

    You require the following documents for the registration:

    • Valid official passport or identity card
    • Employment contract (order), confirmation of work or services
    • Rental agreement
    • Non-EU/EFTA nationals: Visa authorization or confirmation of a residence permit

    Health insurance

    Everyone who resides in Switzerland is required by law to take out compulsory basic insurance with a Swiss health insurance company. You are free to choose your insurance company; however, you must pay the insurance on a private basis (you are not insured via your employer).
    Limited groups of people may apply for an exemption from compulsory health insurance.

      Living in Switzerland

      General information on the history of Switzerland, its political system and its economy is available on the website of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).

      Education system in Switzerland

      Depending on the school level, the Swiss education system is regulated at municipal, cantonal or federal level. Detailed information on the Swiss education system is available on the website of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education.

      Languages and language courses

      German, French, Italian and Romansh are spoken in Switzerland. The official language in Zurich is German. People there speak Swiss German in everyday life.
      The Language Centre of the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), as well as the Institute of Language Competence at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) offer language courses for all staff and students of ZHdK in Zurich (sometimes on the Toni Campus) and in Winterthur.

      Further information:

      ZHdK offers intensive German courses for any ZHdK employees upon request.
      The city of Zurich has a database of German courses that you can use to find a suitable course. Courses in Swiss German are offered by the Migros Klubschule among others.

      Mobility

      Switzerland has a well-developed road and railway network. It is often faster and more comfortable to travel by public transport than by car. Bicycles are also an important means of transport in the city of Zurich. Many locations offer free bicycle rental.

      Cultural integration

      Integration takes place on many different levels. Besides your workplace, you have numerous other opportunities to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings and make new contacts. Contact the municipal administration for information about integration offers in your place of residence. Many of them are tailored specifically to children and families.

      Integration offers in the canton and the city of Zurich, and information on cultural attractions and day trips in Zurich and its surroundings:

      Insurance

      Personal liability insurance

      Personal liability and household insurance are recommended but not generally mandatory in Switzerland. Personal liability insurance protects you from claims for damages if you injure another person or damage property that belongs to another person. Household insurance covers damages to your home caused by fire, water, theft or glass breakage. It is often combined with personal liability insurance.

        Working at ZHdK

        Hiring process

        Zurich University of the Arts is an employer under public law. Employees are hired according to public law of the Canton of Zurich rather than according to the Swiss Code of Obligations. In this case, they receive an employment order instead of an employment contract. It only regulates the most important conditions and is only signed unilaterally by the employer, ZHdK. The specific employment conditions are regulated in the cantonal employment act, in its decrees, and in the regulations of ZHdK.
         

        Social insurances

        Old age pension:

        1. Pillar (OASI)
        2. Pillar (BVK pension fund)
        3. Pillar  (Private pension plan)

        Accident insurance

        At ZHdK, you are insured for both occupational and non-occupational accidents if you work at least 8 hours (or teach a minimum of 5 lessons) a week.
        Employees who are insured for non-occupational accidents due to their work at ZHdK may take out voluntary supplementary insurance. This enables them to undergo hospital treatment on a private ward, and provides full cost coverage abroad.

        Family allowances

        Employees with an annual salary of more than CHF 7,110 are generally also entitled to claim family allowances. Moreover, there is a concurring claim that clarifies which parent is entitled to draw the allowances.

        In the Canton of Zurich, the allowances are as follows:

        • Children from birth until the age of 12: CHF 200
        • Children from the age of 12 until they complete their education: CHF 250

        Further information on the topic of family allowances is available on the website of SVA Zurich.

        Taxes

        Foreign nationals (those without a C permit) are liable to pay withholding tax. Tax is deducted directly from their salary on a monthly basis. The employer then transfers these taxes to the respective tax authority in Switzerland. Further information is available at the Withholding Tax Office of the Canton of Zurich.

        Contact persons

        For ZHdK members the HRM personnel consultants will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

          Offers on the Toni Campus

          Cultural offer of ZHdK

          Numerous cultural and artistic events take place at ZHdK.:

          ZHdK library and archives

          The Media and Information Centre (MIZ) combines a comprehensive archive of topics from all study areas. Besides books, journals, sheet music, recording media and DVDs, students also have access to text and image databases, e-journals and web streams. Documents about the teaching and history of ZHdK and the Museum of Design Zurich are made available in the archive. It also includes innovations such as the media archive of the arts, the material archive, and a large number of quiet workstations.

          Catering facilities on the Toni Campus

          Employees have a wide range of affordable lunchtime offers to choose from in the university’s own catering facilities.

          Sport

          ZHdK staff and students have access to the wide range of sports facilities and activities offered by the Academic Sports Association Zurich (ASVZ). Courses are organized at different locations, sometimes on the Toni Campus as well.

          Childcare

          Zurich University of the Arts is committed to balancing work and family life. To this end, it offers a comprehensive portfolio of support measures. External childcare is the key to being able to combine work and family or domestic partnerships.
          The childcare guidelines detail how ZHdK supports custodial parents by providing them with external childcare until their children start kindergarten.

          Equal opportunities and diversity

          The Equal Opportunities & Diversity office provides all staff and students of ZHdK with individual advice and information on any concerns and questions related to equal opportunities, diversity, combining family and study/work, barrier-free study, discrimination, sexual harassment and mobbing.

          Operational health management

          Regular employee well-being measures are implemented at ZHdK with an operational health management concept. The university organizes presentations and workshops, and there is a range of ergonomic and psychological advisory centres.

            Staff mobility for teaching and training

            University staff and lecturers have the opportunity to go on a short exchange to a partner university abroad or at the ZHdK as part of the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP).

            → More information

            → Portraits staff mobility for teaching and training