What you need to know about Swiss and French cards

IMPORTANT: if taking up residence in Switzerland, please announce your arrival in Switzerland to the Geneva OCPM within 14 days by sending an arrival announcement form to:

Office cantonal de la population et des migrations (OCPM) - Case postale 2652 - 1211 Genève 2

You should personally announce your arrival in parallel to the Swiss card request that will be made by CERN on your behalf. See our information page on residence in Switzerland for more information.

Nature, purpose and eligibility:

The CERN sites straddle the French–Swiss border.

Users, COAS and VISCs registered with a long-term contract (> 90 days) and an average presence of 55% or more therefore need a permit from both Host States to work at CERN, as well as a residence permit for the country in which they reside.

The Users Office initiates and handles all Swiss and French card procedures for Users, COAS and VISCs, including initial applications, renewal, removal and surrendering formalities as well as loss and theft declarations.

If you are a new User, COAS or VISC, the Users Office will guide you through the process in-person upon registration.

If you are already registered as a User, COAS or VISC and increasing your average presence (ie. taking up residence in the Local Area)*, the Users Office will provide you with detailed instructions via EDH upon reception of your contract amendment request
* Non-European nationals will be required to provide a valid long-stay D visa if increasing their average presence.

Issuing and collection:

Once your cards have been issued (initial requests or renewals) by the authorities and received by CERN, you will be invited to collect them in person from the Users Office. The cards cannot be collected by a third party on the behalf of the person concerned and no proxy may be accepted.

Travelling with your cards:

Please refer to: Schengen Area - Entry, stay and exit - Documents required - reminder

Renewal:

Holders of Swiss and French cards who have resided outside of France for more than 12 months or outside of Switzerland for more than 2 months must contact the Users Office to clarify their situation before travelling back to CERN or before requesting an extension of their cards.

New photos will be required by the French authorities every four years. The Swiss authorities may also request new photos on a case-by-case basis.

Cancellation:

Swiss and French cards should be returned to CERN upon termination of the contract or following a decrease in average presence to 50% or less, as they remain property of the Host States. Failure to return the cards may lead to subsequent administrative difficulties as the Host States may refuse to establish any further documents for the persons concerned should they need to take up residence in the Local Area once again.

Non-EU nationals should keep their Swiss card to travel back to their home station. The Swiss card must then be returned to the Users Office by post, or through a colleague traveling to CERN.

If you are leaving Switzerland, you must announce your departure to the OCPM in parallel to returning your cards by sending a departure announcement form to the following address: