Settling in Geneva
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Geneva, Switzerland
Finding the right school
International and French-language programmes, in Geneva and its surroundings.
Selection · 15 schools shown
École primaire française de Genève
Genève — chemin des Vergers (Eaux-Vives) · City
FrenchFrench curriculum
From pre-school to primary
AEFE-accredited — partner school (établissement partenaire)
About this school
AEFE directory: 3 chemin des Vergers, 1208 Genève; six of six levels accredited. Official website: tenured teachers from the French Éducation nationale, English from the final year of pre-school and German in CM1-CM2 (languages taught, not languages of instruction).
École Toepffer
Genève — avenue Eugène-Pittard (Champel / Florissant) · City
FrenchSwiss · French
From lower secondary to upper secondary
AEFE-accredited — partner school (final cycle of upper secondary)
About this school
AEFE directory: 21 avenue Eugène-Pittard, 1206 Genève; two of seven levels accredited (final cycle of upper secondary, since the start of the 2026 school year according to the school). Official website: admission from lower secondary (secondaire I), Geneva curricula until the end of lower secondary (or French collège), then French curricula up to the baccalauréat; member of the GESBF.
Collège du Léman
Versoix · Surrounding area
French · EnglishFrench · Swiss · IB · American
From pre-school to upper secondary
AEFE-accredited — partner school (final cycle of upper secondary)
About this school
AEFE directory: 74 route de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix; two of two levels accredited. Official website: from pre-school to upper secondary, with boarding for older pupils; at secondary level, streams leading to the French baccalauréat, the Swiss maturité, the IB Diploma or the American High School Diploma, in French, in English or bilingual. Nord Anglia group; SGIS member.
École Beit Yossef Girsa
Veyrier · Surrounding area
FrenchFrench curriculum
Upper secondary only
AEFE-accredited — partner school (final cycle of upper secondary)
About this school
AEFE directory: 206 route de Veyrier, 1255 Veyrier; two of two levels accredited. Official website under maintenance on 2026-10-15: non-accredited levels, languages and additional curricula not verified; only the accredited levels are included.
École Rudolf-Steiner de Genève
Confignon · Surrounding area
FrenchOther · French
From pre-school to upper secondary
AEFE-accredited — partner school (final cycle of upper secondary)
About this school
AEFE directory: 2 chemin de Narly, 1232 Confignon; two of sixteen levels accredited. Official website: from kindergarten to the end of upper secondary (kindergarten up to 2P, primary 3P-8P, lower and upper secondary); Steiner education (“other”). Languages of instruction other than French not verified.
Institut international de Lancy (IIL)
Grand-Lancy (Lancy) · Surrounding area
French · EnglishFrench · British · IB
From pre-school to upper secondary
AEFE-accredited — partner school (final cycle of upper secondary); IB World School (Diploma), according to the school
About this school
AEFE directory: 24 avenue Eugène-Lance, 1212 Grand-Lancy; two of fifteen levels accredited. Official website: from pre-school to upper secondary; French section (brevet, baccalauréat, agreement with the académie de Grenoble) and English section (English national curriculum, IGCSE then IB Diploma, including bilingual); pre-school and primary in English, French or bilingual streams. SGIS member.
École Moser Genève
Chêne-Bougeries (chemin De-La-Montagne) · Surrounding area
French · German · EnglishSwiss curriculum
From primary to upper secondary
About this school
Official website: Chemin De-La-Montagne 81 (municipality inferred from the address, postcode not recorded); pathway from primary (from 5P) or the Cycle d'orientation (from 9e) up to the cantonal maturité, with an optional bilingual German or English endorsement; primary in French-German-English immersion. SGIS member.
École Moser Nyon
Nyon (Vaud) · Surrounding area
French · German · EnglishSwiss · IB
From pre-school to upper secondary
About this school
Official website: pathway from 1P (first years of compulsory schooling in Vaud, counted here as “preschool”) up to the Swiss maturité, with bilingual endorsements or a dual maturité + IB Diploma. Exact address not recorded.
Institut Florimont
Petit-Lancy (Lancy) · Surrounding area
French · EnglishSwiss · French · IB
From pre-school to upper secondary
The school states that its final upper-secondary cycle is AEFE-accredited; not included in the AEFE directory extract used
About this school
Official website: Avenue du Petit-Lancy 37, 1213 Petit-Lancy; from pre-school to upper secondary (secondaire II), French-language or bilingual French-English curriculum; upper secondary preparing for the Swiss maturité gymnasiale, the French baccalauréat or the IB Diploma. SGIS member. If the accreditation is confirmed by the AEFE, the school would fall under “french-network”.
Ecolint — École Internationale de Genève, campus de La Grande Boissière
Genève — La Grande Boissière (rue Marie-Thérèse-Maurette, ancien 62 route de Chêne) · City
English · FrenchIB · Other
From pre-school to upper secondary
IB World School (Diploma and Career-related Programme), according to the school
About this school
Official website: Rue Marie-Thérèse-Maurette 7, 1208 Genève; bilingual English-French programme from pre-school to secondary; primary and middle school follow the school's own “Universal Learning Programme” (“other”). SGIS member.
British School of Geneva
Vernier (avenue de Châtelaine) · Surrounding area
EnglishBritish curriculum
From pre-school to upper secondary
About this school
Official website: Av. de Châtelaine 95A, Vernier; English national curriculum from pre-school to upper secondary, IGCSE and A Levels. SGIS member. No inspection or accreditation verified.
Deutsche Schule Genf
Vernier · Surrounding area
GermanGerman curriculum
From pre-school to upper secondary
German school abroad supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, according to the school
About this school
Official website: Chemin de Champ-Claude 6, 1214 Vernier; from pre-school to upper secondary, preparation for the Deutsches Internationales Abitur. Role of French in teaching not verified.
Ecolint — École Internationale de Genève, campus de La Châtaigneraie
Founex (Vaud) · Surrounding area
English · FrenchIB · Other
From pre-school to upper secondary
IB World School, according to the school
About this school
Official website: 2 chemin de la Ferme, 1297 Founex; primary and secondary schools. Municipality in the canton of Vaud, district of Nyon. Languages of instruction and campus-specific programmes not verified in detail.
Ecolint — École Internationale de Genève, campus des Nations
Le Grand-Saconnex (route des Morillons) et Pregny-Chambésy (petites classes) · Surrounding area
English · FrenchIB · Other
From pre-school to upper secondary
IB World School, according to the school
About this school
Official website: 11 route des Morillons, 1218 Grand-Saconnex; early years (pre-reception to year 3) at the Pregny site, 14 route de Pregny, 1292 Pregny-Chambésy; secondary years 7 to 13. Exact breakdown of languages of instruction by section not verified.
Geneva English School
Genthod (primaire) et Versoix (secondaire) · Surrounding area
EnglishBritish curriculum
From pre-school to upper secondary
About this school
Official website: primary at Route de Malagny 36, 1294 Genthod; secondary at Route de Suisse 160, 1290 Versoix; British education from pre-school to upper secondary, with A Levels at the end. Inspired group; SGIS member.
Check available places and admission requirements directly with each school.
Where this list comes from
Schools taken from the AEFE directory (six accredited or partner schools in the canton of Geneva) and from the member list of the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS), then checked against their official websites. The official list of private schools in the canton (Department of Public Education, ge.ch) could not be consulted, as the cantonal website was under maintenance throughout the research: it therefore did not serve as a basis, and several international, bilingual or Swiss private schools in the canton are probably missing (see notes). Scope: municipalities of the canton of Geneva and nearby municipalities in the canton of Vaud (Founex, Nyon); neighbouring France is excluded. State schools, schools offering only the Geneva curriculum with no verified international or bilingual provision, nurseries, language centres and universities are excluded.
Compiled from the registers cited; it does not claim to be complete.
- AEFE — Rechercher un établissement (Suisse, Genève)
- Swiss Group of International Schools — Our Members
- République et canton de Genève — L'enseignement privé dans le canton de Genève (SRED, 13 octobre 2026)
List updated on Oct 15, 2026.
Your guide to healthcare
Understand your cover and prepare the first steps.
Mandatory health insurance
Yes
Anyone who settles in Switzerland, whatever their nationality, must take out individual healthcare insurance with an approved health insurer within the period indicated after taking up residence; the same period applies to a newborn.
Access to the public system
No
Switzerland has no free public health service and no single public insurance fund: access to care is through compulsory healthcare insurance (basic insurance), offered by private non-profit insurers recognised by the Confederation, which must accept anyone required to be insured…
What is your situation?
Show the information that applies to you.
Your cover · General rules
Mandatory health insurance
Anyone who settles in Switzerland, whatever their nationality, must take out individual healthcare insurance with an approved health insurer within the period indicated after taking up residence; the same period applies to a newborn.
Read the details
Anyone who settles in Switzerland, whatever their nationality, must take out individual healthcare insurance with an approved health insurer within the period indicated after taking up residence; the same period applies to a newborn. Each family member, adult or child, is insured individually. Exempt by right are, in particular, members of diplomatic or consular missions and employees of international organisations enjoying privileges under international law, as well as certain nationals of the European Union, EFTA or the United Kingdom who reside in Switzerland but are insured in another State (work or pension exclusively in that State). Other people may be exempted on application to the cantonal authority if they have equivalent cover for treatment in Switzerland, in particular students from third countries, posted workers and holders of a residence permit without gainful activity under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. Without enrolment within the deadline, the cantonal authority automatically enrols the person with an insurer of its choice.
Access to public healthcare
Switzerland has no free public health service and no single public insurance fund: access to care is through compulsory healthcare insurance (basic insurance), offered by private non-profit insurers recognised by the Confederation, which must accept anyone required to be insured…
Read the details
Switzerland has no free public health service and no single public insurance fund: access to care is through compulsory healthcare insurance (basic insurance), offered by private non-profit insurers recognised by the Confederation, which must accept anyone required to be insured, with no reservations or waiting period, and reimburse the same catalogue of benefits. Insured persons freely choose their insurer from among those operating where they live and, unless they opt for a restricted-choice insurance model, their doctor and the hospital on the hospital list. Premiums do not depend on income; insured persons on modest incomes can obtain a premium reduction, the conditions for which are set by the canton.
- Resident
- Anyone domiciled in the canton, whatever their nationality and including children, must enrol individually in compulsory healthcare insurance within the period indicated; the rules are the same whatever the residence permit, provided the permit is valid for the minimum period indicated or longer.
- Employee
- Employees domiciled in Switzerland take out insurance themselves with the insurer of their choice: healthcare insurance is not linked to the employer. Daily sickness allowance falls under optional insurance, often taken out collectively by the employer; accident insurance is mandatory for employees.
- Cross-border commuter living in France
- Cross-border employees who work in Geneva and live in France are in principle insured in Switzerland, but may exercise, within the period indicated after starting work, a one-off, irrevocable right of option in favour of French health insurance, with the competent cantonal service. If they do not exercise the option, they are automatically enrolled in Switzerland.
- Self-employed
- Self-employed people domiciled in Switzerland are subject to the same healthcare insurance obligation as any resident; the LAMal does not provide a separate healthcare scheme for the self-employed.
- Student
- Students from an EU or EFTA country or the United Kingdom who do not engage in gainful activity in Switzerland may remain insured in their home country (European card); if they work in Switzerland, they must take out insurance there. Students from a third country may be exempted on application if they can prove equivalent cover for the entire duration of the exemption.
- Retiree
- Retirees who settle in Switzerland take out insurance like any resident. Nationals of the EU, EFTA or the United Kingdom who receive only a pension from one of these States do not need to take out insurance in Switzerland; holders of a residence permit without gainful activity under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons may be exempted on application if they have equivalent cover.
- International civil servant or member of a diplomatic mission
- Members of diplomatic or consular missions and employees of international organisations enjoying privileges under international law are not required to take out LAMal insurance; their cover is provided by their organisation. The rules applicable to their family members have not been verified.
Your first steps
- Register your arrival and residence with the cantonal authorities.
- Compare premiums and the approved insurers for your place of residence on the Confederation's official calculator (priminfo.ch).
- Submit the enrolment application directly to the chosen insurer, for each family member, within the period indicated; the insurance takes effect retroactively from the date residence was taken up, and premiums are due from that date.
- Where applicable, submit an exemption request to the competent cantonal authority, or a premium reduction request in accordance with the canton's rules.
Official sources
- Assurance-maladie : Obligation de s'assurer pour les assurés domiciliés en Suisse — Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP)
- Assurance-maladie : Obligation de s'assurer — qui peut être exempté — Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP)
- Assurance-maladie : Participation aux coûts pour assurés domiciliés en Suisse — Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP)
- Primes et coûts : réponses aux questions fréquentes — Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP)
- Assurance-maladie : L'essentiel en bref — Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP)
- Le régime suisse de sécurité sociale (salariés) — Maladie — CLEISS
- FAQ : Droit d'option des frontaliers France-Suisse — CLEISS
Information updated on Oct 15, 2026.
Please note