Having a baby in Switzerland as an expat
Compulsory health insurance, the maternity exemption from your deductible, midwives at home, the federal maternity allowance, cantonal family allowances and the papers for a baby who will not automatically be Swiss, checked on federal and cantonal sources.
Updated October 13, 2026 · sources checked October 13, 2026
In short
In Switzerland, basic health insurance is compulsory and pays your check-ups, two routine scans, the birth and a midwife at home, with no deductible on maternity services. Employees usually get 14 weeks of maternity allowance at 80 % of earnings, up to CHF 220 a day. Your baby needs insurance within three months, and a residence permit: birth in Switzerland does not give Swiss citizenship.
The Swiss system in one table
Switzerland works on two floors: the Confederation sets a common base, and each of the 26 cantons adds its own rules, amounts and offices. Here is who does what when you have a baby, as of October 2026.
| What | Who runs it | Your contact |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy and birth care | Compulsory basic health insurance (KVG), run by private insurers under federal law | Your health insurer (Krankenkasse, caisse maladie) |
| Pay after the birth | Federal maternity allowance, paid through the AHV/AVS compensation offices | Your employer, or your compensation office if self-employed or unemployed |
| Your job | Code of Obligations and Labour Act | Your employer, your contract or collective agreement |
| Family allowances | Federal minimum, cantonal amounts | Your employer's family allowance fund |
| Birth registration | Civil status law, cantonal civil registries | The civil registry of the place of birth |
| Your baby's permit | Federal migration law, applied by the canton | Commune residents' office and cantonal migration office |
Health insurance: compulsory, and generous for maternity
Every person living in Switzerland must take out basic health insurance within three months of taking up residence or of being born there (KVG, article 3). Foreign nationals with a short-term or residence permit valid for at least three months are included. If you join on time, cover starts from the day you arrived. Some people stay insured in another country because of EU/EFTA coordination rules, and staff of international organisations may have their own scheme: check with your employer.
For a pregnancy, the key rules are in the law itself:
- The special maternity services are paid without deductible or co-payment: check-ups, the birth at home, in hospital or in a birth centre, breastfeeding counselling, and the care of your healthy newborn while you are in hospital together (KVG, articles 29 and 64).
- From the 13th week of pregnancy until 56 days after the birth, you also pay no deductible or co-payment on ordinary medical care, and no CHF 15 daily hospital contribution.
- In a normal pregnancy, basic insurance pays seven check-ups, two routine ultrasounds (weeks 12 to 14 and 20 to 23), a CHF 150 contribution to antenatal preparation with a midwife, up to three breastfeeding sessions, one postnatal check-up between weeks 6 and 10, and 10 midwife home visits in the 56 days after the birth, or 16 after a first baby, a caesarean, twins or a premature birth (KLV, articles 13 to 16).
Supplementary insurance (private room, free choice of doctor in hospital) is a separate private contract: many policies apply a waiting period for maternity, so read the conditions before you sign. Our detailed page explains it all: what Swiss health insurance pays for a pregnancy.
Your care: gynaecologist and midwife
Most pregnancies are followed by a gynaecologist-obstetrician in private practice, often with a midwife (Hebamme, sage-femme, levatrice). A normal pregnancy can also be followed by a midwife, with a medical examination recommended in the first trimester. Basic insurance pays either.
Three things expats wish they had known earlier:
- Book your postnatal midwife during pregnancy. The home visits are paid, but independent midwives fill up early. The Swiss Federation of Midwives runs a search by canton at hebammensuche.ch.
- Check your insurance model. Family doctor and telemedicine models may ask you to call first before seeing a specialist.
- Ask the hospital about language. Larger maternity units often have English-speaking staff; ask about interpreters when you register.
You can give birth in hospital, in a birth centre or at home with a midwife. Ask your insurer before you register which hospitals basic insurance covers for you, especially for a private clinic or a hospital in another canton.
Work: protection, leave and the maternity allowance
During pregnancy. After the probation period, your employer cannot dismiss you during pregnancy and for 16 weeks after the birth; a dismissal during that time is void (Code of Obligations, article 336c). Pregnant women work only with their consent, never more than 9 hours a day, and not between 20:00 and 06:00 in the 8 weeks before the birth. There is no federal prenatal leave: if you cannot work before the birth, it is sick leave with a medical certificate.
After the birth. You have at least 14 weeks of maternity leave, and you may not work at all in the first 8 weeks. The federal maternity allowance pays 80 % of your average earnings, up to CHF 220 a day, for up to 98 days, if you were insured under the AHV for the nine months before the birth and worked at least five months in that time. EU, EFTA and UK insurance periods count, which matters if you arrived recently. Your employer may pay more under your contract. Geneva pays 16 weeks, up to CHF 329.60 a day.
The other parent. The father, or the mother's wife, gets two weeks within six months of the birth, in a block or as single days, paid at 80 % up to CHF 220 a day (14 daily allowances).
Every rule and how to claim: maternity leave in Switzerland.
Family allowances
Every canton pays at least CHF 215 a month per child from the month of birth (federal minimum), and many pay more: for example CHF 250 in Bern, CHF 275 in Basel-Stadt, CHF 330 in Zug, CHF 311 in Geneva and CHF 322 in Vaud for each of the first two children (FSIO table, amounts in force on 1 January 2026). Nine cantons also pay a one-off birth allowance: Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, Uri, Valais and Vaud. Employees claim through their employer; you need AHV-liable earnings of at least CHF 630 a month.
Your baby's papers
- The hospital reports the birth to the civil registry of the place of birth (within 3 days in Geneva). Before the birth, contact the registry: parents with foreign passports often need documents from their home country, and the City of Zurich says the registration can only be completed once it has them.
- Order the birth certificate, ideally an international extract, in several copies.
- Insure your baby within three months: cover then starts from birth.
- Ask your commune and the cantonal migration office about the residence permit. Your baby is not Swiss unless a parent is, so they need a permit that follows from your own status.
- Register the birth with your embassy and apply for a passport under your country's rules.
- Unmarried parents: the father recognises the child before a civil registrar; joint parental authority requires a joint declaration, otherwise it belongs to the mother alone.
The full step-by-step guide: registering a birth in Switzerland as an expat.
The pages in this guide
Expecting somewhere else? See all our guides to having a baby abroad, and our hospital bag checklist and postpartum recovery guide wherever you live.
Everything in one printable guide
Having a Baby in Switzerland as an Expat gathers all of this in one place: what basic insurance pays week by week, the maternity allowance with worked examples, Geneva's 16 weeks, the 2026 family allowances for all 26 cantons, the papers for your baby step by step, unmarried parents, two mothers, self-employed and cross-border situations, a glossary in German, French and Italian, a timeline checklist and pages to fill in.
Questions parents ask
Is giving birth free in Switzerland?
Basic health insurance pays the birth, the check-ups, the routine ultrasounds, breastfeeding counselling and the midwife's home visits, without deductible or co-payment on these maternity services. Your premium still applies, and extras such as a private room are usually paid by supplementary insurance or by you.
Do I pay my deductible during pregnancy?
Not on maternity services. And from the 13th week of pregnancy until 56 days after the birth, the insurer may not charge any deductible or co-payment on ordinary medical care either.
How long is maternity leave in Switzerland?
At least 14 weeks after the birth under the Code of Obligations, with a federal allowance of 80 % of earnings up to CHF 220 a day for up to 98 days. Geneva pays 16 weeks. There is no federal prenatal leave.
Will my baby born in Switzerland be Swiss?
Not because of the place of birth. Switzerland does not apply birthright citizenship. Your baby is Swiss only if a parent is Swiss under the Citizenship Act; otherwise your baby takes your nationality and needs a Swiss residence permit.
When must I insure my baby?
Within three months of birth. If you do it within that time, cover runs from the day of birth.
Sources
- Fedlex — Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), SR 832.10, articles 3, 5, 29 and 64 checked October 13, 2026
- Fedlex — Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV), SR 832.112.31, articles 13 to 16 checked October 13, 2026
- AHV/IV Information Centre — Maternity allowance checked October 13, 2026
- AHV/IV Information Centre — Allowance for the other parent checked October 13, 2026
- FSIO — Family allowances, benefits and conditions checked October 13, 2026
- SEM — How do I become a Swiss citizen? checked October 13, 2026
- OFCOM — Other numbers, free of charge or not (emergency numbers) checked October 13, 2026
Mamavela explains; it does not replace your midwife, doctor or pediatrician, who know your situation. If something worries you, call them. In an emergency, call 911 (US), 999 (UK) or 112.