HORIZON – February 2026

A new colleague at the reception desk

At the end of 2025, Adriana Franceschi joined our team and now works alongside Catia Antunes at the CCSI reception and information desk. Adriana speaks French, Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Catia and Adriana welcome you and answer your questions during office hours (see here). Depending on your situation, they will refer you to one of our three consultations or to partners and services within the Geneva social network.

Changes within the Childhood, education and health consultation

A new social worker, Clara Norambuena, has recently joined our Childhood consultation, alongside Amanda Schroeder, Camille Grandjean-Jornod and Teresa Lourenço.
All staff members of this Consultation carry out the same types of procedures and offer quality support to the families they receive.

Primary school: registration

All children living in Geneva have the right and duty to attend school, regardless of whether their family has a permit or not.

This year, all children born before 31 July 2022 will start school on 17 August 2026.

Registration for the 2026-27 academic year will take place during the week of 2 to 7 March 2026. You must contact the school closest to your home.

To attend school, your child must have health insurance. The CCSI is responsible for affiliating children without a residence permit. Make an appointment with us and bring your ID and your child’s ID, as well as your address.

If your child is already insured, you will only need to show the insurance policy when registering at the school.

GIAP 2026-27

Registration for extracurricular activities and school meals will take place between 23 March and 28 April 2026.

Don’t miss these dates, otherwise your child will not be able to start at the beginning of the school year.

Parents who do not have an e-démarches account can register by telephone. For more information, visit the GIAP website.

Since 2025, extracurricular activities are no longer free. However, it is possible to obtain a discount based on your income. To do so, you must send the form ‘demande de rabais » to GIAP as soon as your child’s enrolment is confirmed (deadline: 30 June for the start of the school year, or within 15 days if enrolling during the school year).

Along with the a.m form, you must enclose:
– your 2025 tax notice or your 2025 income certificate if you have a permit or are taxed at source.
– the ‘Certificate of Financial Status’ document issued by the CCSI if you do not have a permit and are not taxed at source

If you do not have any of these documents and do not have a permit, please contact the CCSI.

Please note: you must always inform the GIAP if your child will be absent for lunch or after-school care. If you do not do so, you risks being unsubscribed.

Family allowances (allocations familiales)

You are entitled to family allowances for each of you children provided that you are in paid work and earn a minimum of CHF 630 per month.

Due to a lack of resources, the CCSI is currently unable to offer this service. However, our reception desk continues to answer simple questions, and you can obtain information from OCAS or seek assistance from Caritas, the Centre Social Protestant (CSP) or the EPER.

Health insurance subsidy

The health insurance subsidy must be applied for each year before November 30. If you have not already done so, make an appointment at the CCSI to complete the process. Please note that several documents are required for this, so ask at reception which ones to bring to your appointment. If you have a permit or are taxed at source, please mention this when you make your appointment. As soon as you receive the subsidy, please bring a copy to the CCSI reception desk.

The subsidy covers a maximum of CHF 132 of the children’s insurance premium. You will have to pay any amount above this sum each month.

It takes time for your health insurance company to register your subsidy. In the meantime, it is best to pay the first premium bills yourself (you will be reimbursed later). If you are unable to pay, contact your insurance company or the CCSI to try to block the bills.

Help for victims of violence

If you are a victim or witness of domestic or family violence, or if you have been assaulted, there are associations and professionals who can help and advise you in complete confidentiality.

Their consultations and services are free of charge.

Here are some organisations based in Geneva:

• Association AVVEC – Help for victims of domestic violence (46 rue de Montchoisy) Tel: 022 797 1010  – website
• F-information – Reception and legal and social counselling for women who are victims of domestic violence (67 rue de la Servette) Tel: 022740 31 00 – website
• Centre LAVI – Counselling for victims of crime (Boulevard St-Georges 72) Tel: 022 320 0102 – website

Introduction of the Entry Exit System (EES) at Swiss borders

The new Schengen Entry and Exit System is now operational at Swiss airports, including the Geneva Airport. This system applies to all third-country nationals.

Under this new procedure, biometric data (fingerprints and facial image) as well as the entry and exit dates of each traveller are recorded electronically in a database.

This system makes it easier for the authorities to check the length of stay in the Schengen area and identify individuals who have stayed longer than the authorised period.

French language test for regularisation application

When applying for a residence permit in Switzerland, make sure you take the fide French test and not another language test.

The fide certificate is recognised by the Swiss authorities and is regarded as valid proof of your French language skills. Opting for another exam could delay or complicate the processing of your application.

More information on dates, examination centres and registration procedures can be found on the official website.

Rectification of tax at source (impôt à la source)

If your employer deducts tax from your monthly salary without taking your family situation (dependent children) into account, you can request a correction of the tax at source. To do so, you must go through e-démarches if you have an account, or use the « DRIS » form that you received by post, or request a copy of the form from the Administration fiscale, at 26 Rue du Stand.

The deadline for requesting a rectification of tax at source is 31 March 2026.

Next CCSI information sessions

• Family allowances : French 25 February (16h30); Mongolian 9 March (16h30), Spanish 12 June (18h); English in August (16h30)
• Residence permit within the post-papyrus framework: Spanish 16 March (18h); French 11 May (18h)
• Functioning of the AVS: French 19 March (16h30); Spanish 20 April (18h)
• Rights and obligations in the domestic economy work sector: French 22 June (18h); Spanish 22 September (18h)
• Presentation of the different adult health access services: Spanish in July (18h)

Before attending a session, please check here to ensure the date and time have not changed.