Horizon – September 2021

Cantonal and municipal benefits

Geneva is both a city and a canton. The City of Geneva occupies most of the territory but there are other municipalities too (Meyrin, Vernier, Onex, Carouge, etc.). Certain aids and benefits are cantonal, whereas others depend on where you live. You can access cantonal aids and benefits regardless of where you live in Geneva (parascolaire, dental clinics, etc.).

But some benefits are municipal and can vary depending on where you live. For example, the price of school meals is different in every municipality: in some places, families do not have to pay for school meals, in others school meals are only partly subsidized, and in some municipalities, families pay full price for school meals. These rules are decided by each municipality and CCSI must comply with them. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask when you come for your next appointment.

Back-to-school allowance

The « Back-to-school allowance » (allocation de rentrée scolaire) is an aid from the City of Geneva to help families buy what their children need for school (school supplies, clothes, school bag, etc.). For the first time in 2021, thanks to years of work by CCSI, all children who live in the City of Geneva, with or without a permit, who go to school in the City of Geneva (primary school or high school), and whose parents meet the income-related criteria can access this aid.

It is delivered via a credit card worth CHF 130.- (primary-school children) or CHF 180.- (children attending cycle d’orientation), allowing you to buy school-related items in certain stores.

If you have a file at CCSI, you can ask for an appointment with us so that we can help you request the 2021 “Back-to-school allowance”. On the day of your appointment, please bring a copy of the 2021 health insurance subsidy, and your valid passports.

Other municipalities also have a back-to-school allowance, please ask for more information depending on your residence when you come for your next appointment. 

Primary school: registration

Any child living in Geneva, regardless of his/her legal status, has the right and the obligation to go to school. This year, all children born before 01.08.2017 must attend school.

To be accepted at school, your child must have health insurance. CCSI is in charge of affiliation for children without a residence permit. Make an appointment, and come with the official identification for the child and his/her legal guardian, as well as your address. Your child will be able to start school as soon as you have come to CCSI.

Information by SMS

If you have a file at CCSI, you will receive text messages from us on your phone. These messages will remind you when your next appointment is coming up, announce the date and topic of our next information session, or inform you on the latest changes or new resources for you.

Please note that receiving a text message does not necessarily imply that you are directly affected or that the content applies to your particular situation. It is important to click on the link in order to get the full information. You can also share the message with other persons who could be interested in the information.

If you do not wish to receive any messages from us, you can send a message saying Stop SMS to accueil@ccsi.ch. Please indicate your family name and phone number so we can take you off the list. 

Health insurance: caution!

If a person calls you on the telephone or comes to your door saying you must change insurance or take on a new contract, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING! Contact CCSI for all matters regarding your health insurance.

Health insurance subsidy

You must request the subsidy (financial aid from the State for health insurance) for your child’s health insurance each year by 30 November. If you haven’t done so yet, please make an appointment with CCS as soon as possible. Please note that you will need to bring documents, reception at CCSI can tell you what to bring to the appointment. If you have a permit or are taxed at source (directly deducted from your salary), please tell reception.

As soon as you receive the subsidy, please bring a copy of the certificate to our reception. The subsidy is a right based on your income. Requesting it will not affect other proceedings, such as the request for a residency permit.

The subsidy covers your child’s premium up to 102.- maximum. Every month, you will have to pay whatever exceeds 102.-. If you have supple-mental health insurance, you will have to pay for it entirely; it is never covered by the subsidy.

It often takes time for the insurance company to register your subsidy. In the meantime, it is best to pay the first bills yourself (they will be reimbursed later), or to contact CCSI so that we can try to block the bills.

Parascolaire and school meals for children

Depending on your income, after-school care (parascolaire) could be free for your children regardless of where you live in Geneva. Please note that the exoneration must be requested each year before the month of November. Please fill in and sign the green form, and leave it at reception.

Depending on where you live and on your income, there are also aids for school meals. Ask CCSI if such aids are available for you.

Information sessions

CCSI organizes collective information sessions. These sessions are free, and are held in various languages, on subjects that are of interest to you. The next sessions will be on what to do once you have obtained a permit (13 October), the compulsory education system (in Spanish, 20 October), and the rights of tenants and sub-tenants (in English, November, date to be determined).

In November, we will organize a workshop to understand how to deal with all the health insurance documents and bills. You can find the dates and languages of our information sessions and workshops on our website (www.ccsi.ch) or on the display screens in the waiting area.

How to change health insurance providers

Every year it is possible to change health insurance providers, for example in order to lower the cost of your monthly premiums. To change health insurance providers, you must send a registered letter (« recommandée ») to the insurance company you want to leave before 20 November 2021.

For your request to be accepted, it is necessary to pay all the bills from your former insurance (including the one for the December premium!). If you do not pay all the pending bills, the change will not be registered and you will not be able to leave that provider.

Daycare

It is very difficult to find a place in daycare for pre-school children in Geneva. CCSI can help you increase your chances, but cannot guarantee a place. If you live or work in Geneva city, go to the Bureau d’Information de la Petite Enfance (BIPE, rue du Cendrier 8). If you live in another area in the canton of Geneva, you must go to the Secteur de la Petite Enfance of your commune – if there is one. If not, pre-register your child in the daycare center(s) closest to your home or workplace. To do so, you must present your child’s insurance certificate.

CCSI can write a letter of recommendation to support your request. For this, you will need to make an appointment with the Childhood, education and health consultation at CCSI. Please note that there is no guarantee that your child will have a place in daycare. The cost of monthly payments depends on your income. There are currently no financial aids for those costs.

COVID-19 vaccines

Vaccination is the best way to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. All the vaccines approved in Switzerland are safe, efficient and free. If you have health insurance, you can request an appointment online at the official Geneva vaccination website, or go to one of the walk-in vaccination centers.

If you do not have health insurance, you can go to the Geneva Red Cross (Croix-Rouge, 9 Route des Acacias) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to noon and from 2 to 5 pm, as well as on Saturdays from 9 am to noon (caution, schedule might change). In all cases, your personal data is confidential and will never be transmitted to the authorities.