Before I move to Zurich I'd like to sort out a place to live first so I can move straight in.

Do you need a permit to sign a rental agreement for an apartment? I'm an EU citizen so can't be denied a permit, but whether that would make any difference to a landlord...

It might well do. They generally ask on the application form what permit you have and if you write "None", they may well say "Next"...and there will be a next applicant because there almost always is one or more, especially in Zurich.

Hi,

I had an awful time finding an apartment when I moved here because I didn't have a permit. However, you can't apply for your permit without an address... kind of a catch 22 (particularly as you have to notify - and pay - when you change address on your permit).

What I did was attach a 'Promise of Employment' from my soon-to-be employer, and then my parents (who were already here on a B permit) stood as my guarantors.

Having said that, I stayed with them for 6 weeks, checking websites and making phone calls every day and visiting apartments several times a week... and I found nothing. In the end I had to go back to the UK to pack... without an apartment.

Then my parents happened to find an apartment that had just come on the market (they were the first to view it), had been done up so was rather expensive but was in a building that needed (and was going to be having) extensive work, and my mum told a real sob story to the agent about her daughter needing a place... and the agent rang the landlord and recommended me, and I got the apartment, on the condition that I understood there was going to be building work and I wouldn't make a fuss. But I was very lucky. And the building work was a NIGHTMARE.

I think what a lot of people do is live in temporary accommodation first. Or possibly their employer helps - something mine wasn't in a position to do.

It is extremly hard to find a suitable apartment in Geneva, but as soon as you find it there is no problem renting. The only thing they asked me for is a letter from the employer stating my sallary....apart from that i just filled in some forms and gave them a copy of my passport....