Welcome to Switzerland
Make your move to Switzerland easy thanks to our dedicated language and cultural programme.
Settle in Switzerland quickly
Our "Welcome to Switzerland" programme has been designed for foreign nationals arriving in Switzerland. You will learn one of the official Swiss languages thanks to our dedicated classes, focused on daily life. You will also get a good understanding of the Swiss culture thanks to our intercultural lessons. Thanks to this double approach, you will be able to adapt easily to Swiss life.
Good to know: "Welcome to Switzerland” meets the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration requirements.
Adapted to you
In order to facilitate your installation, we adapt our programme to:
- Your schedule to plan your classes when you’re available, at home, at our language centre in Nyon or online.
- Your current linguistic level, thanks to a pre-course linguistic audit.
- Your learning preferences, thanks to the unique MyLEA analysis.
Our engaging approach
Learn one of the official Swiss languages easily
Our Welcome to Switzerland program is available in French, allowing you to learn one of the four official languages of Switzerland.
You will be able to express yourself easily in your day-to-day life. We incorporate role play and practical sessions at the shop, the pharmacy or the post office to help you understand your new life much better.
Familiarise yourself with Swiss culture
Our programme includes intercultural classes to help you understand practical aspects of Swiss life. The country’s organisation, its school, health and monetary systems, its gastronomy and eating habits, its housing, its transports will not have any secrets for you. You will know the Swiss do’s and don’ts to integrate well in your new town and country.
Enjoy an immersive linguistic experience with our digital learning platform
Alongside your language and culture classes, you will enjoy unlimited access to our Digital Learning platform. Discover an immersive learning experience thanks to:
- Interactive French or German video classes and engaging podcasts, customised to your personal interests. For example, if you love baking, you will be able to access hundreds of French video classes and podcasts about baking.
- Hot-of-the-presses news videos. You will be able to learn the most up-to-date vocabulary thanks to the news content added weekly to your platform.
- Personalised vocabulary and grammar content library. You will build your understanding of French or German thanks to our wealth of resources.
- Our Swiss culture resources to help you prepare for your test whenever and wherever you want
Good to know: By watching videos, listening to podcasts, and accessing your personalised content library, you will reach different milestones on the platform, clearly indicating how quickly you are learning and improving!
Prepare for and take your fide test
"Welcome to Switzerland" meets the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration requirements. You will learn practical language skills in one of the official languages in Switzerland (French), and familiarise yourself with the Swiss culture to settle in quickly and take your fide test. Our programme includes our classes, a mock fide test and taking the fide test at our fide exam centre.
What does fide mean?
fide, which means “French, Italian and Deutsch” (German), is the official program promoting language integration in Switzerland. It focuses on Swiss culture and everyday life. It is a federal undertaking, which helps people who don’t speak French, Italian or German : Develop the necessary language skills. Ensure sufficient proficiency in one of these languages. Settle in their new country quicker.
Each expat/newcomer can take the fide test, which assesses their languages skills, to obtain their B/C permit or start their naturalisation process. A network of professional experts, instructors, schools, training centres, local authorities and specialised companies help deliver the fide program across Switzerland. Following the fide council’s directives, they train non-EU-EFTA nationals and assess their skills to ensure they can integrate well in the Swiss Confederation.
Does your partner want to take part in our “Welcome to Switzerland” programme?
Your expatriation success relies as much on your integration as well as your partner’s. It is therefore essential to help them settle in their new life in Switzerland. They can easily follow their own, bespoke programme, adapted to:
- Their schedule, by choosing between private and group classes, or distance learning.
- Their linguistic level.
- Their learning preferences.
Why choose Formations&Co?
A bespoke programme:
We tailor our Welcome to Switzerland programme to suit your availability, language level and learning preferences.
Flexibility:
We schedule our private classes when convenient for you.
Our professional language instructors:
Our language instructors all hold a diploma, are under EduQua certification.
Proven client satisfaction:
We are proud of our 98.7% satisfaction rate (average from our customer satisfaction surveys between 2019 and 2021).
Our B2C services
Group courses
Do you want to meet fellow foreign nationals or expats? We offer weekly group classes at our language centre in Nyon.
Our Swiss integration services
Do you need to get or renew your permit? Do you want to start your naturalisation process? Discover our services to help you prepare.