5. Ending your stay
At the end of your Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship, you must complete the following tasks, depending on whether you are staying in Switzerland or leaving the country.
If you intend to stay in Switzerland longer than the duration of your scholarship, inform the Reception Service about your future objectives in Switzerland and how you intend to finance your stay.
Note: In case you plan to stay for a longer period in Switzerland, it is essential to review your retirement arrangements to avoid any gaps in your pension contributions. See the following websites for more information.
It is your responsibility to have a valid residence permit at all times during your stay in Switzerland.
If you leave Switzerland
Deregister with the authorities around 30 days before departure.
- City of Zurich: Residents’ registration office ("Personalmeldeamt")
- Other municipalities: Local administration ("Gemeindeverwaltung") where you registered initially
"Verfallsanzeige" (notice of expiry)
About 30 days before your residence permit expires, you might receive a letter including the so-?called "Verfallsanzeige" (notice of expiry) from the residents' registration office at your place of residence. Make sure to respond quickly, otherwise you risk a fine.
- If you leave Switzerland: Inform the authorities about your imminent departure and plan your deregistration.
- ?If you stay in Switzerland and are still employed by ETH Zurich or one of the research institutes: Contact the relevant Human Resources department and send them the form, so they can confirm your employment status.
- ?For all other situations: Contact the residents' registration office that sent you the form directly to inquire about the correct procedure.
If you plan to stay in Switzerland
- Inform yourself well in advance whether you can renew your residence permit and what is needed for this.
- Questions regarding the exact procedure and the necessary documents must be addressed either to the responsible residents’ registration office ("Personalmeldeamt") and / or the cantonal Migration Office (Migrationsamt).
If you found accommodation through the Housing Office of the University and ETH Zurich
Your contract is usually for a fixed term and ends on the indicated contract date.
If you found accommodation on your own
- You must end your rental agreement according to the terms of the contract when you leave Switzerland.
- You will need to find a new accommodation or extend your rental agreement if you are staying in Switzerland.
Remember to update your address and personal data in myStudies or directly here, whenever there is a change. Otherwise, your mail cannot be forwarded to you.
Also, remember to inform the responsible residents' registration office within 14 days, as well as any other office you maintain business with of any address change.
If you require an official confirmation of the courses you have attended and any exams you may have taken, contact the Study Administration Office at your department.
If you have completed your research at a research institute within the ETH Domain, you should also contact the respective research institute regarding IT matters upon departure.
You will be automatically deregistered at the end of the final semester (respectively by the exact end date of your scholarship).
- Late spring you will receive an email, with the request to fill out a final report for FCS four weeks before your scholarship ends. The link and password to upload the report is included in the email (The subject of the email is "End of your stay at ETH Zurich".)
- Your report will be treated confidentially.
- After having submitted your final report, FCS will send you a certificate to confirm your scholarship.
In general
For your return journey and flight booking, carefully follow the information in the email with the subject line “End of your stay at ETH Zurich” and observe the necessary deadlines.
Earlier departure
- If you depart before the scholarship's end date, your scholarship might be reduced. Example: If you depart by the 15th, you will receive half of the scholarship for that month.
- Taking holidays at the end of the scholarship period is not permitted and will lead to a reduction of your last stipend payment.
Entry regulations of transit countries
- When stopping in a Schengen country on your way home, make sure that your residence permit is still valid on your travel date.
- If you need to transit through a non-Schengen country, contact its embassy to inquire if a transit visa is required. Should this be the case, undertake all the necessary procedures to obtain the visa before your departure (fees at your expense).