Household staff for families in Switzerland, selected in Spain
Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne, Gstaad and Verbier
Switzerland is where we place most staff outside Spain: live-in housekeepers, domestic couples and nannies for families on Lake Geneva, in Zurich and in the mountain resorts. We explain the L and B permits, the federal minimum wage for domestic staff and what a relocation from Spain really involves.
- Placement agency licensed by the SNE, no. 1300000318
- 4.8 · 79 Google reviews
- One-off fee · 6-month guarantee
Why Swiss families hire their household staff through a Spanish agency
Swiss salaries are high and the pool of experienced live-in staff is thin: most Swiss households employ hourly help, and a family that wants someone living in the home, six days a week, discreet and used to a large house, finds very few local candidates. That is the gap we fill. Our candidates come from homes in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella where live-in service is the norm, and for a Spanish or Portuguese housekeeper a Swiss salary is a reason to move.
International families on Lake Geneva often already know Spanish staff: a nanny who followed them from Madrid, a couple who ran their villa in Sotogrande. They ask us for the same standard in Cologny or Vandœuvres, and for staff who speak Spanish to their children. Families in Zurich tend to ask for English-speaking housekeepers with formal experience; families with chalets in Gstaad or Verbier ask for a couple who can look after the property between visits.
Because Switzerland admits EU nationals almost freely and pays domestic staff a legally set minimum, it is the one country where relocating Spanish staff makes financial sense for everyone: the family gets an experienced person at a Swiss salary, the candidate earns two or three times what she would in Spain, and the contract is straightforward.
Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne, Gstaad and Verbier
Five places account for almost every request we receive from Switzerland. Each has its own type of home and its own kind of staff.
Geneva
Cologny, Vandœuvres, Collonge-Bellerive and the left bank of the lake concentrate the diplomatic and banking families who employ live-in staff. Homes are large villas with grounds, often with a separate staff flat. Geneva has its own, stricter standard contract for domestic workers, with higher minimum wages than the federal one.
Zurich
Küsnacht, Zollikon, Erlenbach and the Goldküste, the golden shore of the lake, plus the Zürichberg in the city. Families here are executives and founders who ask for an English-speaking housekeeper with hotel or formal-house experience, and increasingly for a house manager who coordinates several homes.
Lausanne
The Lavaux shore, Pully and Lutry, and the international community around the IMD and the Olympic institutions. Lausanne families ask most often for nannies who speak Spanish or English, and for housekeepers who can also cook for the family.
Gstaad
Chalets used in December and February, sometimes all winter, that need a couple or a housekeeper living on the property. The work is seasonal and intense: guests, snow, fires and a house that must be perfect when the family arrives from Geneva, London or Madrid.
Verbier
Larger chalets, often rented out or used by extended family, with a caretaker couple all year and extra staff in season. A couple who keeps the chalet, drives and cooks is the request we hear most from Verbier owners.
The profiles Swiss families ask us for
Live-in housekeepers first, then couples for lakeside villas and chalets, then nannies. House managers appear in Zurich and Geneva for families with more than one property.
Live-in housekeeper
Runs the villa, laundry and wardrobe, cooks simply; English or French helps, Spanish is often what the family wants at home.
Domestic couple
Villa on the lake or chalet in the Alps: she keeps the house, he drives, maintains and keeps the grounds; a staff flat is standard.
Live-in nanny
Spanish- or English-speaking, with first aid and experience of international schools; often the first hire of a family moving from Madrid.
House manager
For families with homes in Geneva and Gstaad or Zurich and abroad: staff, suppliers, travel and the calendar of the houses.
Permits and rules for household staff in Switzerland
Switzerland is not in the EU but applies free movement to EU/EFTA nationals through the bilateral agreement. The permit is issued by the canton once the contract is signed; the family is the employer.
EU/EFTA candidates: permit L or B
A candidate with a contract of twelve months or more, or open-ended, receives a B EU/EFTA residence permit, valid for five years and renewable. Contracts shorter than a year get an L short-term permit. The candidate registers with the commune of residence on arrival with the signed contract; the family does not need to prove that no Swiss candidate was available.
Non-EU/EFTA candidates: not admitted for household work
Switzerland only admits third-country nationals who are managers, specialists or other skilled professionals with higher education and experience, and the employer must prove that no suitable person was found in Switzerland or the EU/EFTA. A Filipino or Latin American housekeeper with Spanish residence therefore cannot normally be placed in Switzerland, however good she is. We only present her if she holds an EU passport.
Minimum wage and standard contract
The federal standard employment contract for domestic workers sets binding minimum hourly wages, from 1 January 2026: CHF 20.35 for an unqualified employee, CHF 22.30 with four years' experience or a two-year AFP, CHF 24.55 with a three-year CFC, before holiday supplements. It applies to anyone working five hours a week or more in a private household. Geneva has its own standard contract with higher minimums that takes precedence there.
Who employs, and under which law
The employer is the family, in the country where the home is. We are a placement agency: we select and present, we are neither the employer nor a temp agency, so the Posting of Workers Directive (written for companies) does not apply. The contract is governed by the law of the place where the work is habitually done, even if the parties choose another (Rome I Regulation, art. 8).
Social security: the destination country's
The general rule of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 (art. 11(3)(a)) is to contribute where you work. The exception is a temporary posting (art. 12): a family resident in Spain that takes an employee already hired here may keep her in the Spanish system for up to 24 months with the A1 certificate issued by the TGSS, if the conditions are met. Otherwise the registration is done in the destination country.
Data protection when sending profiles
Profiles travel with the candidate's informed consent. Within the EEA there is no international transfer; to Switzerland, the UK and Andorra there is, covered by a European Commission adequacy decision (GDPR arts. 44-45). Monaco has no adequacy decision: we rely on appropriate safeguards or the explicit consent of art. 49.
Checked on 12 September 2026 against sem.admin.ch (permits B and L EU/EFTA, admission of non-EU/EFTA nationals), the federal CTT économie domestique wage table published by SECO, and the European Commission adequacy list.
What you need to know before starting, not legal advice: each case is confirmed by the family with its adviser or the country's authorities. We keep these notes reviewed and tell you what we have checked and where.
Languages, currency and cost of living
French (Geneva, Lausanne, Verbier), German (Zurich, Gstaad), Italian (Ticino)
English is common in international households; Spanish is often the family's home language.
Swiss franc (CHF)
Salaries are agreed and paid in francs; we quote our fee in euros or francs.
Among the highest in Europe
Board and lodging provided by the family make a live-in salary go much further than a live-out one.
AVS/AHV, accident and health insurance
Registered by the family as employer; health insurance is compulsory for the employee within three months.
CHF 20.35 – 24.55 gross per hour minimum (federal CTT, 2026)
Legal floor for domestic staff, before holiday supplements. Experienced live-in housekeepers and couples for Swiss families are paid above it; the market range is agreed case by case and we give it to you with the quote.
Figure pending confirmation from an official sourceMinimum wages from the federal standard employment contract for the domestic economy, in force since 1 January 2026 (SECO). Geneva applies its own, higher table.
A Swiss placement, step by step
Switzerland is the smoothest destination we work with: no labour-market test for EU candidates, a published wage floor and a permit that follows the contract.
Brief with the permit in mind
We confirm the candidate's nationality and the contract length first, because that decides between an L and a B permit and rules out non-EU candidates from the start.
Selection in Spain
Interviews in Madrid or by video, references checked with previous employers, and a frank conversation about winters, the language of the canton and living in a staff flat.
Video interviews and trial
From your client portal; Geneva families often fly the finalist to Switzerland for a two-day trial, which we help organise.
Contract, registration and move
Written contract at or above the CTT minimum, registration with the commune and the AVS, and a relocation date agreed around notice periods in Spain.
One-off fee and a 6-month guarantee, outside Spain too
You pay nothing during the search. Only once you take the person on and you're happy do you pay a single fee: the equivalent of one month of the agreed salary, plus VAT where applicable depending on where the job is. No subscriptions or lock-in.
One-off fee: one month's salary (+ VAT where applicable)
A single payment, only once you take the person on. We confirm the exact amount upfront, in euros or in your country's currency.
6-month guarantee
Replacement at no cost if the person isn't the right fit, and a 50% refund of the fee if you're not satisfied during the first month.
Relocation and trial
The family covers the relocation trip; before that you can interview by video and, if you travel to Spain or the candidate to your city, run a two-day trial.
Hiring household staff in Switzerland from Spain
She needs a permit, but as an EU national she gets it on the strength of the contract: a B permit for twelve months or more, an L permit for shorter contracts. There is no quota and no labour-market test for EU/EFTA nationals.
Only if she holds an EU passport. Switzerland admits non-EU nationals solely as managers or specialists, so a Filipino candidate with Spanish residence cannot be hired for a household role there.
The federal standard contract sets CHF 20.35 per hour for an unqualified employee and CHF 22.30 with four years' experience, from January 2026, before holiday pay. Geneva has a higher cantonal table. Live-in salaries for experienced staff are agreed above these floors.
Yes. The family is the employer and registers the employee with the AVS/AHV compensation office of the canton, takes out accident insurance and checks that health insurance is in place within three months of arrival.
Yes. Couples who keep the chalet, drive and cook, living on the property all year or during the season, are the request we receive most from chalet owners. We have couples available for Switzerland in our pool.
Domestic couplesFirst profiles within days; start date typically four to eight weeks after your decision, allowing for the notice period in Spain, the permit application by the commune and the move. A free candidate can start sooner.
Pages families in Switzerland also read
Looking for live-in staff for a home in Switzerland?
Tell us the canton, the role and the date. We answer with what the permit allows, the salary floor and the first profiles.