From Italy to Switzerland: working as a nurse, doctor or MPA

Your Italian qualification and which Swiss body is responsible

To work in a regulated health profession in Switzerland, you need recognition of your foreign diploma. Which body decides and which procedure applies depends on your qualification. For Italy, the basis is the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU: through its Annex III, Switzerland applies EU Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.

What TakeCare does for you

• We take care of the entire recognition process with the SRK for nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants (FaGe) or with MEBEKO for doctors, including the costs of recognition. For nursing assistants, we submit the application for the “Gleichwertigkeit Pflegehelfende SRK” (SRK equivalence for nursing assistants) for you and cover the costs; this is not recognition but a separate procedure.
• We submit the application.
• For nurses and doctors, in our experience, the whole recognition process takes around three months. According to the SRK, the PreCheck result comes within four weeks at most once all documents are in; in our experience, a positive PreCheck often comes through within ten days of applying.
• For MPAs, we clarify with you whether you need recognition for your job. If you trained as an OSS, we clarify with you which procedure applies to you and what TakeCare takes on.
• We support you with finding a flat, with insurance and with dealing with the authorities.
• We place candidates in German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland (Romandie) and Ticino.
• As a jobseeker, all our services are free of charge for you (Art. 9 AVG, the Swiss Recruitment Act).

What we do not influence: the decision itself. That is made by the SRK, MEBEKO and SERI. The deadlines on this page are those stated by these authorities; our own experience figures are marked as such.

Nursing: recognition of the Laurea in infermieristica by the SRK

The Swiss Red Cross (SRK) is responsible for recognising foreign nursing qualifications. It is not a federal authority: the Federal Council has assigned this task to it, and the SRK acts on behalf of the Swiss Confederation under a public-law contract with SERI.

For nursing, the SRK has two procedures: the EU-harmonised procedure and the ordinary procedure. Italy is one of the countries whose qualifications are assessed in the EU-harmonised procedure if the qualification is listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC and was obtained after the reference date given there. The SRK then only checks compliance with the Directive. Your qualification is neither compared with a Swiss programme nor classified as HF or FH. According to the SRK, this explicitly also applies to bachelor's and master's degrees in general nursing from EU/EFTA states, and therefore to the Laurea in infermieristica. For Italy, the current EU version of the Directive lists both the Diploma di laurea in infermieristica with the title “Infermiere” and the older Diploma di infermiere professionale; the older version, which SERI publishes and to which the SRK refers, lists only the Diploma di infermiere professionale for Italy.

The SRK only requires a valid Swiss residence permit for its procedure from third-country nationals, not from EU/EFTA citizens like you.

1. 1PreCheck: this mandatory first step is free of charge and takes place online. Once all documents for the PreCheck have been submitted, the SRK decides within four weeks at most and sends you the result by email. In our experience, a positive PreCheck often comes through within ten days of applying.
2. 2Application: after a positive PreCheck, the SRK sends you the application documents by post and states the costs. The complete file goes by post to the SRK in Wabern, together with the signed application form. TakeCare submits the application.
3. 3Invoice: the procedure only begins once the complete file is with the SRK and the invoice has been paid. TakeCare covers the costs of recognition.
4. 4Decision: from that point, the SRK makes a first decision within four months at most. If compensation measures are needed, the procedure takes longer.
5. 5Register entry: after recognition, you are entered in the Register of Health Professions (GesReg) and automatically receive a GLN (Global Location Number). The entry is mandatory for nurses; the SRK charges a one-off fee of CHF 130 for it, and later changes are free of charge.

The SRK does not process applications submitted by someone holding a power of attorney any faster or with priority. What determines the duration is completeness: the SRK's deadlines assume complete documents, otherwise it takes longer. That is why, when putting your file together, we make sure it is complete before it is submitted.

These documents belong in the file:

• Your diploma, as a copy or an officially certified copy. The SRK does not accept an apostille as certification.
• The EU certificate of conformity from the competent authority in the country where you trained, confirming that your qualification complies with Directive 2005/36/EC. The SRK needs it as an original or a certified copy; the authority can also send it directly to the SRK by email.
• A Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS) or a Letter of Good Standing from the authority of the country in which you last worked. You do not need it yet for the PreCheck; when you submit the application, it may be no more than three months old.
• If you were never registered, for example because you did not work in the profession after qualifying, you need a Certificate of Non-Registration instead, plus an extract from the criminal record that is no more than three months old.
• Proof of language skills at level B2, if required; the rules on this are set out in the section on language.
• Certifications and translations must be in German, French, Italian or English, and translations must come from recognised translators. The SRK sends the full list together with the application form.

On fees: for nursing qualifications under Annex V, the SRK states CHF 550, plus CHF 130 for the register entry. Elsewhere on the same SRK page, it states CHF 680 for the EU-harmonised procedure; this corresponds to the sum of the two amounts, although the SRK does not explain it that way. If you withdraw the application, fees are not refunded. TakeCare covers the costs of recognition.

If a qualification does not meet the requirements of the EU-harmonised procedure, the SRK assesses it in the ordinary procedure and compares it with the Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann HF or the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (FH). This applies, for example, to specialised nursing training without general nursing, which is not covered by automatic recognition. If there are substantial differences, the SRK requires compensation measures: an adaptation period, an adaptation period with additional training, or an aptitude test with a written and an oral part. The compensation measures must be completed within two years, and their costs are invoiced directly by the providers. The SRK does not state an amount for them.

Recognition is valid for your entire working life and has the same effect for practising the profession as the corresponding Swiss qualification. You may not use the Swiss titles HF or FH; you may use the Swiss professional title, such as Pflegefachfrau or Pflegefachmann (registered nurse), or your Italian title with the country stated. The SRK recommends that employers hire recognised professionals on the same terms, including pay, as those trained in Switzerland. This is a recommendation, not a statutory pay rule.

You only need a cantonal licence to practise (Berufsausübungsbewilligung) if you work on your own professional responsibility: self-employed, in a management role or without supervision by a nurse. Under the Health Professions Act (GesBG), the licence requires a recognised qualification, trustworthiness, fitness to practise and a command of an official language of the canton. For work under the supervision of the same professional group, the GesBG does not require a licence; cantonal rules are possible.

And while the procedure is under way? According to the SRK, whether and for how long a person without recognition may work is decided by the cantonal health department or the cantonal medical officer's service. There is no nationwide rule.

OSS: there is no set route for this training

There is no published classification for training as an operatrice or operatore socio-sanitario (OSS). The SRK has not published whether it compares OSS training with Fachfrau/Fachmann Gesundheit EFZ, assigns it to the “Gleichwertigkeit Pflegehelfende SRK”, or to neither. What counts, therefore, is what your training actually covers.

Two Swiss procedures are possible:

• Fachfrau/Fachmann Gesundheit EFZ: the SRK compares foreign qualifications at this level with the Swiss EFZ (federal vocational certificate). There is no EU-harmonised procedure for this profession.
• Gleichwertigkeit Pflegehelfende SRK: this procedure is open, among others, to people with basic foreign training in nursing with at least 120 hours of theory and practical experience. The SRK decides within two months of receiving the complete online application. It costs CHF 250, or CHF 500 with a work placement; if the decision is negative, there is no invoice.

For the Gleichwertigkeit Pflegehelfende SRK, the SRK requires a B1 certificate in German, French or Italian, unless the training was completed in one of these languages. If you completed your OSS training in Italian, you therefore do not need the certificate. The SRK does not accept online tests.

Whether you need an equivalence at all to work as a nursing assistant depends on the canton. We go through your OSS documents with you and clarify which route is an option for you and what TakeCare takes on. If it is the Gleichwertigkeit Pflegehelfende SRK, TakeCare submits the application for you and covers the costs.

Doctors: recognition by MEBEKO

Doctors fall under the Federal Commission for the Medical Professions (MEBEKO). It decides on foreign diplomas and postgraduate titles where an international treaty governs mutual recognition, which for Italy is the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. In human medicine, recognition of the diploma is a simplified procedure: if your training meets the EU minimum requirements, it is recognised automatically, and no additional conditions may be imposed because of a different length or scope of training. A recognised diploma has the same effect in Switzerland as a Swiss federal diploma.

Direct recognition requires three conditions to be met together: you or your spouse hold the citizenship of Switzerland or an EU/EFTA state; the designation of the diploma corresponds to Directive 2005/36/EC; and it was issued by the authority named there.

For Italy, MEBEKO's application form distinguishes two cases: from 3 April 2020, it requires the Attestato di conformità from the Ministero della Salute in Rome, confirming the Diploma di Laurea magistrale in medicina e chirurgia abilitante all'esercizio. Before 2 April 2020, either the Attestato di conformità or the Pergamena of the Laurea in medicina e chirurgia together with the Pergamena di abilitazione all'esercizio della medicina e chirurgia is sufficient; the Pergamena di abilitazione must not have been issued by the university.

The file also includes:

• the dated and signed application form
• a certified copy of your passport or identity card; a Swiss foreign national identity card (Ausländerausweis) is not accepted as identification. If recognition is based on marriage, also your spouse's identity document and the marriage certificate
• a current, signed CV
• a certified copy of the diploma in the original language; MEBEKO only requires a translation if a document is not written in German, French, Italian or English, so Italian documents do not need one
• if you only have a provisional confirmation of your diploma, additionally a certified attestation that it complies with Directive 2005/36/EC

Certifications may be made by, among others, notaries, diplomatic missions, municipal, city and district administrations, courts, and the issuing body for its own documents. Certifications by translators, parish offices, health insurers, the post office, banks or hospitals are not accepted, nor are self-certifications. Do not send originals, because MEBEKO does not return any documents. Applications are only accepted on paper by post, not by email and not in person at the counter.

The fees are set as a range in the Medical Professions Ordinance: CHF 800 to 1,000 for recognition of the diploma, CHF 800 to 1,000 for a postgraduate title and CHF 50 to 100 per language entry. Within the range, the amount depends on the work involved. The invoice only comes once the application is complete and the documents have been checked; payment is made in a single transfer. TakeCare covers the costs of recognition.

MEBEKO itself gives differing information on processing times. The status notice on its website (as of 10 July 2026) currently states around three months; its FAQ currently state up to six months for the diploma and up to five months for the postgraduate title, counted from the acknowledgement of receipt. These figures are not binding. Applications are processed in the order in which they are received and cannot be expedited. In our experience, the whole recognition process takes around three months.

MEBEKO only sends the decision on paper, by registered post. At the same time, you are entered in the Register of Medical Professions (MedReg) and receive a GLN that is valid permanently. Without a MedReg entry, you may not work as a doctor in Switzerland.

The specialist title is assessed by MEBEKO's Postgraduate Training section in a separate application with its own decision. You can send the documents together with the diploma application, and you can apply for the title before the diploma is recognised, provided the diploma application is enclosed. Only the human medicine titles listed in MEBEKO's additional form 1.1 are recognised; the list is exhaustive, and each title incurs its own fee. A recognised title has the same effect as the Swiss federal title, but it does not guarantee the same billing options under Swiss compulsory health insurance as in Italy.

With a MedReg entry, you may work as a doctor in Switzerland under federal law. If you work on your own professional responsibility, you also need a suitable specialist title and a licence to practise from the canton; since 1 February 2020, this also applies to doctors employed in a practice who work on their own professional responsibility. Many cantons have additional licensing requirements. If you work under supervision, for example as a resident doctor (Assistenzärztin or Assistenzarzt), your employer checks your MedReg entry and language skills. Under federal law, postgraduate training leading to a specialist title takes two to six years, longer if part-time. Stricter licensing rules apply in Ticino; they are set out in the section on Ticino.

If you want to bill compulsory health insurance (obligatorische Krankenpflegeversicherung, OKP) yourself, stricter language rules apply: you must prove your knowledge of your region's language with a language examination taken in Switzerland. Exempt, among others, are those who obtained a recognised foreign diploma in the official language of the region. If you obtained your Laurea in Italian, this applies to work in Italian-speaking Switzerland, not to German-speaking Switzerland or the Romandie. The canton of Zurich requires German at level C1 for OKP admission, the canton of Vaud French at C1. If you are employed by a hospital, including in outpatient care, you do not need your own OKP admission, because the hospital bills. OKP admission also requires three years of postgraduate training in Switzerland; where there is under-provision, cantons can exempt doctors with certain titles from this: general internal medicine or practising doctor (Praktische Ärztin/Praktischer Arzt), in each case as the only title, paediatrics (Kinder- und Jugendmedizin) and child and adolescent psychiatry. This provision applies until 31 December 2027.

For context: according to MEBEKO's 2024 annual report, around 87 percent of the postgraduate titles it recognised in 2024 came from Germany, Austria, France and Italy.

MPA: assistant in a doctor's practice

The Swiss medical practice assistant (Medizinische Praxisassistentin or Medizinischer Praxisassistent, MPA) is called “assistente di studio medico” in Italian. In its Italian version, SERI's recognition portal also lists “segretaria di studio medico” as a search term under this profession. The body responsible for recognition is the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), not the SRK and not MEBEKO.

Whether you need recognition comes down to a single question: will you be taking X-rays?

• Without X-rays, the work is not regulated, according to SERI's recognition portal. You do not need recognition and can apply directly. Voluntary recognition is nevertheless possible.
• With X-rays, you need recognition of your training by SERI. According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), you can obtain the authorisation for low-dose X-rays as part of this procedure, meaning chest and extremities, as held by an MPA EFZ. X-rays are taken under the responsibility of a doctor with expertise in radiation protection; fluoroscopy, CT and mammography are excluded.

Important for qualifications from Italy: SERI only assesses completed training that led to a vocational qualification, and only recognises qualifications that are state-recognised or accredited by an official body, not certificates from private schools. SERI has not published a comparison of an Italian training programme with the MPA EFZ.

SERI charges CHF 550 for recognition and CHF 350 for a confirmation of level (Niveaubestätigung) for non-regulated professions; it does not state clearly which amount applies to voluntary recognition without X-rays. SERI's recognition portal states a processing time of up to four months from receipt of the complete file; according to SERI, confirmations of level for non-regulated professions can take up to ten months. SERI currently reports considerable delays owing to a high number of applications, and there is no fast-track procedure. Applications are submitted online; documents in Italian do not need a translation.

If you have professional experience, you can also obtain the Swiss MPA EFZ qualification through a cantonal qualification procedure that takes your experience and prior learning into account. SERI's directory of professions lists a “validation of prior learning” (Validierung von Bildungsleistungen) for this.

We clarify with you whether you need recognition for the job you are interested in.

Permits: L, B, G and C for Italian nationals

As an Italian national, you are covered by the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. You only need a residence permit, which also serves as your work permit. If the requirements are met, you have a legal right to it. To enter the country, a passport or a valid identity card is enough. Permits are issued by the cantons.

If you move to Switzerland, you register with your municipality of residence (Gemeinde, the local authority) within 14 days of arrival and before starting work, and apply for the permit; in Ticino, you apply to the cantonal migration office. For this, you need your passport or identity card and your employer's written confirmation of employment, stating the duration and your workload as a percentage of full-time. You may start work as soon as the cantonal authority has received your application; you do not have to wait for the permit card. You do not need to obtain the permit in advance from Italy.

Who applies for the permit is not regulated entirely consistently. For employed work, the Foreign Nationals Act names the employer. The directives of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), on the other hand, state that as a rule the person registers themselves and takes the necessary steps, and this is also how the SEM, the canton of Zurich and the canton of Ticino describe it.

You may also come to Switzerland to look for work without a job offer. For up to three months you do not need a permit; after that, you receive an L permit for three months, provided you can support yourself financially. The SEM allows for six months of job-seeking in total. There is no social assistance during this period.

Italian nationals receive the C settlement permit after five years of lawful and uninterrupted residence, on the basis of settlement agreements or reciprocity. One of the requirements is integration, in particular oral skills at level A2 and written skills at A1 in the national language of your place of residence; in Ticino, that is Italian. Periods of residence with an L permit do not count as a rule; if you later receive a B permit, the SEM may take earlier periods of residence as an employee into account.

• Your permit replaces neither recognition nor a licence to practise. Health regulations apply to you just as they do to Swiss nationals.
• L, B and C permits are valid throughout Switzerland. If you move, you register at your new place of residence within 14 days and deregister at your old one.
• A B permit lapses after six months abroad.
• If you give up a job voluntarily, the permit lapses immediately under the SEM's directives. The directives also count the end of a fixed-term contract without a follow-on contract as voluntary. If the job ends involuntarily within the first twelve months, you have six months to look for work, registered with the Regional Employment Centre (RAV).

Ticino and cross-border commuters from Italy

In Ticino, Italian is the official language, and TakeCare places candidates there as well as in German-speaking Switzerland and the Romandie. You can move to Switzerland, or keep living in Italy and commute as a cross-border commuter.

With the G cross-border commuter permit, you live in Italy and work in Switzerland. Border zones no longer apply to EU/EFTA nationals: you may live anywhere in the EU/EFTA and work anywhere in Switzerland. The condition is that you return to your place of residence abroad at least once a week. The permit is issued by the canton where you work, and your employer is named on the permit card.

• In Ticino, the application for a G permit must reach the cantonal migration office before you start work; a late application can result in a fine. The same applies to the B permit, which in Ticino you apply for yourself at the migration office.
• In its fee schedule, the canton of Ticino states CHF 75 for issuing a G or B permit to adults from the EU/EFTA, and CHF 40 for minors.
• If you do not return home every day, you register with the municipality where you stay overnight. You do not need an additional permit for this.
• You report a change of job to the authority at your place of work before starting the new job.
• As a cross-border commuter, you need recognition by the SRK or MEBEKO just the same. MEBEKO recognition applies to cross-border commuters as it does to people living in Switzerland, without any limit in time or place.

As a cross-border commuter, you must have health insurance from your first working day, and you have three months to join a Swiss health insurer. If you live in Italy, you have a right of choice and can be insured in Italy instead. To do so, you apply for an exemption to the authority of the canton where you work within three months of starting work. Exercising the choice tacitly is not legally valid.

The salaries of cross-border commuters from Italy are subject to withholding tax (Quellensteuer) in all cantons; your employer deducts it directly from your salary. For new cross-border commuters, meaning those with cross-border commuter status since 18 July 2023, Graubünden, Ticino and Valais levy 80 percent of the ordinary withholding tax. Each canton sets its own rates. Whether and how Italy taxes your income is governed by Italian law and is not covered here.

You are covered by social security where you work: if you work in Switzerland, you are in principle insured under the Swiss system, even if you live abroad. Under EU coordination of social security, you are insured in only one country.

For doctors, Ticino is stricter than, for example, Bern, Zurich for hospitals, or Geneva: every medical activity requires a licence, whether on your own responsibility, as an employee or in postgraduate training. On their first employment, resident doctors receive a licence as “medico assistente” for three and a half years with the same employer. Independent practice, the “libero esercizio”, requires a specialist title. The canton does not require proof of language skills with the application, because your language skills must first be entered in the MedReg.

Language: Italian in Ticino, German or French elsewhere

Italian is an official language of the Swiss Confederation, alongside German and French. Which language you have to prove depends on where you work: for licences, the law requires an official language of the canton.

Nursing: for recognition, the SRK requires knowledge of a national language at level B2 and, for Italian, names CELI 3 (B2) as the certificate. Its information sheet on the EU-harmonised procedure requires the proof if the training was not completed in an official language of Switzerland or no B2 diploma is available. The SRK does not state an explicit exemption for training completed in Italian; we clarify this with you when preparing your file.

The cantons check language skills when granting the licence to practise. Nurses only need this licence for work on their own professional responsibility; according to the SRK, this includes any work without supervision by a professional of the same profession, including as an employee. Doctors need it under federal law for work on their own professional responsibility; in Ticino, every medical activity requires a licence.

Doctors: the required language skills correspond to level B2, according to the Federal Office of Public Health. What counts as proof is a medical degree or postgraduate training actually completed in the language concerned, not the language of the certificate; if you studied in Italian, your Laurea is therefore sufficient for Italian. For German or French, what counts is a language diploma at level B2 or higher, no more than six years old, signed and dated, stating the place of examination and the partial results for writing, reading, speaking and listening, or three years of professional experience as a doctor in that language within the last ten years. You declare your main language, meaning the language you command best, in a dated and signed declaration that you write yourself. MEBEKO charges CHF 50 to 100 per language entry in the MedReg. Employers and cantons may require a higher level or a more recent certificate.

For work under supervision, federal law provides an exception: you may temporarily work without proof of language skills if this is necessary for patient care, no doctor with these language skills could be found and patient safety is ensured. You then provide the proof within one year.

MPA: federal law does not set a fixed language level for MPAs; what is required is the knowledge necessary to practise the profession in Switzerland. SERI only requires a language certificate in some cases and, for Italian, accepts CELI 3 and higher, TELC italiano B2 and PLIDA, among others. In the canton of Zurich, MPAs may be employed in a doctor's practice without a cantonal licence, and the canton's information sheet does not state a language level for them.

Not every certificate is accepted everywhere. For Italian, the SRK only names CELI 3, SERI also accepts TELC italiano B2 and PLIDA, and Ticino recognises any certificate at level B2 or higher under the European Language Portfolio. For French, the SRK accepts the TCF, but the canton of Vaud does not.

In everyday life in German-speaking Switzerland, 85.3 percent of the population aged 15 and over regularly speak Swiss German (Federal Statistical Office, FSO, 2024), and at work the figure is 83 percent of people in employment (FSO, 2020). Written communication is in Standard German, because Swiss German is not a written language. Legally, what matters is the official language, which under the Federal Constitution is German, French or Italian, not a dialect; all recognised certificates test the standard language. In Italian-speaking Switzerland, 29 percent regularly speak a Ticino or Graubünden Italian dialect (FSO, 2024).

Arriving: municipality, insurance, housing

If you move to Switzerland, these steps come up in the first few weeks. TakeCare supports you with finding a flat, with insurance and with dealing with the authorities.

1. 1Municipality: register within 14 days of arrival and before starting work, with your passport or identity card and your confirmation of employment. The city of Zurich, for example, requires an appointment in person and only registers you once you have actually moved in.
2. 2Health insurance: take out basic insurance within three months of taking up residence, for each family member individually. If you are on time, cover applies retroactively from the date you took up residence, and premiums are also owed retroactively. If you join later, cover only begins when you join; if the delay is not excusable, a premium surcharge of 30 to 50 percent is added, for twice the length of the delay and for no more than five years. If you do not take out insurance in time, the cantonal authority assigns you to an insurer, and you cannot then choose it yourself.
3. 3Choosing basic insurance: in basic insurance, every insurer must accept you without reservations or waiting periods. You are free to choose among the approved insurers; for current premiums by insurer and region, the Federal Office of Public Health refers you to its comparison site Priminfo. The deductible (franchise) for adults is between CHF 300 and 2,500; after that, you pay a 10 percent co-payment, up to a maximum of CHF 700 a year. For supplementary insurance, the insurer may ask health questions and impose reservations.
4. 4Accident insurance: your employer insures you against occupational accidents. If you work at least eight hours a week for one employer, you are also insured against non-occupational accidents, financed through a salary deduction. With proof, you can have the accident cover in your health insurance suspended, which lowers the premium; this does not happen automatically.
5. 5Salary deductions: AHV, IV and EO (old-age and survivors' insurance, disability insurance and income compensation) together amount to 10.6 percent of your salary, of which you pay 5.3 percent. For unemployment insurance, 2.2 percent is deducted up to an annual salary of CHF 148,200, split equally between you and your employer. Your AHV number begins with 756 and appears on your health insurance card.
6. 6Withholding tax: without the C settlement permit, your employer deducts tax directly from your salary. If your gross earned income is at least CHF 120,000 a year, a subsequent ordinary assessment is mandatory. You can apply for one voluntarily by 31 March of the following year, for example to deduct contributions to pillar 3a (private pension savings); this deadline cannot be extended.
7. 7Flat: landlords often ask for an extract from the debt collection register (Betreibungsregisterauszug). It costs CHF 17, CHF 18 with delivery, or CHF 22 by registered post. No fees may be charged for finding a flat, not even for a reservation. The rental deposit is at most three months' rent and is held in an account in your name.
8. 8Bank account: each bank decides for itself which permits it accepts. At PostFinance, if you live in Switzerland, you can apply for an account in person with your passport or identity card and your foreign national identity card (Ausländerausweis).
9. 9Driving licence: you can drive with your Italian licence for twelve months; after that, you exchange it for a Swiss licence. Because it was issued in an EU state, you do not need to take a test, only to present the original and take an eye test. The cost is set by the canton and is over CHF 100.
10. 10Household effects: when you move your residence to Switzerland, you can import household effects that you have used yourself for at least six months duty-free, within two years.

If your family stays in Italy: family members of people with an L, B or C permit who are not in employment and live in Italy can choose whether to be insured in Italy or in Switzerland. The cantonal authority grants exemption from compulsory Swiss insurance on application.