Is this website a page of the City of Kreuzlingen?

No. Migrationsinformation Kreuzlingen is a private, non-official information service. The city's official point of contact is the Kompetenzzentrum Integration (KOI) at kreuzlingen.ch.

Who is responsible for integration matters in Kreuzlingen?

The Kompetenzzentrum Integration (KOI) of the City of Kreuzlingen is the point of contact for people with a migration background. At cantonal level, the Fachstelle Integration of the Thurgau Migration Office is responsible.

A private information service – not an official body. This website is not operated by the City of Kreuzlingen, the Canton of Thurgau or any authority, and it does not give legal advice.

The official contact point for people with a migration background is the Kompetenzzentrum Integration (KOI) of the City of Kreuzlingen.

Migration and integration in Kreuzlingen

Q: Can people without a Swiss passport have a say in Kreuzlingen?

Yes, through the Migrations- und Integrationsrat (MIR), a commission of at most nine members that advises the city executive and the administration on the concerns of residents with a migration background.

An independent guide for everyone who is new to Kreuzlingen, or who supports people who are: where the responsible offices are, what they do – and where to find reliable information instead of rumours.

Contact and official points of assistance

For binding information on residence, permits, social benefits, school or protection status S, always contact the responsible office directly. This site is not a substitute for advice.

City of Kreuzlingen

Kompetenzzentrum Integration (KOI)

The city's contact point for people with a migration background. The KOI implements cantonal and municipal integration policy; the Fachstelle Integration und Familie is attached to it. For people with protection status S there is the «Beratungsinsel S» service.

Kompetenzzentrum Integration (KOI) Marktstrasse 4, 8280 Kreuzlingen
Postal address: Postfach, 8280 Kreuzlingen 1
Phone +41 71 677 62 34

kreuzlingen.ch → Integration

City of Kreuzlingen

Migrations- und Integrationsrat (MIR)

A commission of at most nine members that advises the city executive and the administration on the concerns of residents with a migration background, implements the goals of the city's integration policy and runs integration projects.

kreuzlingen.ch → Migrations- und Integrationsrat

Canton of Thurgau

Fachstelle Integration, Migration Office TG

Migration Office of the Canton of Thurgau

The cantonal office for integration matters and the body responsible for the cantonal integration programme. Among other things it handles the cantonal framework, programmes and cooperation with the municipalities. Multiplex 1, Langfeldstrasse 53a, 8510 Frauenfeld
Phone +41 58 345 67 67

migrationsamt.tg.ch → Integration

Civil society

Agathu – Arbeitsgruppe für Asylsuchende Thurgau

An independent organisation in the Canton of Thurgau that supports asylum seekers and people in the asylum procedure and provides information on advisory services in the canton.

agathu.ch

Addresses and phone numbers according to kreuzlingen.ch and the list of authorities published by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Opening hours change – please check them on the office's website before visiting.

Arriving and everyday life in Switzerland

Anyone moving to Kreuzlingen faces much the same topics in the first few weeks: registering with the residents' registration office, residence permit, health insurance, housing, work, a German course and – particularly in a border town – the question of what applies on which side of the border.

Registration and identity documents: The residents' registration office of the City of Kreuzlingen is responsible; for matters of immigration law it is the Migration Office of the Canton of Thurgau. A collected overview of Kreuzlingen's public offices with addresses can be found in the municipal profile of Kreuzlingen.
Moving house and change of address: A change of residence must be reported within a few days. Many municipalities accept the notification digitally via eUmzug; the residents' registration office will tell you which documents are needed. A checklist for moving within the canton is also available on the Thurgau cantonal page.
Residence, asylum, protection status S: Binding information from the federal government is available from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
General questions about the authorities: The official portal ch.ch explains the responsibilities of the federal government, the canton and the municipality in plain language and in several languages.
Learning German: The city's Kompetenzzentrum Integration and the cantonal Fachstelle Integration provide information on current courses, conversation groups and financial contributions. More on this in the section School, language and further education.
The Constance border region: Kreuzlingen and Constance have grown together as one built-up area, but legally they are two countries. Different rules apply to work, insurance and taxes depending on where you live and where you work; clarify this early with the responsible office.

Apart from the addresses and main phone numbers of the responsible offices, this site deliberately gives no opening hours, direct extensions or course prices: such details go out of date quickly. The linked offices keep the current data.

School, language and further education

In Switzerland children attend the public compulsory school of their place of residence – regardless of their parents' residence status. In Kreuzlingen, placement is handled by the city's school administration; questions about assessment, German as a second language and transitions are answered there.

School

Compulsory school: Registration and class allocation through the Kreuzlingen school administration; the cantonal framework is set by the Office for Compulsory Education of the Canton of Thurgau.
Changing school when you move: If you move within the canton, inform the new school district as early as possible – placement follows your place of residence, not your previous school.
After compulsory school: Apprenticeships, bridge-year courses and upper secondary schools are handled by the canton; career guidance is open to everyone and free of charge.

Learning German

Courses locally: Course offerings, conversation groups and contributions towards course fees are handled by the city's Kompetenzzentrum Integration and by the cantonal Fachstelle Integration. Offerings change continually – please ask them directly rather than relying on lists found online.
Proof of language skills: For residence and naturalisation, a recognised certificate is often required. The federally supported language promotion programme fide explains proof of language skills, the fide test and the language passport.

Further education and recognition of qualifications

Further education and career choice: The official portal for career, study and vocational guidance, berufsberatung.ch, lists courses, education pathways and advisory services in every canton.
Foreign qualifications: Whether a qualification needs to be recognised, and who is responsible for it, depends on the profession. The cantonal Fachstelle Integration and career guidance can give initial information.
Basic skills for adults: Reading, writing, arithmetic and digital basics – catch-up education is a cantonal service; the Fachstelle Integration knows which office is responsible in each case.

Living together and getting involved

More than half of Kreuzlingen's population does not hold a Swiss passport – that shapes the town and its clubs and associations. Integration happens less in government offices than in the neighbourhood: in sports clubs, parents' councils, neighbourhood centres, language cafés, parishes and community projects.

If you want to get involved, there are two routes that work best: through the city's Kompetenzzentrum Integration, which coordinates projects and volunteer work, and through the local clubs and associations themselves. For people in the asylum system, Agathu is the established point of contact in the canton.

Source for the population share: City of Kreuzlingen, page of the Migrations- und Integrationsrat.

Having a say without a Swiss passport

People without a Swiss passport cannot vote or stand for election in Kreuzlingen – but they can have a say. That is what the Migrations- und Integrationsrat (MIR) is for: a commission of the city executive with at most nine members. It brings the concerns of residents with a migration background directly into city politics, implements the integration policy set out in the municipal regulations and runs its own projects. The MIR is the successor to the former foreigners' advisory council.

If you would like to take part or raise a concern, contact the city directly: Migrations- und Integrationsrat (MIR).

About Kreuzlingen

Kreuzlingen lies in the north-east of the Canton of Thurgau, directly on Lake Constance, and borders seamlessly on the German city of Constance. It is the canton's second-largest town and the capital of the Kreuzlingen district – a border, school and lakeside town whose history goes back to an Augustinian monastery founded in 1125.

around 23,200residents
11.51 km²municipal area
397 mabove sea level
Kreuzlingen districtCanton of Thurgau

If you are getting your bearings in the region – when looking for a flat, say, or working out a school route across the municipal boundary – it makes sense to look at the neighbouring municipalities too: Münsterlingen lies directly to the east on the lake, Frauenfeld is the cantonal capital, home to the cantonal offices.

Key figures according to the municipal profile on gemeinde-schweiz.ch. There you will also find details on administration, housing, transport and leisure, as well as profiles of the other municipalities in the Canton of Thurgau.

Further reliable sources

About this site

Migrationsinformation Kreuzlingen is a privately run information service available at migration-kreuzlingen.ch. It brings together publicly available information on migration and integration in Kreuzlingen and points to the responsible offices. We are not an authority, we do not provide advice, we do not accept registrations and we do not process applications.

All information is provided without warranty. Only the information given by the responsible authorities is binding. We are glad to receive reports of outdated or incorrect details.

A brief impression of what Kreuzlingen looks like

Seven shots from an autumn morning – not postcard views, but the routes where everyday life happens: residential streets, commercial zones, roundabouts, building sites and a piece of the old town.

Roundabout with a planted central island; on it a rust-red steel sculpture showing a mill wheel and a family with two children hand in hand. — **Roundabout with mill wheel and family** On the central island stands a steel sculpture: a mill wheel, and in front of it adults and children hand in hand. The wheel recalls the trades of the past, the figures the people who live here today – two things that are rarely far apart in a border town.

Newly built apartment building with balconies on a through road; in the foreground a yellow pedestrian crossing being used by one person. — **New building on the through road** A newly occupied apartment building, next to older blocks. For most people who move here, finding a flat is the first big hurdle – even before the German course and the job.

Road fork with a blue signpost towards Schaffhausen and Ermatingen, surrounded by trees in autumn colours. — **Signpost towards the Untersee** From here the main road 13 follows the lakeshore through Ermatingen and on towards Schaffhausen. For many it is the daily route to work, to school or to the next public office.

Commercial zone with garages and workshops Car dealerships, garages and trade businesses characterise the edges of the town. This is where many of the apprenticeships and jobs arise that career guidance can tell you about.

Road lined with an avenue of young trees in yellow autumn foliage; on the right a construction hoarding in front of industrial units. — **Between avenue and building site** The town is growing and getting denser. Anyone who has lived here a while knows the picture: housing, businesses and transport routes keep changing – and with them the neighbourhoods.

Historic white manor house with green shutters and a mansard roof on a cobbled street, with an autumn-leaved tree in front. — **A piece of the old town** An old manor house with green shutters, a half-timbered building next to it. The historic centre is only a few streets from the new residential areas – the town is small enough to reach both on foot.

Crossroads with a yellow pedestrian crossing; on the corner a residential and commercial building with a bakery and shops, on the left an older house with a second-hand shop. — **Neighbourhood centre at the crossroads** A bakery, a second-hand shop, a doctor's practice and flats in the same building. For many people, corners like this are the first place where you get to know your neighbours – closer to everyday life than any public office.

Our own photographs taken in Kreuzlingen, autumn 2025.