Welcome to the Canton of Thurgau! English (Englisch) Imprint
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Migration Office Department of Integration Welcome to the Canton of Thurgau! English (Englisch) Imprint Edition 2012 This brochure is available for download in Albanian, German, French, Italian, Serbian, Portuguese and Turkish at Basic graphical design www.migrationsamt.tg.ch Agence Symbol Editor Graphics and print Migration Office, Department of Integration, Ströbele Kommunikation, Romanshorn Schlossmühlestrasse 7, 8510 Frauenfeld Illustrations Authorship and rights Thurgau Tourism, Amriswil Migration Office, Department of Integration, Federal Office for Migration, Bern Frauenfeld Office of Migrant Integration and Racism Translation Prevention, Fribourg Ausländerdienst Baselland, Pratteln Contents 1. Preface...........................................................................................................................................................................5 2. About this brochure ............................................................................................................................................7 3. Living together in the Canton of Thurgau ..........................................................................................8 Canton, districts, communes Language Foreign population Integration of migrants 4. Arriving in the Canton .....................................................................................................................................10 Declaring your arrival Obtaining information from the commune Obtaining information from the media 5. Rights and duties ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Fundamental values of the Canton of Thurgau 6. Communication ...................................................................................................................................................12 Learning German Learning a Swiss-German dialect Learning to read and write Intercultural translators Intercultural library 7. Accommodation ..................................................................................................................................................14 Finding accommodation Living in a rented flat 8. Transportation ......................................................................................................................................................16 Cars Import of private cars Exchanging driving licenses Driving in Switzerland Public transport Human-powered transportation: cyclists and pedestrians 9. Employment ...........................................................................................................................................................19 Finding a job Wages and social contributions Social insurances Unemployment insurance Social welfare Protection against redundancy Taxation Workplace tensions and conflict Nondiscrimination Undeclared work (moonlighting) 10. Health ..........................................................................................................................................................................29 Health and accident insurance Health promotion and prevention Medical practitioners Emergency care Dental care Dental emergency The elderly People with disabilities Family planning and information on sexuality 11. Marriage and family life .................................................................................................................................33 Marriage and family reunion Registered partnership Forced marriages Pregnancy and birth Maternity leave and allowances Family allowances Rights of children and youths Couples and families in difficulty Domestic violence 12. Education and compulsory schooling...............................................................................................36 Educational options Parental responsibility Child care and after-school care Infant school (4 years old onwards) Primary school (6 years old onwards) Orientation cycle – secondary school I (12 years old onwards) Educational and vocational guidance Students of foreign origin Bridging offers 13. Vocational training and specialized studies.................................................................................39 Vocational training/apprenticeships (15 years old onwards) Upper secondary school (15 years old onwards) Higher education Scholarships and training grants Recognition of foreign qualifications and experience Adult training and continuing education 14. Protecting the environment .......................................................................................................................42 Maintaining the landscape Respecting public space Waste recycling Non-recyclable waste 15. Social community activities ..................................................................................................................... 44 Culture Sports Hiking, biking, skating Community involvement Religious life 16. Participating in political life .......................................................................................................................47 Direct democracy Political organs Three levels of power Political rights of foreign citizens Other forms of political participation Naturalization 17. Useful addresses ...............................................................................................................................................49 Welcome to the Canton of Thurgau! 5 1. Preface A warm welcome! This should not be taken for granted, but re- We are pleased you have chosen to live in the quires efforts of adaptation from both sides. Canton of Thurgau. Everyone is called upon to act out tolerance and respect for the ones around them – the- You are settling in a dynamic canton that is se are the fundamental values of our nation open-minded towards the outside but at the and our society. same time devoted to its institutions and tra- ditions. Its intact natural landscape, its favo- In this brochure you will find a lot of informa- red location at Lake Constance, its economy, tion on living in our canton and what it has to which is active in different sectors, and its offer. Learn the local language! It is a key to close relationship to the neighbouring can- your independence and autonomy. We also tons of Schaffhausen, Zurich and St. Gallen encourage you get in touch with the locals. as well as to the bordering countries of Ger- Your experience will help you to understand many and Austria make the canton of Thur- the environment better and enables you to gau an attractive place to live and work. We integrate and feel comfortable. hope you and your family will soon feel com- fortable in our beautiful «Thurgauerland». We extend a warm welcome to you and wish There is a variety of social and club activities. you many discoveries and exciting encoun- You are warmly welcome to participate. ters. We are proud of the good understanding be- Claudius Graf-Schelling tween the different population groups. The State Councilor canton of Thurgau is a peaceful canton whe- re people of different generations, cultures and views harmoniously live together and where the individuality and identity of each one are respected. Welcome to the Canton of Thurgau! 7 2. About this brochure Upon your arrival, you have different things You will also be given information by talking to arrange. Some of them will be new to you. to people you meet in your neighborhood, in This brochure provides you general informa- your town, at work or during your leisure ac- tion. More detailed questions will be answer- tivities. ed at the residents' services of your com- mune, at the websites mentioned in this bro- In the center of the brochure you will find an chure or at the institutions marked with an insert showing a map of the Canton of Thur- arrow . These institutions are numbered gau and listing the most important emergen- according to their order of appearance in the cy numbers. text. Their addresses can be found under the respective number in the last chapter of The brochure is also available for download this document. in Albanian, German, French, Italian, Serbian Portuguese and Turkish at www.migrationsamt.tg.ch 8 Welcome to the Canton of Thurgau! 3. Living together in the Canton of Thurgau The Canton of Thurgau is a diversified and peaceful canton, where people, despite being different, live together peacefully and respect each other’s individual identity. Canton, districts, communes Language The Canton of Thurgau is one of 26 cantons There are four official national languages In of the Swiss Confederation. It has about Switzerland: German, French, Italian and 251,000 inhabitants living in five districts Rhaeto-Romanic. The Canton of Thurgau and 80 communes. The capital of the can- belongs to the German-speaking part of ton is Frauenfeld with 23,530 inhabitants. Switzerland. The official and written langua- ge in the German part of Switzerland is High German. Everyday spoken language is Coat of arms of Thurgau Swiss German. The coat of arms of Thurgau goes back to the coats of There are different Swiss German dialects arms of the Counts of Kyburz, in German part of Switzerland. Depending who long ago possessed the on region, words are pronounced differently. rights of counts in Thurgau: Some cantons even have a partly different two golden lions on a black field. When vocabulary. Thurgau joined the Swiss Confederation as an independent canton in 1803, the two Foreign population lions were integrated into the new coat of About 54,570