For information only. This article is an editorial orientation resource. It does not constitute legal, tax, or administrative advice. Procedures and entitlements vary by posting, sending state and organisation. Always verify the steps specific to your posting with your mission’s administrative office.
The instinct on arrival is to move fast: open the bank account, register the car, enrol the children, sort the internet. All of it genuinely needs doing. But the sequence matters more than the speed, and the administrative spine of a new posting is best built in a particular order.
Status first
Before anything else, confirm that your status notification has been submitted. In France, this means your mission has notified the Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères (MEAE) of your arrival, as required under Article 24 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961). In Switzerland, the equivalent step is your organisation’s submission of your card application to the FDFA. In Belgium and at EU institutions, the accreditation process runs through your organisation or mission’s protocol office.
Your identity document for the posting, the titre de séjour spécial in France or the carte de légitimation in Switzerland, flows from this notification. Almost everything else that requires documentation follows from that document. Confirm it has been initiated or submitted in your first day or two.
The address next
Many administrative steps, including opening a bank account, registering a vehicle, and enrolling a child in school, require a proof of address. Secure a confirmed address before attempting these. If your mission provides housing, get the lease or occupancy document in hand. If you are arranging your own accommodation, do not sign major downstream contracts before you have a confirmed address.
In the Canton of Geneva, holders of an FDFA legitimation card are also required to register with the cantonal Office Cantonal de la Population et des Migrations (OCPM). This is a separate step from the FDFA card itself.
Then the administrative spine
With status initiated and address confirmed, the rest can proceed in parallel: vehicle registration if needed (in France, through your mission to the MEAE and DGDDI), school enrolment (application timelines are strict; see the relevant city guide), health coverage confirmation, and bank account.
A specific note on the bank account: some banks will not open an account without the residence document in hand. If you need bridge financing before the TSS or legitimation card arrives, discuss options with your mission’s administrative office before arrival. Some missions have established arrangements with local banks for exactly this situation.
The things that do not wait
Two things run in parallel from day one: your mission’s security briefing, and ensuring your family’s health coverage is in place. The first is non-negotiable on operational grounds. The second is non-negotiable on practical grounds. Diplomatic posts in France, Switzerland and Belgium do not routinely provide access to the host state’s social health insurance, and a gap in coverage is a real risk in a first week involving travel, new environments and disrupted routines.
Posting-specific procedures vary by mission, sending state and organisation. The steps above reflect general practice; your mission’s administrative office is the authoritative source for the sequence applicable to your posting.