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In the city canton, wrapped by Germany, and greener than either suggests.
Riehen is one of only three communes making up Basel-Stadt, the city canton, and it is not a city place at all. It sits north east of Basel with the German border curling around it and a good deal of open ground inside it.
The commune projects out from the city with Germany on almost every side of it, so a vehicle approaching can be in and out of another country in a matter of minutes. The Basel area is split between two cantons and it catches people out constantly. Basel-Stadt is the small city canton and contains only Basel itself, Riehen and one other commune. Everything else around the city, Allschwil, Muttenz, Pratteln and the rest, is Basel-Landschaft, a separate canton with its own administration.
For a move that decides where you register and whose rules apply. Riehen is city canton, and the procedures are the Basel-Stadt ones rather than the Basel-Landschaft ones used a few streets away.
The German border is the other defining feature. It runs around much of the commune, close enough that people cross for the shops, and it means a vehicle can approach from German ground.
Riehen also appears as Basel-Stadt and Basel city canton. Whichever version you searched for, this is the same city and the same page. Give the mover the address exactly as it appears on your Swiss lease.
Registration on arrival goes to the commune of your address, and in Riehen that means Basel-Stadt procedures. A neighbour a short walk away in Allschwil or Muttenz is in Basel-Landschaft and follows different ones.
That distinction is invisible on the ground and quite visible on a form. If somebody tells you what the rules are based on their own experience nearby, check which canton they were in.
Everything is German speaking. The name is unambiguous and the postcode settles the rest.
If your Swiss address is not Riehen itself, one of these may be closer.
Basel · Allschwil · Muttenz · Pratteln · Rheinfelden · Aarau · all Swiss towns
Riehen is the least urban thing in a city canton. A large share of the housing sits in its own ground with a garden, a hedge and a drive, which sounds like an easy delivery and sometimes is not.
The recurring problem is a property with plenty of space around it and a narrow gated entrance a lorry cannot pass. Where that happens the vehicle stands on the road and everything is carried down a drive, which is time nobody costed.
Measure the gateway and say whether there is room to turn inside. On a green commune those two facts matter more than the size of the house.
The frontier runs around much of Riehen, so a vehicle may well approach through German territory, and residents cross constantly for ordinary reasons. None of that alters the customs position.
Household goods are presented at the Swiss frontier on form 18.44 whatever country they set off from, because Switzerland sits outside the EU customs union. A short German leg beforehand changes the route and not the paperwork.
What it does change is which office is used, and if the relocation file went ahead for preliminary examination the vehicle is committed to crossing at that specific one.
Three of these come up more than the rest on a Riehen move. Start with them.
Form 18.44 and which office clears your goods.
Furniture down a long drive from the road.
What a carry from the gate does to the number.
Basel-Stadt, the city canton, which contains only Basel itself, Riehen and one other commune. Its neighbours such as Allschwil, Muttenz and Pratteln are in Basel-Landschaft, a separate canton with its own administration and its own registration procedures.
It decides where you register and whose rules apply. Somebody a short walk away in another commune may be in the other canton entirely, so if you are told what the procedure is based on a neighbour experience, check which canton they were actually in.
Quite possibly. The frontier runs around much of the commune and approaching through German territory is often the sensible route. That changes which customs office is used, and nothing about the paperwork itself.
No. Switzerland sits outside the EU customs union, so household goods are presented at the Swiss frontier on form 18.44 whatever country they set off from. A short German leg beforehand alters the route and not the requirements.
Not automatically. The recurring problem here is a property with plenty of space around it and a narrow gated entrance a lorry cannot pass, so the vehicle stands on the road and everything is carried down the drive. Measure the gateway and say whether there is room to turn inside.
Among the shortest in Switzerland. Basel sits on the border itself and Riehen is a short run from it, so once a vehicle is through the Swiss frontier it is essentially there. That makes this one of the more predictable Swiss deliveries.
German. The commune, your lease and the utilities all work in German, as across the Basel area. The name is unambiguous, so with the postcode the address itself gives no trouble.
Collection address, the Riehen delivery address, a room by room list and the window you can work with. One vetted moving company from our network checks the route and the access, then comes back to you.
Send your move detailsOperated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company number 07425576, ICO registration ZB022743, registered at Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London SE1 3DH. Running since 2010. We work with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network.
Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies, who has run the business since 2010. Last checked 5 August 2026.