I, a non-EU national who doesn't need a visa to visit Switzerland, came to join my husband (also a non-EU national) last May. I only registered myself with the local authority and proceeded with my resident permit application upon my arrival. We are happy that nothing went wrong and I have got my Permit B within a month.

By the way, before I travel I sent an email to the Embassy of Switzerland in my country to confirm about the procedure, in writing. Sometimes we may get different answers if verbal enquiries are made. Hope this helps crise2!