hi there

i left switzerland for 8 months last year. i had a permit b, and my gemeinde told me that if i left the country for longer than 6 months, then i would have to cancel permit.

however, i think they would probably turn a blind eye to 8/9 months out of the country, as long as you kept paying health insurance (which is mandatory, and in any case can only be cancelled if you have proof of 'check-out' from the country, for which my gemeinde charged me the princely sum of 30 chfs).

i cancelled my permit to save on health insurance costs as i wasn't working during this period, and also because i wasn't too worried about starting again with another permit b (although some people might be more concerned about receiving a permit c earlier if planning to stay in country longer than five years...).