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| Guys I'm not sure which Switzerland you live in, but I've had none of these problems.
When I arrived in Jan 2005, my Gemeinde told me they had run out of B permits and gave me an L - which I have so far used to rent an apartment, register a Swiss car, apply for a Swiss driving licence, open 3 bank accounts with EC/Maestro cards and even get a credit card! Oh, and I spent 120 days outside the country last year and they didn't have a problem with that either (how can they tell anyway, I only get stopped at the border one time in 20).
When my permit ran out at the end of last year I went to ask for an upgrade to B, but again, they didn't have any (I live in a small Gemeinde I guess) so they gave me another L permit and told me that it doesn't matter because in May 2007 they're dropping all the quotas for EU citizens anyway, and that an L permit shouldn't stop me from doing anything. | |
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Well this is certainly encouraging news. It could mean that a lot of these restrictions have been relaxed in the time since we went through them. Your arrival in 2005 could have made all the difference. I know that things have been relaxing because when I applied for my C permit it was just a case of filling in a form and that was it. My ex-girlfriend did it 2 years before and boy did she have to jump through hoops - with the same gemeinde as me. I think the whole EC system has changed, so I presume that you have a decent limit. I had a B permit in the beginning (my company tried to give me an L, but being forewarned I made a scene until they applied for a B) and Credit Suisse would only give me 100 francs/month on my EC - even though I worked for them! That was back in 2000.
I'm glad to hear that L permit holders are no longer the scum of the Earth, mind you - you are an EU citizen, I wonder if non-EU L permit holders are having an easy time of it? Comments anyone?
When you spent 120 days outside of the country, did you deregister before doing so? If not, then technically what you did was illegal, but you would have had to continue paying your Swiss health insurance during this time.
I'd be interested to know if the L permit people pay more car insurance than B or C - because the amount you pay definitely changes according to your nationality - I've tried it myself on www.comparis.ch!
If it doesn't make any difference anymore then why do companies always ask foreigners to state their type of permit on application forms if for no other purpose than to discriminate?
As for the border I'm going to take a wild guess at the fact that you are white? Everyone I know with dark skin has always complained that they are stopped every single time. Mind you - I've always seen the same at customs in Heathrow...Always seems to be dark skinned folks having their bags searched there...
Mark