Hello there,

I have a question regarding self employment for a B permit for a non EU. I gave a call this afternoon to few department in kanton zurich regarding this issue. They just said there is a possiblities of doing that. Being said that, if any of the EF member having any experience being self employeed. Could you share with me the experience or the process how it been done.

Thanks

anton

Hello Anton,

As the holder of spouse's B-Permit and non-EU citizen, I too looked into my options for self employment.

I am in Basel, so am unable to point you to a specific person in Zürich. However, in my research for information on how to register as self-employed in Basel I was directed to the Ausgleichskasse Basel-Stadt. I spoke with a very helpful advisor who told me exactly what must be done. My assumption is that a similar procedure would apply in any canton.

To set up as self employed in Basel, I would need at least two contracts and/or letters of intent to pay for my services. These must be from at least two different customers. Once I receive these documents, I am to make an appointment to meet this advisor and she would register me as self employed.

In order to work as a self employed person you must get a work permit issued via your local geminde stating the you are entitle to operate as a self-employed person. Nothing else will do. Registering with the Ausgleichskasse or similar agencies such as the Income tax office, VAT etc... does not make any difference as they have no role in the work permit situtation....

Bottom line is that if you do not have the correct work permit and you are caught you will have problems and it will make no difference to the authorities what agencies allowed you to register with them.

Good luck with that,

Jim

Jim2007 makes the point that your permit must allow you to work in Switzerland. I assumed from Anton's posting that he already has a B permit, which is the same as I have.

You do not need to worry about me. As I indicated in my posting, I have only done the research and am not working now and would not without having the B permit changed to reflect a change in status. So far I have not agreed to any work and am not receiving any income.

Having said that, I have been assured by all relevant authorities and experts in HR with several Swiss companies and at employment agencies that having the permit upgraded is not an issue. The spouse B permit exempts the holder from quotas.

And I am sure the contacts I have made at Justiz- und Sicherheitsdepartement des Kantons Basel-Stadt: Bevölkerungsdienste und Migration / Migrationsamt would not be happy if I did not confirm with them first.

Worst case for me personally is I get another couple years vacation until I get a C permit.

Getting permission to work as an employee in your case should be easy. Getting permission to operate as a self-employed person normally requires business plans etc.. to show you have a viable business concept etc.... but given that your partner is the reason you're it should be much easier as your financial existence is not base on the success of the business---

On the other hand given the choice I would work via an agency rather than go self-employed for consultancy work etc... as being self-employed has a lot of read tape attached and of course going via an agency would also mean you'd qualify for unemployment while being self-employed would not.

Good luck with that,

Jim

hi there,

Here is a great website (in English!) which describes everything you need to do to set up a business in Zurich.

http://www.gruenden.ch/index.php?L=1

I am also self-employed, have just got my first contracts, and also want to make sure I follow all the correct steps in order to retain my B permit, as well as pay taxes and social insurance.

Let me know if this is helpful to you.