I´m talking only about the bureaucratical nightmare the current residence-permits trigger:

If you are

• an EU national, your Swiss residence permit has the form of a little booklet.
• a non-EU national, your Swiss residence permit has the form of a plastic card.

When travelling from anywhere back home to Switzerland

• using an EU-passport is easy, as it allows visa-free entry to Switzerland in any case, hence no problems.
• using a non-EU passport, especially if you need a visa for the Schengen-area, is easy, as you just flash the plastic residence-card. Everybody knows this card, hence no problems.

Exception (and also the problem): Non-EU nationals married to EU-nationals. Such non-EU nationals receive the same booklet-type residence permit, just as their EU partners.


Trying to board a plane towards the Schengen-area with this booklet-type residence permit is practically impossible, as it´s hard to convince airline representatives that this is indeed a valid Schengen residence permit.


Does anyone have corresponding bad experiences?


Thanks and regards,
Christian

My wife is a non-eu with a booklet but never has problems

Which nationality is she?

I wasn´t clear: I´m referring to nationals who would usually need a visa for Schengen.

And my case was: We tried to check into the flight in Beirut/Lebanon, but it went via Prague. The airline didn´t believe that the "booklet" is a valid visa for the Schengen-area, and my wife was nearly denied boarding, simply because they didn´t have a clue.

It was pretty annoying.

Just wanted to establish if this happened to anyone else.

Rgds, Christian