OK, I'll sit comfortably and wait for the official substance for the fact most border/customs folks rarely leave CH and are righties... should be quite easy to prove if it's fact Odile.

I think the sandy headed folks are the ones who cant see that border security/customs/profiling is a north bound train (pardon the pun), and that accepting it makes travel so much easier, or think back wistfully to bygone times when maybe it wasn't such a necessity.

If the OP had their permit in their passport there would be no thread would there, and the maybe po-faced guard would have waved them through, maybe. It's neither time consuming or difficult to have all documentation ready for inspection at a control point JIC, you may need it, you may not, but profiling or not it's stressless. If you don't have it and they ask..... stress.

I don't know how many customs guys/gals Zurich airport has but probably a lot, the OP has said he's been stopped once, hardly a calamity or indication that they have white hoods in their lockers and holiday homes in Mississippi. To the OP really, have all your doc's handy, and if you get controlled more than you feel is 'fair' smile nicely and think to yourself, you earn more than they do, probably have a better lifestyle than the do... and move on to planing what your going to watch on the inflight entertainment.

I agree with Papa Goose. In these kind of situations it's very much a question of "pick your battles" or as the fruit gum ad used to say "grin and bear it".....

Of course, if you wish to make it a matter of principle nobody is stopping you, but principles come with a price. The big kid in the school yard may be a bully and it may be brave of you to stand up to him. It won't stop you from going home with a black eye though....

I always carry my C Permit with me when exiting/entering Schengen. At Zurich or Geneva airports, showing my Permit means my US passport doesn't get stamped (saves on pages, don't know if its the same for EU citiens); wish that could apply in non-Swiss Schengen control points.

I have the say that the silliest passport control I ever went through was in the UK when I went there for a weekend, the officer at immigration actually asked where I lived and when I said Switzerland he asked for my Swiss permit. Customs also stopped me for about 20 minutes and took my documents to a room and started doing a search in their database. I found it all so amusing and was polite and smiling the whole time (I had nothing to lose and what's the worse they could do to me, deport me back to Switzerland?), and literally was about to tell them: "C'mon, I have a very good paying job in Switerland, you think I would want to move here and work illegally in a McDonalds?".

Interesting comment Odile.

Reminded me of the days when I used to travel from the UK abroad with my work and for vacations.

Almost without exception, I would get stopped, questioned and have my luggage searched regardless of whether travelling alone or with friends/family/colleagues and even when returning to the UK.

Never once was there rudeness or unpleasantness on either side and, in all cases, I was sent on my way with a nice smile and parting comment. I even once had a very humourous exchange with a UK Customs Official during the questioning session (he started the jokes) that had not only him and I but others around us laughing as well.

At a dinner, I was introduced to a friend of the hosts who was a UK Customs Officer. During the course of our conversation I jokingly asked him about my situation. He replied that it was because I fitted a particular profile that they were on the alert for and which had me in stitches of laughter as to what it actually was. He told me not to take it personally (not that I ever had) but that it was just them doing their job. End of.

Remember that the B permits and the asylum seekers are considered to be tax evading and welfare stealing. So no they don't contribute, quite the opposite!

Please remind me of a country that doesn't ask for residence papers on entry if available?

I've also been ocassionally asked for my Swiss Permit by US-based carriers during the security screening for US-based flights at the check-in counter while checking in at Zurich or Geneva airports, even though I have a US passport.

As many before me have suggested, it is always better to carry your Residence Permit with your passport while entering or exiting a country. Better still, being prudent when choosing your fights. Getting into an argument with an immigration officer at the border is a bad idea. Lucky, it was Switzerland and not many other countries in the world. At the end of the day, these folks are just doing their job...

As a teenager I once went on a day trip with a friend of my parents who was a pilot (with that great airline Dan Air - that dates the incidence). I had left early and picked up my passport from my parents' room. On the return I had to go through passport control like all passengers. Handed my passport to the immigration officer who raised his eyebrows and told me that it didn't look like me. I asked him what he meant and he showed me my passport with the Pipi Longstocking features of my younger sister.... Luckily he just rolled his eyes and said "Go on, get out of here"

That's because the carrier is liable if they deliver you here (or anywhere) without the required paperwork.

Agree that carriers are liable, but how is a Swiss Residency Permit required "paperwork" to ultimately enter the US when one already has a US Passport?

However bad Antibes experience with Swiss immigrations or customs, I cannot imagine it's anything like as bad as US.

Well here is another nice happy story. My mum was about 88 and came to UK with dad for one of our daughter's wedding. Wheel-chair bound and obviously very frail, she arrived at East Midlands airport- and gave her (Swiss) passport to the immigration official - her photo showed a much younger and very good-looking woman. He was looking very carefully at her passport, and she said something like 'I know, I know, I am a bit older now' - in her perfect English. He replied 'that is not the problem Madam, but do you realise your passport is 8 years out of date' to which mum replied 'Young man I am going to my grand-daughter's wedding - at my age I can assure you that these little detail to not matter' and smiled her most beautiful wrinkly smile. He looked at her, smiled back and said 'of course, you are quite right- have a wonderful time'. It was her last visit to England- and we all knew it.

I've often wondered what would have happened if she had had a Nigerian or Pakistani passport. If she had not spoken excellent English. I'll never know. Bless her/miss her.

It still is not racism. And racism is constantly brought up by someone of color if they get asked a simple question. Yet, many are given permits and the like to live and work in Switzerland. It makes you wonder why do they stay. But I forgot, it is because of the taxes other than that the Swiss can go to hell. But yet...the OP has a permit to stay in the country. Go figure...

Exactly...now the story changes and the OP says they are stopped all the time where initially the story was different. There is not very much a person can do about their color so they may as well accept it, love it, and not be so sensitive about it.

Back to the subject of permits needed on Swiss border crossing, like most of you, I have never been asked to produce my Swiss permit (L) at the Swiss border control during the one year I have been here. I always wondered if it was a requirement. So in my last trip (last month) I asked the question directly from the lady passport control officer to which she replied that since you travel on a UK (EU) passport, you don't need visa to be here, so no, you don't need to carry your permit.

Having read some of the responses here, I guess there is no harm in taking it with you.

Hey, I'm just happy when I get checked in...

Post 9/11, for some reason when I present my ticket and passport at the check-in, the person at the counter scans my passport and... looks at the screen... calls a supervisor over... who looks at the screen... who then calls 'somebody'... and then takes my documents 'somewhere'... and finally comes back, finishes checking me in and wishes me a nice flight.

I have absolutely no idea what is going on. Some kind of flag?

But once checked in, it's smooth sailing through passport control, even when asked to show my C permit.

I was told the exact opposite thing. You must have your permit with you at all times when travelling. I guess is up to the individual agent but as you said why risk it? Its not exactly a heavy thing to carry...

Rumbled... ED Boob has had you tagged, as we need to know where our doggy guru is at all times.


That's it in a nutshell, people happily carry laptops, iPad's, phones, MP3 players and any other gadget you can think of, yet a piece of paper is too much... maybe if there was an app for it

An old white guy called Baden-Powell had the right idea and tried to instil it into yoofs of any colour who liked to play with their woggles... be prepared.

That's not the only reason. I drive a "nice" car and always get stopped coming back from Germany. If I am driving my wife's far more utilitarian car I never get stopped. Go figure....

Do you have a name similar to one that might show up on the DNF list? That'll do it, as your info usually gets passed on as part of the passenger list in advance of the actual flight.

Three white guys around thirty (but lookin' somewhat younger), one with bleached blond spiky hair in a 3 series BMW. Totally taken apart (including back seat and door cover removal) by Swiss customs when leaving(!) the country.

Audi, lowered suspension, big & wide rims, darkened back lights (back when they were fashionable ), got stopped almost every time.

Run-of-the-mill, silver, totally stock Audi, got hardly ever stopped.