hello everyone!

i'm new to the forums. i am an EU citizen and have just moved to switzerland to live with my swiss boyfriend. i registered with the local authorities and asked for a residence permit on the grounds of living with my partner. my boyfriend guaranteed for me.

i am a bit confused as to what kind of permit (and for how long) i would get? i was just informed today that the canton authorities might be a bit difficult. will i still be able to apply for a jobseeking permit if they don't accept my current application?

and as a general question, which would be the best permit to have? a jobseeking one or the living with partner one?

(i hope my message makes sense, my head is about to explode from trying to figure out what's best! :P)

any help is much appreciated!

thanks

don't worry, you're entitled to a decent permit allowing you to work as you're EU.

The first time I came here with my EU passport I never had any job seeking permit. I just looked for a job and when I found one 6 weeks later, got a work permit.

I got one of those job seeking L permits earlier this year when I left for a few weeks after finishing a season job and then returning to no job.

Having a Swiss boyfriend won't make any difference - as far as I know - unless you get married. I have a Swiss girlfriend and its given me absolutely zero advantage, apart from the help she and her family can give me that is.

thank you both for your replies!

i didn't think that having a swiss boyfriend would make any difference either, until i went to the local authorities to register and they told me i could choose to register either as a jobseeker or as having a lebenschaft (i probably killed the spelling), with the condition that he guarantees for me (he had to sign some forms and give a confirmation from his bank)

anyway, thank you again!

Hello Crimson,

I am an Estonian living in Bern with my Swiss boyfriend, have been here for about 18 months. I started the long procedure of applying for a permit 4 months before I moved here, and it took another month to get an answer, so all in all about 5 months! Together with the application, my boyfriend signed a paper that he would be financially responsible for me etc. Several months later (I applied through the Swiss Embassy in Finland, and maybe therefore it took so long time), he got a letter from the Gemeinde asking some questions like "how long have you known each other", "where did you meet" etc. He answered these, then we heard nothing again. Then some weeks later, he got another letter from the cantonal authorities, asking more questions like "what is her (i.e. my) education", "if she (I) plans to work in CH" etc. He answered, of course. By that time I was already here in Bern, and we were running out of time as I was 8,5 months pregnant and without any health insurance here. So I needed the permit urgently in order to be able to have the baby without ending up in bankrupcy He called the responsible person up, several times. After a week or so he was finally told that I will get the B-permit, but that it would take another 2-3 weeks. This much time we did not have, and after explanation of the situation (i.e. baby coming every minute ), I received a short-time permit (L) in a couple of days. Then, after 6 months I received a 5-year B permit which also allows me to work in the whole Switzerland. But it is mentioned on the permit that "has a child who is of Swiss citizenship" So, I don't really know what type of a permit I would've got "without the child"... the kind that allows to work or not...

One little experience I had showing that sometimes the authorities (especially local i.e. Gemeinde) are possibly out-of-date with their information, so maybe it's worth checking out important matters from several sources: some time after my daughter was born, I received a residence permit for her (and of course an invoice for it). I called the Gemeinde and asked why do the send me this if my daughter has Swiss citizenship, she is not Ausländerin. The answer was that since her parents are unmarried, the baby is not Swiss. I said she is, they said she isn't. Next day I got an e-mail saying that indeed, the baby is Swiss, but I would still need to pay the invoice for the permit since the permit was already issued!!! I argued that it's not my fault that they do not know their own laws and make such a mess. I didn't have to pay the invoice, of course.

Sorry for the long post

Let us know how it goes, you can also write me privately if you want and since we both live in Bern, maybe we could even meet sometimes


Ave

Hi

Assuming you are from one of the older EU states then the situation is very stright forward. You apply for a permit based on living with your boyfriend, this is done with 1 form at your local commune. you will need 2 photos a copy of your passport, a copy of his work contract and a copy of your rental agreement.

He will get a letter saying basically that if you leave him and they have to pay you social security he will be responsible for an amount (I think it's only about 1500 ChF) if he doesn't agree to this then he needs to sign and return the letter.

You are then free to look for work or study as you wish, and eventually they will then send you a permit all very easy.

hello Ave

really sorry you had to go through all this..! it must have been awfully stressful! glad you managed in the end...!

once i'm settled in and know my way around berne i will contact you and we could meet, why not?

thank you for your reply, it's quite reassuring!

yes, i come from the old EU (greece) so i guess this makes things a bit easier

ok, i feel better now! thanks evereyone!

I'm in pretty much in the same situation (UK/EU, living with swiss girlfriend). I'm going down the the commune in the next few days, but still haven't got things quite clear in my head.

Just wanted to know which permit this ends up being (when I go for the "dependent" permit) ?

hi neal! i still haven't heard from the commune (it's almost 2 weeks). as soon as i get any reply i would let you know!

I am Malaysian (non EU countries definitely) and I applied my Bewilligung on June, got my B bewilligung two months later.

Its stated there 'Verleib beim Lebenspartner'. Neither mentioned whether seeking employment is forbidden nor allowed. (can somebody explain to me about this?)

The procedure is relatively easy. We went to Gemeinde Office and fill up some kind of forms. Together with it we also attached all the evidence of our 4 years relationships (copy of flight tickets, bills,credit card spending, photo albums etc). I also have to provide them my original Passports, photos and also my University Qualifications. And my partner had to agree to become my Guarantor.

The only problem was I didnt have any health insurance (Malaysian healthcare system is free). Once I applied my Healthcare Insurance, the Insurance company notified Gemeinde and they process my application accordingly.

The staffs there (Muri Gemeinde) were also very friendly and welcoming. They even suggested to us not to apply for Bewilligung and health insurance before our 2 months holiday back to Malaysia, (to save 2 months cost of unnecessary health insurance premiums) and apply the Bewilligung once we returned from holiday.
They also informed us after 4 weeks of application that the process might take longer than usual due to lack of workforce in Bern Migration office.

I heard from my Canadian friends who applied her Bewilligung on ground of having Swiss Partner, that the staff in Migration Office Bern were not friendly..but I guess that depends on who you were dealing with at the time.

So I guess it should be no major difficulties for you who got all the advantages..(compare to me in terms of country of origin,religion,and orientation).

i'm a bit confused about what is the difference for eu citizens when applying for a permit between applying

a) on grounds of job seeking or
b) on grounds of leaving with partner

at the commune they couldn't really give me a clear answer. i opted for b but now i'm having second thoughts as to what would have been the best/ quicker option

I think we both have exactly the same question..!

Update: I got my permit today. It's a B valid for 5 years!

congratulations!

At the moment I'm still here as a tourist and looking for a job.. but depending on how things go in the next week two I think I'll definately consider going down your route. The only thing is that my girlfriend is a student, however her parents are prepared to guarantee for me, although that would be pretty definately just pro-forma.

Enjoy the permit!

thank you!

good luck to you too!

Pjoe - was your Canadian friend successful in getting her Bewilligung at the Migration office in Bern? I am non-EU and I live in Bern as well, with my boyfriend who is swiss. Back in February, we asked about getting a permit based on the grounds of having a swiss partner and they said it was not possible. We seem to be in similar situations so I don't know how you were able to get your B permit and why I was told I couldn't. We didn't even submit an application, we just asked if it was possible. Since they said no, we just gave up.

It is possible and there are countless people who are here who will tell you they are living with their partner and not working. There are certain things you will need to prove though such as how long you have been together.

Is there a minimum in the amount of time that we should have been together? We've been together 2 years now and I was just wondering if that was considered "enough" time in order to apply for this permit.

Congratulations Crimson

so which reason your application base on? relationship or the other one?

to s268952,

About my Canadian friend, her partner finally married her. So she didn't have to apply something like us.

I don't know what exactly the requirements to be eligible to apply residency base on relationship (without partnership or marriage) but it is possible to apply for that. And of course it is more difficult because we have to prove so many things to them (in my case a kilo of documents).

2 years ago my friend (from non EU country) also stuck in the same situation, and that time it was more difficult. Finally they manage to get B bewilligung for him thanks to a lawyer $$$. (relationship without same sex partnership registration)

Maybe you should go again to Migration Office or Gemeinde office and ask more information about this. Being turn down once doesn't mean that you should give up. Probably the staff you dealt with were not competent enough. If they say no again ask them on which ground they turn you down?


Wish you good luck!