Hello and greetings to all on this forum. I have a specific question about permits for which I seek a knowledgeable answer.

I'm British, and came to Geneva, CH on a 5-year B-permit in 2005. The permit is not tied to a specific employer, and I have changed employers once since coming here.

My GF is from a non-EU country and is in CH working on an L-permit, which will expire in a matter of months. We are considering marriage and I would like to know what options we have in relation to obtaining a permit for her to remain in CH with me, ideally allowing her to continue to work, too.

Thanks.

The obvious one is to get married .

Although her permit might expire in a couple of months, will her job too? If so then she will need to find a job quick...

In order for her to stay and have a valid work permit without a job, she needs to have her permit connected to you and this only works if there is a date provided by which time you will marry. Note here there is a normal maximum time for such permits of 6 months.

Anything other than marriage will involve a permit that is valid for stay but not for work.

Thanks Richard. So if we set a date for the marriage and initiated the paperwork for it with the canton, what type of permit would she be likely to get in the meantime? And would it change somehow after the marriage?

This is the crux of my question, as reading through other threads has lead me to believe that each precise set of circumstances is treated differently.

Each precise set of circumstances is often when precisely viewed indeed different and the results vary accordingly. For the circumstance of a "bridging permit" she will almost certainly get an L permit. Thereafter it will run out and she will get a B permit. I say it will run out as it will only be valid until the date you say you will get married. It is better here to be somewhat generous ie say June if you intend to marry in May. It is also better to get married in Switzerland - does not mean to say you need to hold your party here but the formal civil process if held in Switzerland will save problems later. If of course your better half wants to get married in her home town then you are a bit stuck but hopefully she is not Russian or Chinese ie from a country where official translations are straightforward or where the marriage certificate is also in one of the officially acceptable languages.

Thanks again Richard.

To summarize (please correct me if I am mistaken).

1. We should marry in CH to minimize administrative complications. I understand that this involves submitting an application to the authorities, with birth certificates, confirmation of unmarried status from our respective home countries, etc.

2. If we set a marriage date, and she is currently employed under her L-permit, the authorities will extend/re-issue her L-permit to cover the period between its expiry and the marriage date, allowing her to continue to work in CH.

3. After the marriage she will be given a B-permit that allows her to stay in CH and continue working, and change employer(?), equivalent to my own.

4. Question: Does she need to provide contractual evidence that she will be employed up until the marriage date?

5. Question: Is there a limit on how far in the future the marriage date can be?

Thanks.

1. correct
2. correct
3. correct
4. No
5. yes ca 6 months

Thanks again for your clear and concise answers; much appreciated.

If we submit the marriage application paperwork (I understand this can take a couple of months to process, not least because the administration in her home country may be slow to respond to Swiss queries) and her current L-permit expires, what will happen?

Thanks.