Hello,

I hope you can help me. This is my basic situation:

- I am German
- my husband is Congolese. He has a German "Aufenthaltstitel", which allows him to reside in Germany for three years and (renew it afterwards) and to travel freely to all Schengen countries.
- we have a 2 month old baby, which is German
- I'm going to start a job at the University of Zurich in February, the university will help me to get my working permit and documents. My husband will still need to get a working permit and to find a job.

The Swiss embassy in Berlin told us he will need to apply for a national D-visa in order to do the family reunion. The process to get the visa will take 8-10 weeks.
As we have a little baby and I rely on my husband's help with the baby, we would like that my husband can move with me right from the start. However we can't apply for the family reunion visa as long as I don't have my documents ready. So we have a problem of how to manage the situation.

Here are my questions:

Does anyone know if he can enter as a tourist together with me first and apply for the family reunion later?
Will it be possible to stay with me in Switzerland during the application process?
I think officially this might not be possible, but from the forum and also from the halloschweiz-forum I got the impression that other people managed to do in this way.
Does anyone have any experience with a similar situation?

I would be extremely greatful for your help!
Thanks a lot!

Technically he needs to apply in his country of residence and wait for the D permit to be issued. But many people have done it the way you describe where you move to Switzerland together and apply for the B permits together. If the non-EU spouse is already living in the Schengen zone it seems to not be a problem.

Of course, this is just want we hear around here. The only people who can give you the official answer are the appropriate authorities.

Good luck!

Thanks for your quick answer, I appreciate it!

If anyone has made practical experiences regarding a similar situation, I would also feel happy to learn more about it. Thanks!

There have been a few cases like this discussed here. If you scroll down at the bottom of the page you should see "see similar threads". Check those out as well.

Good luck!