Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum :) I went through sticky notes and have question regarding intercompany transfer.

Brief description of my background:

I have American passport and live in San Francisco. I work as a Software Architect for a big IT company that has offices in Zurich and Geneva. Because of family reasons I need to move to Europe. I traveled in Europe extensively last summer, did big research on number of countries and finally decided to move to Switzerland.

I'm planning to talk to my management about my intention to move next week. Even though we have HR in Switzerland people in the US have no idea how immigration process look like, how difficult it is and etc. And considering that most Americans never applied for a work visa in other country the entire idea may seem pretty scary to them. Therefore I decide to gather more information in order to be prepared for a meeting.

I have following questions:

• Could you please explain how I get Work Permit in case of intercompany transfer?
• Will I get Permit L or Permit B ? Should I care about it if I'm planning to settle in Switzerland for a very long time?
• According to this official document in case of new employment prospective employer would have to prove Swiss authorities that "a person can not be recruited from the labour market of Switzerland or another EU/EFTA member state". Does my company have to do it in case of intercompany transfer too or process will be easier ?
• Does my company have to show authorities position in Switzerland office that matches my position in America ?
• Could you please point me to URL on official website for each answer if possible? Links to documents in German are ok too. I'll translate them.

Thank you very much in advance!

I forgot to mention that I work from home so I don't really have to go to office in Switzerland.

Anyone?...

Why don't you ask the American HR make contact with the Swiss HR, and try to find out what you need?
The easiest way for you to get a work permit would be if your employer will apply for one - for you.

As I said in original post I'd like to gather more information before I start scarying my boss with immigration questions. HR people, especially at big corporations such as mine, are notorious for ability to avoid work. I'd like to make it as much easy as possible.

Something to be aware of is that applying and getting a permit is not automatic and not an entitlement. There are annual quotas for countries and your job will also need to be seen as something that cannot be filled by a Swiss or EU national before you will be considered. Having a role already in Switzerland or the USA will not be relevant.

You should talk to the Swiss HR department since they will now the process. In the situation you describe they are the best positioned to apply for and prove the process. If this proceeds well you could anticipate 3-6months for the process assuming you apply at the right time of the year (if the quotas have been used up then then it will take longer).

Regarding L versus B permit once again that will depend on quotas and how convincing the company can be to the Swiss authorities.

Appreciate you are trying to find out info ahead of time however anything you take to HR in the USA will not really matter since it will be the Swiss end that will need to do all the work. They most likely will require the process to be properly setup before they start otherwise they are simply wasting their time.

If you have supportive management locally and management on the swiss end that can drive the process then you should be successful. However this is the minimum before you start.

I am no expert but as far as i know for inter company transfers you dont need to go through the quota thing. but then in all probability it will be a L rather than a B.

I'm guessing people don't really want to burst your bubble.

I won't say "never" "impossible" but it's close to that with your skills listed as "software architect", there are a few of those around her already.

If you scroll down on the page that you link to you will see "exceptions". If your company can and is willing to get you on one of those exceptions you might have a chance.

But really, only your company can tell you if they are willing to fight the fight to get you over here.

Good luck!

Bubble, lol? )) I'm not that sensitive

By exceptions you're referring to avoidance of requirement to advertise job position ? My understanding is that those exceptions are exceptions for new hires.

And what's up with "bursting bubble" ? Five people I know moved to Zurich in 2011 (all Google employees). Two were new hires from Belarus and three were transfers from Mountain View office. So I guess in my world music is still playing...

PS. I don't work for Google.

Well, great. I see you have a good attitude and are ready for the fight.
But only your employer can fight this fight for you.
So, time to go talk to HR!

No. The exceptions are not only for new hires. In fact, they are the exceptions used for "inter company transfers". You'll notice a couple of times the words "within international businesses".

PS, there are more American's working in Switzerland than there are Belarusians. The quotas are also by country.

Oh, this is interesting. Is there public information on amount of issued permits per nationality ? I also hold Russian passport. In your personal opinion would it be easier to immigrate as American or as Russian ?

I think this is the relevant law http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/142_201/a46.html - and here's an overview by Fragomen http://www.fragomen.com/newsresource...maries&news=49

Your company's HR, if it is of any appreciable size, should know how to do this - the Swiss HR would do the bulk of the work, not the American HR, so you don't necessarily need to know the nitty gritty to inform them of it.

I believe there is a list out there somewhere. Search on here first. Then try google with the appropriate terms in French or German.

I don't know how many Russians there are here. I would imagine their quota is smaller. But I've heard more than once the quota for Americans gets filled up.

Either way, you need your company here in Switzerland to apply to bring you over.