Hi my name is Sean From Sydney Australia Currently looking @ obtaining a visa to live with my girlfriend in Windisch. Switzerland
Been looking @ different websites regarding working visas etc... To much information to comprehend
Where do i start????? 1st things first the easy method of obtaining a job and in a result @ least a one yr visa..
Can someone PLEASE help me out...

Regards Sean

I'm sorry Sam but I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple. Thanks to some conservative politicians over recent years it has become incredibly difficult for non-EU citizens without to obtain a visa without a solid job over (and a skill that is in demand here). Not saying its impossible, but expect some trouble...

Most Swiss cantons (and certainly Aargau) don't recognize de-facto relationship. So in practice they don't care if she is your girlfriend or a complete stranger. Legally for them there is only married or not-married.

We were in the same situation as you are two years ago. Me (Swiss) and my Australian partner trying to relocate from Oz to CH. We were told by the Authorities that we'd either have to get married or she would have to get a residence permit independently here (which is what we did). Was a pain but worked out in the end.

Feel free to PM me if you have some specific questions.

Hi! I had the same problem for all of last year. I'm Canadian, 25, recent university grad (I have a B.A. and a bachelor of education). My (now husband) and I tried for over a year to get me a permit in Switzerland. He is Swiss/English and we met while I was on a gap year here in Switzerland (I was an Au Pair, and due to increasingly conservative regulations it's now near impossible to be a non-EU Au Pair here!).

After trying everything, and I mean everything, we had 2 options: Begin a masters program and get a student visa (doesn't work for language courses unfortunately) or get married. After working so hard for us to be together, it was enough to realize that we might as well make it permanent, so we did. It isn't the best solution for all couples, but luckily it was for us. When I was looking for teaching jobs, all of the potential employers said (I'm paraphrasing here) "you're a fantastic candidate... but it's impossible for us to get you here". One employer even tried to get me a permit and was told flat-out by the authorities that they should get a British teacher instead, because there is no way I would get a work permit being from Canada. I even went as far as trying to claim Italian citizenship through my great-grandparents to give me a better shot as an EU-citizen (that far-fetched plan did not work out).

There are people on the forum who have had success in looking for non-EU work permits, so take their advice as well, this is just my experience.

Maybe it should be said that the easiest option to give you a few years leeway is often to enrol in a study course at a university here. Obviously it depends hugely on your background whether or not this is an option (and the unis here are considerably more restrictive than the ones in Australia) but at least studying is relatively cheap (no HECS debt in the end...) and in many fields (science, economics, engineering, computing...) English is now standard at least for postgraduate courses, even some undergrad.

thanks so much for your responces.. it pretty much gives me clear idea on my chances of getting a visa.. just have to keep trying

I don't suppose you have a grand parent or parent born in Ireland. With a name like Sean it's a possibility.

That would be enough to get you Irish citizenship after you jump through a number of hoops.

Best way to go mate, either get a UK passport or marry a Swiss or one with a C Bewilligung...

Hello Sean,

I hear you being through this myself I can vouch that being married makes it easier as everyone has posted.

My advice for you is if you are in the fortunate position to be in a company with offices in Switzerland as for a transfer.

Or you can apply for a University here, which is a permit obtained only through 1-3 years study. Of which you apply for the visa in Sydney this may take 3 months. It is best to apply now, as in Switzerland their are quota's for how many visa or permits are distributed to each canton in Switzerland.

Or as you say your girlfriend is suisse, you can apply for what is essential a family reunification visa. You may enquire with the Federal Office of Migration here or the Aragau canton first to see what their policy is as all cantons have specific regulations for each.
Essentially she would be the sole caretaker for you 'financially' as you stay in Switzerland. You would need to provide proof of your relationship, your financial status and she may need to attest to your financial support here, as with a family reunification visa you can not seek 'gainful activity' ie work.

All the best.
sm

So what can be done please? - when no Swiss national has applied - the large employer wants us but the local Council says they want a Swiss national in the job not an Australian couple? anything we can do please?

I don't think there's anything you can do except keep applying for jobs. Unfortunately it's just the way it is. As Australians (and we are, too) it's tough getting a job here. That's not to say it's impossible, but it might take a lot longer than you originally thought.

The only other thing we thought of was to set up a GMBH and ask the employer if that would make thier process easier? ie contractors

We're Aussies and my husband managed to get a work permit - I was told there are about 600 Aussies in Zurich alone...so it 'is' possible although most you meet will be dual EU/UK citizens or married to an EU/UK/Swiss national.

The biggest hurdle is finding an employer who can demonstrate that they can't find someone in Switzerland or the EU/UK to do the job...

We did, but my husband and I both have relevant university degrees plus specialist training. The criteria for permits is also that you are doing a job that 'builds capacity' for the locals - that means being in a position where you will be training others, leading a team, growing the business...

We're teachers, btw. What is your profession ? Maybe people can suggest some employers or specialised jobs.

You need a permanent work contract and after two years on an L permit you should be rolled over to the B - but that means at least 2 years with the same employer, and whilst you are on an L your spouse cannot automatically work...that's a big limitation....

We were offered a B permit straight away, so it seems there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to what kind of permit you get.

But I agree that being as specialised as possible is the ideal position to be in, just as long as there are jobs in your field, and your potential employer can prove to the government's satisfaction that you are the absolute best person for the job...

Tell us about your skills/experience and perhaps someone here might be able to give you more specific advice.

Super ideas - thanks for the encouragement.........husband is electical engineer - working in construction - project management - fixing problems to close out badly performing jobs - over working 6 days a week in back to back meetings everyday stuck in side. We are both outdoors people. Me - Mar coms, event management, - ran my own agency in Oz for 5 years b4 us coming to Dubai 6 years ago....am learning Deutsch - but slow -got degrees etc- finished TESOL & HR Diploma last year as the office where I worked (for Aust State Govt) closing..........the CH job is low paying - that's OK - its' the lifestyle and our combined skill set we think we can contribute....the hints to 'build capcity' are great - we will go back to the employer with some ideas - they keep for us - seems becuase in tourist area - even as background people where language not so key - they still want a Swiss National....we've had a little flat there for 5 years now as it is our dream/goal to get there some how full time......I'll be over for 2 months in summer to hopefully learn more Deutsch - but we would ratehr get this job together somehow - its just perfect as it is for a married couple......thanks in anticipation of further advice/ideas

It's helpful to know that the authorities review the salary - so if your salary offer is considered too low for the job, they will reject the permit. The assumption is if the salary offer is too low, that's the reason why no one local has applied - increase the salary offer and you attract more applicants....
- Did the employer actually try to get the permit ?

wow- that is so interesting - we think it is the regular salary - it is low, 5 and 2.5/mth but the outgoing couple - he is Swiss and she is German. They leaving beause his health insurance company doesnt want him to work there. There has been a farewell, in the newspaper etc... we think they have asked the local Gemeinder but NOT actually applied yet, it is a small village.....At the interview we said that we were 3rd country and may need special application to Kanton from employer for Permit B (thanks to all the good info on EF) and he seemed to think it would not be a problem.....our local CH accountant thought that the company would be able to get special permission....and the new CEO is from Russia so we don't think it is coming from within the company - but a real concern of the local community.....it is also now shut down few weeks after winter /ski runs close and local people are tired and take a small break before the May and summer tourists visit. I went into the local Gemeinder to get the forms and just enquire generally not saying too much - and the young lady was not havign a good day - opened late after lunch, told me it was not very possible for Australians and takes months - but then I thought she probably has had 50 other Australians in this week asking the same question.
We are thinking to put together some more 'value add' about us- like you suggested to 'build capacity' - we really really want this job - it means dropping current income to a third - so its not for the money - its to live in CH in this region.
Any futher help greatly received - thank you

Can you please write in full sentences with proper punctuation ? It's hard to make sense of some of your comments.

If you are saying your 'base' salary is 5000CHF monthly, for full time work, then that's a 'basic' wage and not a 'professional' or 'specialist' salary.... I know someone whose work permit renewal was rejected for being 5400 - the employer had to demonstrate that it was the 'going rate'.

Be aware that if you take the job, and they get an L permit, then you are effectively 'tied' to the employer for 2 or more years. If you are unhappy, then what ?

It's the employer's responsibility to get the work permit. It does take up to 3 months once the paperwork is in, they will check that the salary is considered acceptable for local conditions, and there is a high likelihood that you will get an L permit (12 months, 12 months) and the employer has to go through a lot of hoops when it changes from the L to the B at the end of the second year.

I'm assuming also from what you posted that one position is full time and one half time. The two permits will be 'tied' to the one that is on full time. Getting permission for the second permit will rely on the first person. We've done this. It's possible, but the first person's salary has to be enough for two people to live on, and then there is a second process to obtain a work permit for the second person...

Some people get 'B' permits straight up, but they could be also time-limited or tied to the employer for a set period of time...

Super comment, thank you so much for your detail. Sorry for the short sentences, I did not want to be too wordy.

Yes you are right, it is a "150% " job for both people. Sort of like "buy one get one free" ha ha ha ha - yes the main salary is 5000 and the second salary is 1500per month, the jobs are caretaking and cleaning. So yes hardly specialist. However it is my husband's engineering and project management background that is the winning factor in the skill set assessment against the job specification.

No Swiss Nationals applied. As you suggested we will try and 'value add' our skill set. We do not mind doing some extra duties such as running English classes for interested staff as I have a TESOL qualification. However as these things are not in the original job specification, the ideas may not be considered. What do you think? The Operations Manager who wanted to offer us the role was keen for us. He even said we can bring our cat and mini dog.

We were wondering if we could also suggest that we offer ourselves as a GMBH and that they contract our services. I did ask our CH accountant about this and he said that he did not think this company would use contract staff that they employ rather than contract. Also I read somewhere else on EF that the CH authorities can get curious if a GMBH only has one client. What do you think?

As far as the GMBH goes, you wouldn't be allowed to be resident in the first place in order to to start a business of your own.

The whole non-Eu thing really is a giant hassle, but unfortunately it isn't going to go away.

If living in Switzerland really is what you want, I'd start applying for other jobs while you wait to hear about these ones.

A big YES "If living in Switzerland really is what you want". Won't we still have the same 3rd country permit problems if we “start applying for other jobs while you wait to hear about these ones”?
Yes we appreciate it is not a problem going away soon. We hear stories from Swiss friends that some of the EU folks have created lots of social issues in schools etc. Maybe the authorities may consider that Aussies are not as culturally antagonistic as some other nationalities. We appreciate the whole immigration thing is a tricky issue. Last summer I knew enough Deutsch to read the "Stop Immigration" posters. I used to suffer in Australia with new immigrants getting jobs ahead of me - so I can emphasise. However there are other ways around this such as creating small industry for Swiss Nationals like a local coffee roasting business.
We have no UK great or grandparents to go the UK/EU for a 'better class' passport...I saw in another EF post on CH Naturalisation that the person got naturalised and received a letter with a 'high price tag'. I PM'ed them but have not heard back. What could this 'high price tag' mean?
Also we realise that it is a SWISS they most likely want - so we may just NOT be able to get around that - it’s a fab job