a woman i know (b-permit) and her husband (c-permit) are splitting up and he's planning on returning to his country of origin. they have a child and she claims the child received a c-permit based on the father's status. so two questions:

1. would her child have received a c-permit based on his father? she may be spinning a tale, though it's unclear why as of course it will be found out. (i'm wondering why the gov't would favour the higher grade permit in the issue of a child's status exactly in case divorce does happen.)

2. she wants to stay in switzerland and not return to the home country, but does she have any rights to stay if her child does in fact have a c-permit?

apologies for the wordiness - i've had a look around but couldn't find anything on the topic.

1. She is right. If either of the parents has a C, childred automatically get a C as well:
"Ohne irgendeine Wartefrist haben eheliche und ledige Kinder unter 18 Jahren gemäss Art. 17 Abs. 2 ANAG Anspruch darauf, in die Niederlassungsbewilligung des niederlassungsberechtigten Elternteils einbezogen zu werden, wenn sie mit ihren Eltern zusammenwohnen."

2. Generally yes, but in difficult constellations it would be wise to consult a specialized lawyer. And if her B-permit was given because her husband had a C, she has to apply for a new permit immediately, because she will loose her former B, since the reason has expired.

If the child's permit is attached to the father's, it will be revoked once the father leaves.

A C-permit is not attached to any other permit.

May I refer you back to your own quotation right there where it says that children under 18 are entitled to the niederlassungbewilligung as long as they live with their parents that are entitled to one.

All I can say is that splitting up before your have your own C permit is always a bad idea. Of course circumstances does not always permit it but my advice is to drag out the divorce process with any means until you have your own C permit.

In this specific case, you friend seems to be in a not very nice position as the man wants to leave. Must be tough for her.

OK, some more basic information about permissions B and C:

B is a residence permit for one year. There are several different reasons to get a B, and there are as well different purposes to be fulfilled by the residence. A B permit has to be renewed every year, and the reasons and purposes are verified with every application for prolongation of the permit.
I won't go into the details of the various reasons and purposes for a B permit. It may become complicated, and as always the practice varies from canton to canton.

C is a permanent and unconditional permit. The paper itself has a validity of 3 years. This limitation and the process of prolongation has only one purpose: To check whether the holder still lives in Switzerland. However, the original reasons for giving a C permit are not verified again.

A C permit can be cancelled for the following reasons:
- No application for prolongation
- Residence out of Switzerland for at least 6 months
- Eviction order following a conviction or debts

To come back to our example: For obtaining the C permit it is a condition to stay with the parent who has already a C permit. But it is no condition to keep the permit.

Or to give a different example: Many Italians living here are born here, maybe their parents returned back south or died. They still have the Italian nationality and a C permit. As long as they don't become criminals, this situation may remain for generations.

Correct as long as the child is over 18 years old.

You can peruse the French version of the law which is even more clearer in its wording on this issue.

thanks for the info. she does have an attorney who's trying to sort it out but her husband is insisting that he wants to return to his country of origin, not willing to stay until she has the c-permit.

the idea of maybe dragging out divorce proceedings is a good one. i'll pass it on.

She can legally reject the idea of getting a divorce from her husband and that will buy her a minimum of 2 years before she'd be forced by law to proceed with one.