Does it really take about 2 months to get your B Permit here in Zurich? I have a british passport and I was informed so, despite the fact that I had a B permit for Geneva and expired in 2009 which I had to hand in.

the paperwork can take that long but is a formality. Wait until you get into the tax returns

Even in my little town, it was a couple of weeks to push the paper around. Frankly, even with my expired Brit passport, the lady wasn't worried about this time being taken

Hi Nick. I've altered the subject line - please try to make them relevant.

Anyway, onto your question. I doubt it very much. Technically you already have the permit, so the reissue is just a formality. Why did you give the old one back? Surely you should just swap? Your Gemeinde (local government office) may be giving you pessimistic estimates, I think you'll find that it arrives a lot quicker than that - just ensure that they have actually done the various applications. Since you are EU they can't deny your right to move and have another permit issued in Zurich, so it shouldn't take very long at all. If you've been here 5 years then you should get a C anyway (not sure if you've been here 5 years).

Hi Mark. No this is my 3rd year now. I've been here since January 2004. I also though that they were just going to swap my permit for a Zurich one. I found it strange. They just gave me back a photocopy of my old permit signed by the official at the authority I went to. And the thing is that it's been almost a month now that I haven't had any response from them. They told me that they were going to send me an invitation letter to go and pick it up (plus to pay I think CHF 70 odd). It's strange because in Geneva the system was much more quicker and relaxed. In Geneva my old company organised it and I didn't have to go to the authorities in person. I think I just signed something and gave it to my (old) company and it was organised from there.

they will use the same picture page and give you a new details page.

I really would not worry about it in today's EU-friendly Switzerland - when I first came, you really did get the impression that you were taking your chances!!

Hi Nick,

Like Lob said - don't sweat it. You have a photocopy of the old one, so don't worry about it. If anyone asks you just say you have B permit. I lost my permit a while back and never bothered to replace it for about a year (technically illegal, but I don't give a monkey's...). So just enjoy life without your official piece of paper