I moved to Zurich from New Zealand ( Im not a Kiwi but Turkish) in July. So it has only been 4 months since I have had my B-permit.

I am living with my Swiss girlfriend in Adliswil (ZH). However I am in the process of changing my residance. We will have moved into a bigger flat in December to Bonstten (still in ZH).

Now, my question is, do I have to get my B-permit reapproved due to change in my address? Or do I simply take it to Stadt-Bonstten for a simple process of address change?

also, we are planning to get married this summer. What is going to happen to my B permit after I get married? Do I get a C permit or even a Swiss Passport?

Thanks

what you want to search the site for is "naturalisation".

You have a B not a B-EG permit? You *should* be able to move within the Kanton, I believe - someone will arrive from the arcade shortly to tell you about that.

When you get married you'll be entitled to.....wait for it....the same B permit you had before you were married. Facilitated naturalisation comes later in your married life (and before you'll be eligible based on stay).

Hi. I am a non-EU citizen so I am not sure if I need to get my B-Permit reapproved if I change my residency. There isnt a clear info on the internet and even if there is, it is mostly in german. My german is still horrible since Ive only been here for 4 months.

I am also surprised to read how people mostly receive L permit even if they are an EU citizen. I got a Bpermit right away but thats probably mostly because of my work and employer. I think they applied under "permanent skill shortage list" or something like that.

I guess I will have to wait for 5 years no matter if im married or not until I get a C permit or Passport?
Thanks

Yes, you will have a B for five years, then you will qualify for a C permit and be eligible to apply for Swiss citizenship. To apply for citizenship, you will need to have lived in CH for five years, and married for three of those five years.

I was not in the arcade I was in the bathroom, thanks.

As a non-EU B permit holder any status change will be very much dependent on your future wife. I have known marriages break down the week before they are meant to happen not that this will happen in your case I am sure. For this reason you are a perfectly normal non-EU B permit holder until you marry. Thereafter your status actually changes to a preferred B permit holder. With a normal B permit (non-EU) they can actually take it off you - lo and behold. With a married to a Swissie B they cannot. And you are automatically upgraded to a C after being successfully married for a few years. Furthermore after being in the country for a total of 5 years and been married you can apply for citizenship. This actually only requires *3* years of marriage. You are therefore eligible for a red passport before being eligible for a C permit. What a great country.

As to your move within a kanton this is easy - it is no problem but you must deregister from the old town hall and register at the new one. This is a formality but does cost you SFr. 50 or so

Any further questions please feel free to ask and I will answer them, assuming I am not in the arcade that is

Richard,

One other thing that confused me is I received a work permit first and than a residence permit (B). The weird thing is that the work permit is for 36 months but the B is for 1 year. Im still having hard time trying to understand why swiss would let someone work for 3 years but not let him stay in the country for 3 years but only 1? It is really funny to think about coming to Switzerland in the morning to work and going back to your country in the evenings when my residence has expired? )

Is there any realy practical differences in life between a non-EU B permit, EU-B permit or a preferred non-EU B permit other than their process of upgrade to C or validitiy period?

I heard terrible stories about people not being able to rent a house even with their Bpermits. Most of the B permit job seekers get eliminated at HR mailbox of Companies even without being considered for an interview. One of my friends who had a non-EU B permit could not even sign up for a Swisscom GSM service. I was lucky because I have a swiss girl friend who takes care of everything for me. I even leased a car through her. The question is, do all immigrants need a swiss girlfriend/wife/husband/boyfriend to really live a regular life with all the comfort this country has to offer?

I also carry a New Zealand permanent residence permit and an American Green Card. I understand that the immigration is a big problem for Switzerland but it should not be the ones like us who are well qualified professionals, to suffer from these rude and tough immigration laws.

Baris

günaydın efendim...

B Permits are almost always initially issued for one year. In fact you hope that they are as the other common type is a four year fixed term ie it runs out after 4 years and switching to anything other is difficult.

So rest assured this is the right b permit. The next one will probably be for a 2 year period. Why do they do it perhaps to get more money out of you, to leave their options open when it comes to renewal etc...

With respect to the different types of B permit there are differences. You will notice these mainly when you try to change anything ie new job, new house, new insurance and by attempting to get finance of any kind ie leasing on a car, mortgage etc. However, the primary difference is when you apply for a job. There is more work for the company to deal with a non-EU permit than other types unless your spouse is Swiss.

The house rental is another story. Do not associate this with the type of permit but with the person renting the house out. Normally this is handled through an agency and the people renting are in business but when it comes down to getting a nice house on the lake of Zürich you will have a pecking order along the lines of Swiss and speaks Züriduutsch, Swiss and light hair, Swiss other european looking types, non Swiss speaks Züriduutsch, non Swiss light hair European C permit, non Swiss light hair European other permit, Swiss but nationalised and clearly foreign, .... Then will not rent to and another list: name ends ic, etc

The GSM issue used to be very bad but things have relaxed a bit. When I first came I was told to get a mobile phone from my company, they would pay the bill, but no-one would give me one so they had to get it for me!That was a few years ago though.

Yes there are issues with immigration and this does not help Switzerland in any way but with the political momentum being as rapid as it is, and the fact that if anything it is heading in the wrong direction, I would not expect it to change so quickly. Get married, get your red passport and smile

Richard

Personally I'd take advantage of your Swiss girlfriend/finacée - in the nicest possible sense. Simply move and register at your new community together with her. I very much anything will be said when presented as fait accompli...

I know that this has been explained already, but I just wanted to point something out. Look at the back of your permit. Your residency restrictions are written there. If you can't read German then just get your Swiss girlfriend to read it and everything will be absolutely clear - assuming that she's able to read and understand German properly that is.

It will say one of two things - 1. You can live wherever you like, 2. You need to get approval before moving to a canton different to the one you are working in. It will never say that you need some sort of approval to move within the canton. You may be getting this confused with changing employers - a totally different story (and we have existing threads for that issue in case anyone wants to ask)

So relax - these things are sometimes a pain - but your question doesn't require you to worry at all.