Hi all

My wife is relocating to switzerland in April and I intend to follow her in 6 months time as we have numerous things we need to wind up at home. We have been granted approval for the non EU permit B.

I have been granted a single entry Visa to tavel on valid for 3 months. I will only be able to spend 2 continous weeks in Switzerland for the next 3 months. My questions are:

1. How long will it take to process the final stage of the B permit once i arrive in Switzerland?

2. For how long can i be away from Switzerland before my dependents permit becomes invalid?

Please help!

Help!!!!!!!!!!

Were are you both from, what passports do you have?
Does your wife have a job, and a work permit?
I am confused, why can you only stay for two weeks if you have been granted a three months visa? Am I missing something?
Is a dependant permit the same as a family reunion permit?
And lastly..... did you search through the forum for some answers?

Which country are you coming from? Can you only spend 2 weeks here because of your personal schedule, or is it something you were told due to your visa?

When I first applied for my permit it only took 1.5 months to receive the B permit in the mail. This year I tried to get it renewed, and even with difficulties it took only 5 months. (we were told the average processing time right now is 2-5 months) If you are coming here sometime early and can get the process started along with your wife's permit, then I think you are ok.
As far as your second question, I have no idea, hopefully somebody can help answer that. Just in any case, be patient, and always always always photocopy every form, receipt, and paperwork that is sent to you or you give to somebody. Good luck!

I presume you will only be in Switzerland once (for 2 weeks duration) in the next 3 months because you can only enter Switzerland once on your single entry visa.

How long it takes before you receive your B permit may depend on your local cantonal office where you have lodged the application. The time can range anywhere from 2 weeks to as long as 6 months in some parts of Zurich.

Ideally, you should be in Switzerland at the time the B permit is issued to you. But as your local cantonal office can post your B permit, I presume they can post it to your wife in Switzerland, who can then post it to you in your home country so that you can use this to re-enter Switzerland. I would not recommend this course of action, though.

As to your second question, your B permit will stipulate how long it is valid for, usually 12 months for non-EU persons. I presume that once you have your B permit, you can stay outside of Switzerland for as long as you like, provided that your B permit is still valid when you wish to re-enter Switzerland. So, if your B permit is valid for 12 months, you can probably stay in your home country for 10 months and "return" to Switzerland before your B permit expires. However, you may need to consider whether your prolonged absence might cause some problems with renewing your B permit, but I think this is unlikely.

You will also need to factor in the time to renew your B permit. Usually, your local cantonal office will send you a letter a few months prior to the expiry date to request you to complete a renewal form. You will need to hand in your existing B permit with your renewal form, so you will be without a B permit during the renewal process. They will often give you a photocopy of your B permit during this time, but I'm not sure if you can travel with the photocopied B permit.

Thanks a lot!!!!

Last question, when the Permit is being processed will i have access to my passport port or do they hold on to it during the processing period?

No, they won't need your passport since the permit is separate -- a booklet about the same size as a passport. Only a visa would need to be pasted into your passport.

Hi,
according to the immigration department statement , non-EU B-permit holder can spend only 6 month outside Swiss per year , I guess a quick visit to the immigration dep in berninastrasse and ask them directly would be a nice idea.

cheers!