Ok, have heard various answers to this, so I'd like to see if anyone can enlighten us on this...

1. EU citizen (swedish) accepts job in Switzerland, companyX will apply for the permit. The job is defined as a permanent position.

2. Non-Eu spouse (american) will need to get a job in Switzerland.

a. Will the permit for EU citizen most likely be an L permit?
b. Is the only difference, between B and L permits, the matter of annual re-issuance?
c. Does the non-eu spouse get the same permit?

Bonus questions...
If spouse does receive a permit and proceeds to seek employment (without knowledge of German --only Swedish as a second language)...

d. What is the process in which a company must "sponsor" his/her employment? theoretically? practically?
e. On a scale from 1-10, what is the possibility of finding work with only English skills? (reference: general business background)


Thanks to anyone who can add to this. Having just written this, I think should be a sign that there might be too much risk involved

I think you will find Richard, our resident Guru on these matters, answered your most of your questions in this thread , post #5.

I can definitely confirm that Richard is right - not only about the law but also about its application practically. I am non-EU (Australian) with an EU husband, and he accepted a permant job in Switzerland. We chose to further complicate matters by living across the border in France, but it didn't matter. I got de facto EU treatment because of my husband. I got 5 year residency and work, if we stay longer I am entitled to naturalisation (France). In Switzerland, I am also automatically entitled to a work visa, the same cross border one as my husbands, although I don't have one currently - haven't needed one as I don't have a job yet.

As for language, there are plenty of people who initially come across without any language - I have no German to seek work in Basel, but there are still quite a few jobs out there available. Check out the threads dealing with English speaking companies here on the forum for some ideas - I'm not saying its easy (since when is job hunting ever easy?!) but there are certainly many possibilities. There are also quite a few courses to learn German available, and often if you are willing to show your potential employe that you are willing to make an effort and learn German, they will help you out/overlook your lack of German, as long as it is not a requirement of the job!! Also, take a good look at your husband's language allowances for the job he is thinking of accepting - my husband and I both got a good size allowance for language lessons.

Moving anywhere different is obviously a risk, but if you're up for the challenge, are adaptable, patient and have a good sense of humour about it all, you will love it.

All the best of luck.