Hi, I am new to this very very useful forum and this is my first post. Thanks in advance for reading:

I tried to call my local consulate but they give my very vague answers. I would like to have a question concerning the family allowance for my wife.
I am a EU citizen from the United Kingdom and I am employed by a Swiss company so I will be moving to the Switzerland in March 2009 holding a B permit. My wife is from Hong Kong so the Swiss consulate in Hong Kong told her that she had to apply for a visa in Hong Kong and wait for 3 months until she got the visa and move to Switzerland with me. During this period, she is advised not to travel to Switzerland and better stay in Hong Kong to wait for the visa to be approved.

I have two questions:
1. I was told that I can obtain family allowance for my wife if she is unemployed. Can I receive this tax allowance even before my wife has obtain her visa?

2. Since my marriage certification is issued by the Hong Kong government, will the Swiss taxation department accept this certificate and grant me the allowance or do I have to find a lawyer in either Switzerland or Hong Kong to certified my marriage certificate before I send it to the taxation department?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Look I'm no expert but I get the feeling that your wife may come with you and get a dependent permit when you are getting yours, as your status as EU member affects her if she is living in the UK with you already... I hope someone who really knows can help but search the forum I'm sure this has been mentioned before.

hi, thanks for your input
i did search the forum but since my case is that i am living in the UK while my wife is living in Hong Kong holding a Hong Kong passport so I am unsure whether it is different to other EU citizens. I am afraid she has to separate with me for 3 whole months waiting for the visa. I really want her to move over with me this March so that we can look for an apartment together..
But thanks for your reply anyway

Sounds like your wife's already separate from you as she's in HK and you're in the UK?

I'm an EU citizen and my husband's a New Zealand citizen. When I went to get my B permit I applied for a family reunion while my husband was sitting next to me. He entered the country as a tourist as he can stay here for a maximum of 3 months without a visa. We were advised to do this by someone from immigration (alien police as they call it here) when I called them.
Although the family reunion form asked for an adress of a consulate or embassy for the permit to be sent to, I didn't have to fill that part in. The lady that gave me my permit told me that it wasn't necessary as my husband was already in the country. We will receive a letter in the mail when my husband can get his permit.
I have no idea how long this might take. According to people on this forum it can take a couple of weeks but it can also take a month, maybe even more.

My advise to you is to find out if your wife needs a visa to enter Switzerland as a tourist. Good luck.

As for the family allowance: when you find more about it can you let me know as my husband's unemployed too. Thanks.

As far as I am aware, family allowance is something you get for children - not non-working spouses.

Tax in Switzerland is based up the economic unit. Your wife's income and yours are added together, then the tax is calculated. So perhaps your local consulate is confused.

I've emailed a link to your post to a chap I know, also an EU citizen, who brought his Thai wife into Switzerland with little problems. He might be able to advise.

There is no such allowance.

This is what my friend said:

I arrived in Switzerland to begin my new job, but had already started
proceedings for my (then) fiancée to apply for a three month tourist visa.
Two weeks after, she was granted her visa, and was in Switzerland just a
few days after.
Before the three months were up, we applied for a spousal visa (where we
stated that within 6 months we would be married).
Within the 6 months, we got married, and she was issued a B permit.

hth

oh oh oh!

You guys are so helpful!! This is what I need to know. My Hong Kong wife doesn't need a visa and can stay in Switzerland for up to 3 months as a tourist. Thats probably means we don't have to separate any longer. So I just have to let her come as a tourist and apply her spouse visa in Switzerland when she arrived.

Thank you all!

Looks like it. Hope it works out for you!

Good luck

My husband got his permit today! Yay!!! It's the same as mine, a B permit for 5 years including a workpermit. We waited about 3 weeks for it.

Good luck with your application.

Congratulations on your husband's permit! Best of luck to both of you.
Now it's my turn to start the process.