well,im wondering if there are any canadians out there who have married a swiss national-i have been waiting for a certain form required by swiss marriage offices,in french-english-canadian translated-hehe-is the nr73.I have been waiting for this clearence form since November.They,the ever almighty'they'say they are working on it.Does anyone out there have similar sorry stories???how long did it take u to get this simple form???any info will make me happier-wendylynn

well, the n73 form doesnt say anything for me, but i can tell you my experience of marrying a swiss national. after getting the paperwork in my hometown i had to go to the swiss consulat in vancouver and personally sign papers for the entry visa and marriage preparation. once i got to switzerland i had to register myself at the gemeinde and get an L permit. Then i was given 3 months to marry. Which i did. After that i had to go back to the gemeinde to register for the B permit.

Now, ******Caution* please learn from my horror story. I changed my name (took my swiss husbands name after the wedding) and this has caused so many complications. It has been 6 months and i am STILL waiting for my B permit. ( You need this permit to be able to work) The problem is the migrations amt wants a new canadian passport with your new married name on it, and the canadian consulate wont give you a new passport till you show a swiss piece of picture ID with your new narried name!!!!!!

This is apparently a known issue, but they are slow to make changes to allow exceptions. Hound the canadian consulat to speak personally with the amt tro avoid this problem...or, dont change your name :P

Also, if you change your name, you will need to get a new passport and if you dont have a guarantor here you will have to pay extra and travel to Bern.

Hope this heads up helps you once you get the required form.

This is interesting to read. My wife and I have just discovered this morning that this going to prove a rather persistent obstacle for us.

We married last week, I am from the UK and she is from Canada. We both have current valid work permits and I'm baffled as to why the Swiss Office de Population doesn't issue her a new permit in her married name - surely the whole point of having the certificate of marriage and name change is to provide the catalyst for all these other docs to be changed.

I keep reading that once married, you should ensure that your name is changed on your passport, permit and Driving Licence. Yet in order to get any one of those changed you need to produce at least one of the other two that's already been changed :-s Chicken/Egg anyone?

Any tips on hounding techniques? My wife is going to personally visit the canadian consulate tomorrow regarding her passport.

This is exactly the problem i have been having for 9 months now!!! It is a vicious circle, and both agencies just blame each other ,and the Gemeinde has started making discriminatory remarks that Canada "solte sich anpassen" because Switzerland has a higher population. The migration agency here has finally issued me a BPass after 9 months, where my maiden name is on the front and my married name in really small print on the back....i just hope that the canadian consulat will accept this. Worst of all, the migrationsamt expects me to pay the full amount even though this pass is only valid 3 months, and the whole time i was legally prohibited from getting a job, costing me even more in financial losses. Paying extra for an international marriage certificate does nothing!...If anyone reading this has any ideas, or knows of an Ombudsman for immigrantsm, that would be appreciated.

just a quick update: 1 year 2 months. Still waiting on my B -Pass.