Hi everyone.
I'm having my work permit (if it's approved) sent to a consulate somewhere near CH. Has anyone had a good experience with an American consulate either in France or Germany or other bordering country? One that perhaps isn't so bad with bureaucracy and has nice, competent people? I'm not sure if that's possible, but any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

I think the US embassy in Bern is near Ka We De (or whatever it's called), on the no. 19 bus. Can't miss it, it's on the coner of the road with a big metal fence across the road and some bored-looking guards outside. I wouldn't know about what they're like as I'm not from the US.
Probably not much, I know, but just in case it is...

Boris, as he's non-EU, he must get the work permit from outside the country (IIRC). But surely it would be from a Swiss embassy?

Exactly Lob! The nearest one to Zurich is in Stuttgart apparently. They were very friendly, no messing around. We rang them up, they told us what we had to bring and informed us that they shut I think at 12:00 so... easy!

I'm sure you can find the Swiss Embassy in Stuttgart with google...

Thanks for the replies! Yes, I am searching for an embassy or consulate outside of CH but one somewhat close to Bern. Stuttgart sounds good actually... I don't know if Freiburg or Basel's German side has a consulate but I will check it out.

I used the embassy in Milan to get mine. I found them to be quite competent and I got to stay a day in Milan to eat good Italian food.

I live in Zurich, so it was an easy train ride for me. To Bern, I think not such a problem either. However, I think the closest Swiss Consulate is in Strasbourg, France. Either should be quite painless. Make sure that you check the hours that they are open. They usually close at Noon.

Good luck,

fduvall

just to reiterate - it will be a SWISS embassy you need to visit. They will give out SWISS permits, nobody else will.

i don't know what I would do without you Englishforum posters! I would literally be fighting a losing battle with the American consulate in Stuttgart!
Duh, of course it's the Swiss consulate, not the American. I don't know what I was thinking. My mind is swiss cheese from this whole app process. Thanks for being more careful than me.
Cheers!