Yes, you're right, in some senses it is circular.
Permit
Everything in Switzerland, with regard to permits, is divided into
- "EU" (those citizens have an automatic right to settle in Switzerland as long as they can support themselves) and
- "non-EU" (who are admitted to Switzerland, if at all, only under special circumstances).
A non-EU citizen cannot, of their own accord, apply for a permit to work and live in Switzerland. Their permit application must go through an employer.
Any potential employer wanting to employ a non-EU citizen must be able to demonstrate to the Swiss immigration authorities that they have searched through all of Switzerland (first step) and all of the EU (second step) and even so were unable to fill the post, such that they now desperately need permission to employ a non-EU citizen. Employers do this by proving, for example, in which journals and on which websites they've placed and ad, which agencies they've been using and how long they've been advertising the job, while being unsuccessful in recruiting the necessary staff member.
Red Cross assesses residents of Switzerland only
It is true that the Red Cross will not do the work of assessing any foreigner's qualification until the person is living in Switzerland. This is because there are too many people living abroad who have half a dream to move to Switzerland, whose applications would clog the system, potentially without ever actually helping Switzerland to get nurses.
How do employers hire a nurse whose qualifications are not yet recognized?
Specifically for nursing, many employers take the leap of faith in employing a foreign nurse without a Swiss-recognized qualification. However, they are - for obvious reasons of patient safety, etc. - not allowed to employ the person according to their proper rank.
Therefore, some nurses take on a job at a much, much lower level than their qualification, but having spoken openly with the employing hospital or clinic, and agreed (if you can do this, get it in writing, in the contract) that the post will be upgraded to their real level as soon as the Red Cross has granted recognition.
This can also mean, however, that the incoming nurse would need to be willing to step down, perhaps several levels, to earn less and to do more boring work, just in order to get a job and thereby permission to live in Switzerland. But this is temporary, just until they obtain their Red Cross recognition. What is needed to get [successfully] recognized?
In recognition, there's the formal step that must be done through the Red Cross. There's also the other sense of recognition, that is, informally and for future promotions, by your employer. For either or both, it can be worth making the effort to collect full documentation.
Collect all your qualifications, but not only your graduation certificate. Ideally, go back to the college or university at which you studied and the hospital in which you trained, and try to collect the full syllabus of what you did, or the current equivalent. This should include the names of all the modules you did, but also, if you can get your hands on them, the lists of actual content of each block/course.
Also, make a list of the hours you spent on theory and on practice, with supervision/mentoring and then alone with reporting to a superior, for each of these.
Note which exams (practical, theoretical, which material, how long was the exam, what did it involve) you wrote, the standard pass marks/scales, and the mark you achieved.
Obtain documentation from your professional nursing board, detailing the ranks of nurses and their qualifications, and the certificate of your registration at your level.
EDIT: Also collect your work records and references or testimonials, especially the sort which document the dates, and also your specific responsibilities, including in-house extra training.
The Red Cross may deem some of your qualifications as equivalent, but some as "lesser than" what they need in Switzerland. In that case, you may be required to first complete an extra module/course at a nursing college in Switzerland, to gain the competence required in Switzerland. Unfortunately, no-one can tell you this beforehand, although you might be able to gain some sense of the comparison by looking at nursing colleges in Switzerland.
I have also heard of someone who was required to pass an exam in things that are not so much medical but very specifically Swiss, using the local terminology, such as being able to use the recording systems so that the insurances could be properly billed.
Bonne chance and, hopefully, soon welcome to Switzerland. We certainly do need more nurses!
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