I have a question about welfare in Switzerland. My son currently has state-funded health insurance and we are receiving cash assistance here in the US. If my boyfriend (who is a Swiss citizen and living there now) and I get married, will we be able to apply for assistance from Switzerland? Our son is 3 months old, my boyfriend has three more years of college before university and I don't speak much French. Would one of us have to get a job to be eligible for welfare? Would he have to get a full time job for us to get married? A part-time job? What kinds of welfare does Switzerland offer for infants and couples?

If anyone has any information or finds any on Swiss welfare, eligibility, income limits, housing assistance or anything else that is relevant, please post it. I need all the help I can get. Thank you so much.

I don't think you will get any welfare payments based on what you're posting here. There are some small payments and tax allowances that spring to mind but I don't see them throwing a house and money at you in this situation.

Did you plan for this baby? Do you have a job?

Unfortunately for you, I think Lob is right. The Swiss have their programmes for giving financial help to those in need but for two young healthy adults who will want enough money to live on for umpteen years...? I am not even sure you can get permission to live here unless you are married or can prove that you, or your future husband, have the wherewithall to support yourself and your son.
I know this all sounds very wet-blanket-like, but the best way to find out exactly what the law is and the possibilities are, in your particular situation, is for your boy-friend to ask in the parish in which you will be living.
Hope things work out for you.

__________________
Longbyt

It's only a little bit of a wet blanket, no worries. We did not plan for the baby. My boyfriend is a full-time student and so am I. He works part-time for his father during vacations and summer. Since our son is so young, I'm not working, though I may start if I'm offered an opportunity to return to my previous position in a boarding school. That, too, would be part time. I'm not talking about staying on welfare for decades. It is just going to be very tough to get by while I try to learn French and my boyfriend is finishing college. Thank you for all of your help thus far. I will have him ask his canton. Thank you all.

I suspect that the family of your boyfriend would have to "sponsor" you and your child for you to get a residence permit if your boyfriend has no means of supporting himself.

Those are two questions I might have asked if I had the guts....but here is what I would really like to know; you have 10 posts here, asking all kinds of questions and I just have to wonder why your Swiss boyfriend, who speaks a national language, is not making these inquiries on your behalf? You are not living here, he is. Why are you not asking him to find out these things for you? He wouldn't even need to use the English forum to do so? Don't you trust him?

I trust him. He is not making these inquiries on my behalf because, well, I don't know why. I guess I'm just a few paces ahead of him. He also has this annoying tendency of not knowing where to turn for information. I prefer to know things firsthand anyway.

Don't worry about having the guts to ask me things, I'm fairly open.

Hi,

May I ask how old you guys are? I don't quite understand what you mean by "3 more years of college before university" - there's no college / university system here in Switzerland. Does that mean he's still in Gymnasium (which would mean he's not 18 yet?)? If he's not 18, there's no way he can get any money from the state - his family will have to pay instead. They are legally required to pay for him during his primary education (which includes the first years of University as well).

I might be old-fashioned - but the way I see it: if your boyfriend / fiance isn't able to support a family, you might not want to get married at this time and postpone things until he has a regular income. If he's already in University: why doesn't he look for a regular job? I worked 40% during my 5 years at University. It's hard sometimes, but I was able to survive mainly on my own. Once he has a regular income, you guys will have access to very cheap childcare (childcare's very cheap if you don't have a massive income), get child money (Kindergeld), which is usually about 250 Fr. per month / child and can make some massive tax deductions (although you probably won't have to pay taxes anyway in your situation).

As for welfare / Sozialhilfe: when you apply for welfare, they'll check your family first. Meaning they'll make your boyfriend's parents pay before you get anything from the state. For University, you can get state-funded scholarships - but again, only if your boyfriend's parents don't have any money. If they have a house and a car: forget about it.

peter

My boyfriend is 18, I am 19. He spent a year in the US which doesn't end up counting towards a year at home so, he's stuck with three years college to go. Will his family have to pay if, by some fortunate turn of events, we are living by ourselves?

there's no rule that says you have to live under the same roof for his parents to be legally obliged to pay for him until he finishes his primary education.

I've attached three PDFs for you that will explain your rights. They're in German - your boyfriend will be able to help you with that.

Essentially, this is the (federal) law: your boyfriend's parents have to pay for him until he is 18 OR until he has finished his primary education. Primary education, in this case, means University (probably at least until he has a Bachelor's degree). They can make him work but no more than he can take without hurting his grades. He does NOT have to live with his parents for this to be legally binding.

Also, unless your boyfriend's parents also live on welfare, you guys aren't eligible for welfare (to answer your original question). Instead, his parents will have to pay for him. They don't technically have to pay for you or the child - but if you're married to him, they'll have to make sure the three of you are able to survive.

That said - I'm not a marriage counselor or a psychologist - heck, I'm probably the last person I'd ask in a matter like this. But my honest opinion is: you're too young to get married and you and your child are probably better off staying where you are until you're a bit older and your boyfriend has finished his education - and until you've figured out what you want to do with your life. I understand that you're getting adequate support at the moment - I personally wouldn't risk losing that.

Apart from that - I was a foreign exchange student in the states myself. I congratulate your boyfriend on having taken this step. It certainly has changed my life fundamentally and has left me more mature and independent - for your boyfriend that might be the case even more because the stay abroad didn't quite turn out the way he had planned.

regards,

Peter

Attached Files

	2.307 RA0049 Unterhaltspflicht bei Erstausbildung-1.pdf (47.6 KB, 1091 views)
	Praxis-1.pdf (33.3 KB, 1803 views)
	unterhaltsbeitr_muend-ausb-2.pdf (59.3 KB, 351 views)