OK I think I put this in the wrong place initially, last reply on Non- EU Bullet Points. So I will try again here.



Hi Shorrick MK2 and SwissBob, thank you for all your detailed responses on this very helpful forum.

We are non EU (Canadian) I am the trailing spouse, hubby has an L which is not due for renewal until Oct 31 2011. He has been assured it will be renewed. They have also offered to issue a letter from HR to that affect.
He was successful in obtaining employment with ETH as an IT Manager.

I came over on a tourist visa to see if I would like living here (yes, its all good).

I visited the Migration office, (Sicherheitsdirektion Kanton Zurich) and they gave me a form, which I fill out the top, hubby fills out the bottom

He is suppose to hand the form (Gesuch um Einreisebewilligung) in when I leave for home, Victoria BC (March 10th ). Then he will hear from them they will send him a letter indicating what he needs to submit, and what I need to do at the Swiss Embassy in Vancouver Canada.

From what I have read on this incredibly helpful forum, he will need to have our marriage certificate and maybe my birth certificate, validated and translated into German to submit to the Migration Office.

Can anyone recommend who he should use and where he can get this done?

He has only been in the job since January and is incredible busy at work and travels a lot, so if I can give him all the information on what he needs to do before I leave, that will help out a lot in getting me back quicker (yes he does want me back ASAP.

Also is it possible for him to ask now for his L visa (1 year term with ETH) be upgraded to a B. There are very happy with him and are eager to have him stay and have me back here. He has a residency permit.

It seems the B visa are allocated to each Kanton and by March they have to wait for their new allotment, so if he asked in May to be upgraded to a B he should be successful (or at least hedging his bets)? Hopefully...maybe?

Thanks for you advise/recommendations.
Lauren

__________________
Living the Dream

The courts usually keep a list of translators that can do this. I had my divorce document translated from German to English by one of them some time ago. If you want the name then send me a PM.

Hi Lauren,

I don't know the answer to your first question. My marriage certificate didn't need to be translated into German, but a copy was issued on an "international" form conforming to some agreement. Maybe Canada has something similar, though I think these sorts of forms are more common in European countries.

Also, I don't think anyone can guarantee that someone's permit will be upgraded to a B. More knowledgeable people will certainly weigh in (specifically, swisspea who has a helpful personal experience), but it seems that, if you're granted an L, you will more than likely be on it for two years, and then be given a B (or not). Also, you can't renew your permit more than three months before renewal time.

I'm also not from the EU and I know how it feels to be worrying about your permit and long-term prospects. I don't mean to be discouraging, but Switzerland has a two-tier foreigner system, and it's harder for a Canadian than an EU citizen.
Good luck!

@ Liquidpaper Thanks I was wonder about hubby requesting an upgrade to an L good to know that he cannot do this until 3 months prior to the L expiring. His expire the end of Oct 2011 so he can ask for ( I know, he may not get it but he can try) an upgrade to a B in August 2011.

@ Mikey, thank you for your offer of a name, I have PM'd you.

Thanks again for the assistance.

Lauren

My wife and I got married in upstate NY while on vacation (1988). We were both resident in ZH at the time, and she had dual Canadian/Swiss citizenship (me just US).

In NY, we just told them what her divorce papers said (they were from ZH), and when we returned we just gave them (the ZH people) the US marriage certificate, no translation needed.

Tom

P.S. For the better part of a year, I was married and she wasn't (me, US citizen, married in the US, they had to accept, her, Swiss, married in a foreign country, took many months and CHF 35 to put right! )

I am envious, the migration office in Zurich advise my husband to be prepared to submit our marriage certificate and if necessary my birth certificate "validated and translated in to German". So basically I am going through all the documents I brought with me when I can over on a tourist visa, and trying to figure out what I should leave here for him. Then I wait in Vancouver Canada until the Embassy there tells me what I need to submit to them.

They don't make it easy and they tend to vary their answers depending on who you get behind the counter, but I can't complain. When I called the Canadian Embassy in Bern..... They gave me a completely wrong answer, telling me I could submit all the paperwork in Milan and that I did not have to go back my place of origin to submit for a long term stay visa. Imagine if I was trying to work I am just trying to stay with my husband in Zurich. Still I love the city and the people.

Cheers
Lauren

__________________
Living the Dream

I know that the ZH people did send it to the Swiss consulate in NY to be translated and validated (at their expense), but again that was to ensure that SHE was married, I always was!

Tom