Hi Everyone!

I've searched up and down and going a little wonky so I apologize in advance if a situation similar to mine has cropped up before!

In short here are my questions:

Can you keep applying for L permits over and over?

can you apply for an L-permit from scratch, or do autorities (negatively) take prior swiss work experience into account? and if so, what is the criteria and requirements? does an employer still have to proof this swiss/eu worker shortage?

I currently have an L permit for 6 months but I read they can be renewed for up to 24 months, at which time you automatically get a B permit. is this true??

Once you have an L permit, do the authorities look at the conditions under which you got it in the case of a renewal?

For those whom I would be so grateful to read further, here is my situation:

I'm non-EU, and am currently an intern in Baselland (though living in Baselstadt) on a 6-month L visa which expires end of May. I came hereunder the Canadian-Swiss Youth Mobility Program which states that given you've found a willing employer, you are allowed to gain swiss work experience in your field of study for up to 18 cumulative months until the age of 35. Because I already had 1 year worth of internships years ago during university, I've been told there's no hope in heck of renewing my current L visa under the existing conditions.

Although I'm concurently researching the B visa route, I'm losing steam on that and thought to revisit the L permit question since my employer doesn't have an advertised position by which to prove this swiss/eu priority criteria.

Thank you so much for reading! Any response is so greatly appreciated as I'm desperately trying to find a way to keep my current job and life going here and unfortunately have no swiss or european suitors on the horizon...

I also want to extend a thank you to all who invest their valuable time posting on these forums!! it is soooo completely appreciated!

I had to renew my L permit every 6 months for over 4 years before I got a B and I'm from the UK. My flatmate at the time was also from the UK, lived with me, worked with me and got a B straight away. Explain that one.

But I wouldn't worry if I were you. If you keep your nose clean, have a job then you should get renewals OK.

Those are the rules. However, changing to a full employment contract would get you either a B or a different type of L.

The OP is NON-EU, different rules apply.

Yes, the employer has to demonstrate that couldn't find anyone in Switzerland and the EU.

It depends on which L permit you get (look at the sticky post on top of the section). You can get an annual L permit, renewable only once (24 months total). Then you would need this to be changed in to B, and this is NOT automatically, the employer has to demonstrate why he wants to keep you.




You can't decide which permit you will get, it's up to the authorities.
Even if you had a full time contract and unlimited one, you may still get an L permit for the first two years, that happens often with non EU nationals, this was also my case.


Good luck!!!

Thank you everyone for the responses!

well it is funny reading these forums and how people with seemingly similar situations end up being treated so differently by the authorities, but if i had to reapply for a permit every six mo, so be it, I'd do it every day if it means me staying here!

@Chris: How was your situation then? Did you get your job through an advertised posting? If not, how did your company demonstrate your value above europeans? Because I would have an unlimited full-time contract as a continuation of my current internship, but exactly because of that fact there is no advertised posting to speak of...

And heck I just want a letter, either L or B are good for me...I just had a brief glimpse of light thinking and hoping the onus of proof would be less for an L than a B...which seems to be fading now...

Hi,

Well, the company had advertised the position for many months (around one year), and then they submitted this information to the work office (Arbeitsamt), then it took some time, and they finally approved the permit. I don't exactly the details, this was done by HR.
You should speak to HR, if they are not familiar with this, they should contact some legal advice and still is not guaranteed you would get the permit.

Cheers!

Hi yes, thanks for the reply!

it certainly explains it if your company had a posting up, then they have the paper trail to explain themselves with. Not the case with my current situation unfortunately. well I have a meeting with a lawyer on friday, so until then at least I will try to maintain a fraction of hope...

Thanks again!

Hey beetie just wondering if you have had any luck with your L permit? Also noticed that you mentioned that you are enrolled in the Youth Mobility program. Is this the Canada-Swiss Youth Mobility Program or?

I am currently looking into the same program if that's the case and wanted to see if you could give me any advice on what's the best way to proceed. Most importantly what was the route that you took to find an employer willing to hire you?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

Marko