Is it absolutely necessary for a British citizen to be employed in Switzerland if one is eligible for a C Permit because one has been in Switzerland for 5 years on B permits because one got a B permit on the basis of an employment in Switzerland? What if one wants to set up one’s own business and is financially strong so there is no risk that he will not be able to support oneself? Is there any other way to get the C permit without having to be employed in Switzerland at the time of C permit application? Would a good lawyer be able to come up with a solution? Can anybody recommend a good lawyer who has experience in this C permit immigration area?

A very simple way around this would be for one to set up one's own business and one would therefore employ one's self.

That's one answer anyhoo.

I was told that one would need a salary of at least CHF70,000 per year if there is a married couple involved and only one is working. If the business is a start up, it will not have enough revenues to pay any salaries at the very beginning and start ups can take a while to take off...

Sounds like hearsay rather than law.

My husband is EU and when I applied for his C Permit, no letter was needed from his employer. For me, non EU, I needed a letter stating that I had an unlimited contract. No salary details were asked for.

Where could I check this 100% before I submit my application? Relocation agent who deals with permits told me that I need an employment contract with at least CHF70K if I am the only one working. At the Gemainde they told me that I need to submit employment contract with the rest of the documents to apply for C permit and if I submit an application without employment contract, the application would be rejected and I would need to reapply when I have a job.

Can you recommend a lawyer or an expert who could assist one with this application`?

If you are married to a Swiss, the C-permit should come through without too much effort on your side whether you are working or not. I went along to renew my permit after 5 years of having a B-permit and they presented me with a C-permit. No lawyers, no work contract, no fuss, no mess.

To be honest, as an EU citizen I'm not sure what the advantage of having a C-permit is over having a B-permit. You can stay here, rent or buy a property, work, be insured. Nothing changed for me.

You can suspend a C-permit if you were to move out temporarily. I'm not sure if you can with a B. B-permits have to be renewed annually. There are other external issues for B-permit holders such as credit card companies have more stringent conditions, different mortgage conditions, some car insurance companies charge higher premiums, requirements for deposits, etc.. There are advantages of the C over a B.

None of the above seems to affect me but it might because I am married to a Swiss. I certainly didn't have to renew my B-permit every year, I don't have any weird conditions with my credit card, car insurance, deposits, etc, my B-permit was good for 5 years then the C-permit just seemed to pop up at the time of renewal. Life went on in exactly the same way.

I was trying to find out if the OP is married to a Swiss or not.

In teh case of EU citizen permits:

Nope.


Nope.

Nope.

That could be true - all insurance companies are thieves .

All we can do is give you our experiences - I didn't "apply" for a C - it just came when the B expired. I had to show nothing.

If you are not employed are you claiming unemployment benefits?

Exactly the same for us, neither of us were Swiss at the time our C-permits came through. I was officially a PhD student at the time, yet still on a B.

I think it may be related to the commune/gemainde in which you are living.

I received a letter 2 months before expiration of my B permit (EU citizen) asking me to renew it (if I wanted to) at least 2 weeks before expiration.

I went there and asked to get the C permit instead. My current employment contract was in the list of documents to send.

I am also in the process of transferring from a B to a C permit. I am British and have been here for 5 years.

I am required to provide a copy of my employment contract and confirmation of my salary, % age of work and also confirmation that I am permanent. This is in addition to the other documents required.

No.

I was between contracts when my B permit expired, it was not a problem. I supplied proof of payment of prior taxes, ticked the box saying I was not claiming social security, and all the other documents and that was enough.

Interesting.

Seems like Zurich, for once, is behind the times. Those of us outside seem to have a better experience.

If I did claim, would that have any effect on me getting my C permit?

Interesting. This is exactly what my Gemainde told me. I called them to ask what documents I need to bring with me to make a C permit application (as my B permit expires in 2 yrs), and they told me that I need my employment contract as it was the basis on which we got our B permits. I told her that I was between jobs and she said that if she makes an application without the employment contract, that the immigration would reject my C permit application and that it is better I wait until I find a new job and then apply as I still have 2 years on my B permit.

Acctually, I am due to move to a different Gemainde in a few months. How could I check what the new Gemainde would need for C permit application? Should I call them and tell them that I am moving to their Gemainde

This is what my relocation agent told me as well.

What does confirmation that I am permanent mean exactly? Is it that you passed the 3 months notice which is at the beginning of each employment?

There is no way around this anyway, you are obliged to de-register from your current Gemeinde and re-register with the new one.