Hello,

I am Italian, and I was born and raised in Switzerland (Ticino). I lived in the same town in Ticino for 29 years -- I have an Italian passport and I was in Switzerland with a C Permit the whole time. In 1999 I went to the US to study English, and after 2 years I decided to get a Bachelor, so I stayed an extra 4 years to complete my degree. After that I got my Master, still in the U.S. During all this time, I lost my residency in Switzerland because I have been abroad for too long.

My question is: If I want to go back to Switzerland, can I get my C Permit back? Do I have to start from a B Permit instead (meaning, get a job right away). Also, since I was born in Switzerland and lived there from 29 years before moving, do I have any privilege?

Thank you in advance for any advice.
Cheers!

If I want to go back to Switzerland, can I get my C Permit back?
No. You start again.

Do I have to start from a B Permit instead (meaning, get a job right away).
Yes, kind of. But as an EU citizen, you can come here without a job offer, I believe.

Also, since I was born in Switzerland and lived there from 29 years before moving, do I have any privilege?
No.

I'm curious - if you lived in Switzerland 29 years before moving, why didn't you apply for Swiss citizenship?

If you were born in Switzerland then you are Swiss?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_nationality_law
Swiss citizenship is propagated by Jus sanguinis. A person is a Swiss citizen at birth (whether born in Switzerland or not) if he or she is:

• born to a Swiss father or mother, if parents are married
• born to a Swiss mother, if parents are not married

Jus soli does not exist in Switzerland, hence birth in Switzerland in itself does not confer Swiss citizenship on the child.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_sanguinis ( by blood )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_soli - ( by being born in the territory ) - not for Switzerland

I didn't apply for citizenship because Switzerland wasn't in the E.U. That's pretty much the main reason.

No you are not. It depends on father's nationality, mine was Italian.

Can you expand on that as it seems quite strange reasoning.

Do you mean that in gaining Swiss nationality, you would lose your Italian nationality? If so, say so.

I am surprised that after 29 years here, you didn't know as a C permit holder that could happen to you. Perhaps you did...

Indeed, I can't quite follow it.

OP is obviously assuming that gaining Swiss citizenship would have entailed losing the Italian one. Is that really the case..?

EDIT: Apologies I was wrong - see tantrum's post, below.

I was confusing myself with the other side of a dual-citizenship scenario which my other half has gone through. It was Luxembourg which recently changed the rules and now allows dual citizenship....

The law changed in 1992.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian...le_citizenship

Swiss citizenship can also come from the mother. (as jrspet mentioned) Is/was your mother Swiss?

Maybe the OP didn't wanna go to the military service...

Come on guys, the guy is not saying he is surprized he lost his residence permit nor is he asking on how to get citizenship. Why he decided to not apply for citizenship back then is not relevant to his question really. If he wants to answer anyway, fair enough but it is a pretty personal question in my view.

To the OP - i don't think you can get your c peremit back directly unfortunatelly. You have to go via the b (which you will get with no problems due to EU). The only advantage you may have is if you later decides to go for citizenship. I think you can partially count the years you lived in Switzerland previously.

I agree! Clearly he left in the early 90's when it was not or only just possible to apply without losing his Italian nationality.

ALL of his previous years count including those when he was a child which count as two. But he will have to live in Switzerland again 3 years (or so) before he can apply IF he wants to.

It's also important to realise that you'll be getting an EU B permit, not a non-EU B permit. This kind is so similar to the C permit you had as to make little to no practical difference to your life. Therefore, I wouldn't worry about it. Because you're an EU citizen, in reality you haven't lost anything. You can, from the States, jump on a plane, come to live in Switzerland, get an automatic permit, apply for a job, get a car, bank account etc. No problem.

Also, if the OP left before '92, I also would not have given up what is essentially an EU passport in exchange for a Swiss one. It's was a less useful/important passport.

I didn't apply for citizenship because I already had an Italian passport, and it would have been easier to find jobs and/or move to another EU country with a EU passport. Keep in mind, I am talking about the 80s and 90s, since I have been in the US for 12 years. Besides, the majority of Italians in Ticino, who are resident, don't apply for Swiss passport, what's the point anyway. The only difference between having a C Permit or Citizenship is the fact that you are allow to vote, but that's about it.

Yeah, that is what I thought too after reading up more online. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it!

Thank you Tilia for understanding. I ask for something and I get answers that aren't related to the question at all lol. Though I appreciate anyone who bothered to answer, really. But yeah, I am not asking for citizenship, I was just asking whether it would be easy to come back and get a job there and go back to living with old friends and family (whether it's through B or C permit). From all the responses I pretty much understood that I have a pretty good shot, also due to the various agreements with EU countries that weren't there a few years back.

Thanks again for answering.