My situation is a little bit complicated and I was wondering if any of you might have an idea of what will happen to me in this situation.
I am a EU citizen who has been working in Switzerland since 1st of July this year. In the end of October I will go back to my home country (Sweden) to have a baby in middle of November. I will then have been employed by my Swiss employer for 5 months and I will be on maternity leave for the next 8 months. The first 4 months will be paid and the rest unpaid. In august 2012 I will come back to Switzerland and continue the work. During the 8 months of maternity leave I will have no address in Switzerland.
My questions are now about taxes, insurances and permits.
1. How much tax will I pay on the maternity leave money and what are these taxes based on if I don’t live in Switzerland?
2. What will happen with my work permit if I reside outside of Switzerland for so long time? Do I have to change permit since I do not have an address in Switzerland?
3. Can I cancel my health insurance or do I have to pay that during the time I am on leave (I will be covered for illnesses in Sweden so for personal reasons I don’t need it).
It would be really nice if someone could assist me in these questions or at least give me a guidance of where to turn, my company doesn’t really know how this should be handled.
And just for anticipating some comments: Yes, my company knew I was pregnant before they hired me and yes the 8 months of leave was agreed before I started J!
Thanks a lot for any assistance!

In my opinion, a good option would be to get down to your local gemeindehaus / stadthaus and speak to someone there. They have all your information and should be able to help you out. Or, in the worst case, point you in the right direction.

Congratulations on the baby and good luck.

And yet they didnt tell you how the situation will be? I ask you because if this was discussed since the begining with the employer, then your questions should be somehow covered. maternity leave in this case counts as unemployment? because if you are still employed by the company then I dont see why you loose the work permit. Im no savvy in this things anyways and Im sure somebody else will help you in a better way.
Wish you a painless delivery, fast recovery and happy maternity

Thanks for the answers…!

Coconut: The situation was not 100% clear at that time, I hadn’t decided whether I was going to stay in Switzerland or going back to Sweden, so I never brought up the detailed questions, we just agreed on the frame.

The company is supportive, they say that if I loose the work permit then they will apply for a new one for me in august 2012. So I was more thinking that I would loose the permit since I no longer will have an address in Switzerland, but that is maybe not the case?

Don't panic. The situation is not as complicated as you make out.

As you won't have an address you can't have a residence permit (makes sense if you think about it).

Deregister when you leave - hand in your permit. Cancel your health insurance.

Register again when you come back - just pop along with your employment contract. You will get your permit back.

If you pay tax at source then expect this to be deducted in the payroll - you will be able to claim any overpaid tax back via a tax return when you come back.

Thanks a lot for that answer Swissbob, is it really that simple... ?!

That’s great in that case…
But just a reflection, so I don’t really need to be registered in the country in order to get payment from a company?

That will be why then, Well Im happy for you that the company is so supportive and is one less thing to think about, as you will have your job back as soon as you have already enjoyed the precious months to come with your baby. you should for sure know than when you comeback it will be great if someone will come with you to help with the baby as daycares are normally fully booked and takes some months in the waiting list.
Like said before, all the best!


Wow Bobbie, that will make it very uncomplicated for you, it will be a great idea to pop by your gemaide and just ask the steps to follow.


**on a side note, i cant help reading your name as boobie

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Coconut: Thanks for the advices! We have it all sorted out... (at least for the first year) and that is the reason why we will go back to Sweden for some months. My boyfriend who is currently here with me taking care of our first child will go back to his old work and work there for the months when I'm on maternity leave. Since he is a part of the swedish wellfare system he is then entitled to paternity leave for the baby to be born and will be home with her/him for a couple of months after we have got back to Switzerland...

The hard times starts when his paternity leave is over and we need to find daycare for two children... but that's next years trouble...!

Thanks again!