Hello everyone,

I'm a New Zealand citizen. I would like to do my OE in switzerland.
I can travel to Switerland without a visa and stay no more than 90 days.
However, I was really hoping I could stay longer and work there. So I was wondering if it's possible to apply for residence permit L without any job offer?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum.

NZ Citizens are a little special. They get to spend 90 days per Schengen country visa free owing to bilateral agreements.

http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/destin...ropetips.shtml

Schengen area countries permit most holders of passports from outside the Schengen area to stay visa-free in the Schengen area as a whole, regardless of the particular country or countries, for no more than 3 months out of a 6-month period. (This is sometimes expressed as 90 days out of a 180-day period.)

However, New Zealand has bilateral visa waiver agreements with many of the individual countries in the Schengen area. These visa waiver agreements allow New Zealanders to spend up to three months in the relevant country, without reference to time spent in other Schengen area countries. The European Commission has confirmed that these agreements continue to be valid. These agreements thus effectively override the Schengen area restriction (which would otherwise be imposed on New Zealand passport holders) of no more than 3 months out of a 6-month period in the Schengen area as a whole.

The countries with which New Zealand has bilateral visa waiver agreements are:

Austria Belgium Denmark
Finland France Germany
Greece Iceland Italy
Luxembourg The Netherlands Norway
Portugal Spain Sweden
Switzerland

You can, therefore, move visa-free among the above countries for periods of up to 3 months in each country. If, however, you move to other countries in the Schengen area, the restriction of no more than 3 months out of a 6-month period in the Schengen area as a whole applies. If you have already spent 3 months in one or more of the above countries, your presence in a Schengen area country with which New Zealand does not have a bilateral visa waiver agreement may be challenged by local police or other authorities. You may also be accused of being an overstayer when you leave the Schengen area, or when you enter another country outside the Schengen area.

As a non-EU, your prospective employer applies for the permit ( if successful, you get to pick up the entry visa from eg the Swiss Berlin Embassy or a Consulate and register in Switzerland for your L / B residence cum work permit ). EUs are a little different that they get an L permit as a job seeker.

Priority for CH are locals and EU nationals. Officialdom link.

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You need the permit first to be able to work.

The employer applies for a permit for you, so there isnt any way to apply for the L permit without a job offer.

There's nothing to stop you looking to see what the job market is like for your field while you're here. However, you cannot apply for any jobs, that's not allowed. You must return leave Switzerland before you can apply.

Jobwise, Switzerland considers NZ to be a "third country" which means that the Swiss and EU citizens get considered first for jobs and only if an employer can't find one of them is he/she allowed to look for a "third country" citizen. If your skills are exceptional or fill a niche in the job market then you have a good chance. If they don't then it will be much harder.

Thanks all for your information. It looks very hard for me to find a job in Europe as my skill is not exceptional

It will be harder yes, but not impossible. Depending on what field you're in think about a more long term plan. Is there something you could specialise in which would make you more desirable as an employee here? If so, work on gaining experience and skills and then look to move over in a few years' time.

My major is finance but i'm not currently working in finance field. I am not sure what kind of skills are more favored in Switzerland or europe. I prefer to have further study in Europe than in NZ.

A student visa is different from a visitor visa. Why not apply for a student visa and study for your master's in Europe (Switzerland or otherwise). It also will make you much more employable here in terms of qualifications being accepted.

Study is my plan but not priority as it's too expensive. Do you know what field has better chance to find a job after study?

Depends on what your field is. I don't think you can come here to study a subject completely different from the one you already have, i.e. you couldn't come to study economics when your previous education is aiming towards architecture.

I realize Switzerland has a reputation for being expensive in general, but Uni education is really affordable from what I understand. The tuition and fees are low. It's the other cost of living that can be high, unless you share a flat, etc.

Finance is a decent field to study and can have good job prospects depending on your area of focus.

Thank you guys for information. I will make a plan