Hi everyone

I need some advice on a permit situation. I have been in CH since 1993, lost my C permit twice due to work postings overseas. Now we have finally built a home and settled here. My 5 years comes up later this year and I should get a C permit. However I recently received a letter from my commune as shown in the image.

My wife called and basically a quite rude and harassed person at the other end simply stated that the C permit is not a right and that they would see when I presented myself. Does this mean if it's sunny, you get it, but if it's raining, you don't??? Or what?

It concerns me that the letter clearly states "renouvellement de votre permis B".

I would be keen to hear of any similar experiences and any advice on how best to manage this situation.

Thank you, kkckkc

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I also received a letter stating that I needed to renew by B permit, pretty similar to yours.
I went into the Amt and asked them if I could have a C instead. It was no problem I just had to go and get all the paperwork and they issued me a C permit.

I'm trying to remember back when we went from B to C. I'm sure we were sent the B renewal forms, and were quite surprised when a C came through the post. It was a while ago mind.

+1

Yes, I think we were the same, but that was back in 2003 so I guess things could have changed.

Could be they're being a bit testy as you've had a C permit twice before. But I should explain when you go in to renew that you've now built a house and see Switzerland as your permanent residence country. Also explain about the work commitments that took you away before and how they've changed (I assume) so you won't be in a similar situation in future.

Remember, that you can get a C permit suspended if you do need to be out of the country for some time. I think it's up to 4 years and has to be approved by your canton, but worth knowing.

+2 (2008).

In fact you dont even have to wait 5 years to get a C. You can apply for one a lot sooner and the only required proof of integration seems to be A2 level (elementary) knowledge of the local language.

Check out question 12:

http://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/bfm/.../faq.0019.html

Sorry, two more requirements apparently: a job and a clean criminal record. But I guess most of the EF members meet those criteria.

My wife is non-EU, but has a EU/EFTA b-permit (familiennachzug). Will she also get C because I have the EU nationality or is it about her own nationality in this case?

(always wondered that but never found a clear answer)

I would think she'd also get the C permit. I did - American/British married to a Brit, but I entered the country as American so that's what's on my permit.

When I applied for mine it was for a B (was told I wasn't eligible for a C) but then got a letter asking if I wanted to upgrade to a C.

Last December I had been in CH for 5 years. There are advantages to a C-permit such as no more pay-as-you-earn (Quellensteuer), so I got my employer to call the migration authorities in Liestal to get the appropriate forms and supplied an appropriate photo. At exactly 5 years the C-permit was issued together with an invoice and a note to my employer stating that Quellensteuer was no longer payable. Easy!!!!

That is plain nonsense and I'm surprised a moderator hasn't corrected it or deleted your post.
If you look at your own link it's clear

"sie sich insgesamt mindestens zehn Jahre mit einer Kurzaufenthalts- oder Aufenthaltsbewilligung in der Schweiz aufgehalten haben und sie während den letzten fünf Jahren ununterbrochen im Besitz einer Aufenthaltsbewilligung waren; "

As explained earlier, Mods aren't here to fact check, its clear that the expertise lies amongst the members who will argue the point and correct it if it needs correcting.

We are here to make sure it is all done nicely though, and that you don't send us dodgy links from the latest global spamhotspot, that's pretty much it

this is regarding the normal 10 years for non-EU, not the 5 for EU.

Thank you everyone... for the excellent feedback. I guess we just caught the lady on her off-day...!!! I'll post the result back from completeness.

So we went to the commune office. The lady had a look at the current B permit and she explained that it was only necessary to state on the B permit renewal form that I would like a C permit. So now we wait and see.

Ah, I misunderstood that then. Thanks.

Just to close this dialog, I received the C permit today in the post...!!! It is valid for 5 years.

In summary, even though the renewal form may be misleading, all one needs to do is write a request for a C permit at the end of the form.

Thank you everyone for your helpful reassurances.

Rgds, kkckkc.