Hi, All,

I am an Australian citizen and my partner is a Swiss. We have been in a de facto relationship for 6 years back in Australia.

Recently we relocated from Australia to Switzerland and I have residents' B permit (Aufenthaltbewilligung im Rahmen des Familiennachzugs) which was issued by canton Bern.

I know it is an exceptional case that I could get the family reunification B permit without getting married (Konkubinatpartner).

However there is a catch. The catch is that I don't have a work permit (Ohne Erwerb).

I have been searching related cases in this forum but still can't find any satisfied answers. Does anyone have similar case as mine?

I have few questions that I hope anyone could help me out.

1. I know that I can search and apply for jobs since I have residency permit already. However, as a non-EU national, in order to get a work permit, my future employers need to apply for it for me and they need to prove that they couldn’t find any suitable candidate in the whole EU and Switzerland. Am I correct?

2. The whole permit application would require 4 to 6 weeks process and there is no guarantee that the permit will be issued in the end?

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My current status

* My partner’s nationality: Swiss
* My nationality: Australien
* My Permit type: Aufenthaltbewilligung (B)
* Note: Konkubinatspartner
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There are no separate residence and work permits. Family reunification permits come with the right to work and are not subject to quotas. You are also equal to everyone else; Swiss, EU and others with permits.

The fact at it says you are without work on your permit doesn't mean you don't have the right to work.

To be certain though, best if your Swiss partner confirms this with the commune.

Also, please provide the translation for any foreign words. Them's the rules and not everyone on here speaks German, IE, I'm assuming you do in fact have a family reunification permit.

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I've heard of some reunification permits not including work permissions, and if OP's permit says ohne Erwerb on the back, that is exactly what it means - no permission to work. I think the French version would say sans activite (sorry, no accents on my tablet).

That said, I agree OP should double-check with the commune. The only thing I can think of is that the Konkubinat (literally concubine, I think) permit is unique.

No. He is in a partnership with a Swiss, "marriage, concubinage, partenaire" which includes same sex partners and de facto relationship. "Sans acitivite" means you are not working. It doesn't mean you do not have the right to work.

If he were married to an EU2 or something, I might be worried.

But yes. He should check with the commune. He will have to inform them anyway once he gets a work contract.

You need to check with the authorities.


Some dependent permits have the right to work, some don't. In some cases, you can simply ask to change to a permit with work and will change it. You need to find out what it means for your situation.


Another reason you must ask, is that confusingly, "no-work" on a permit can mean different things:


In your case, I think -but not sure- that it means: "not allowed to work" (but you may be able to change it, as I said); but on EU B-permits (where everyone has a right to work), "no-work" means you can still stay here even if you are not working (eg if you are a dependent), i,e "no work required", or "currently allowed to be here without work"

I'm not 100% sure either but I suspect that what it means on his permit is "not allowed to work". Several years ago when I had my permit based on family reunion, it was written on the permit "activité lucrative authorisé", which means that I was allowed to work, not "I had a work at that moment". I think that generally what is printed on a permit concerns more about your right to work, rather than whether you actually have a work.

But, even if you are not allowed to work, you might be able to change to another permit which allows you to work very easily based on the fact of family reunion.

Just to clarify on my post #5 (as I cannot edit any longer):

If you have a booklet permit, then what is written in the text of the last page 4 is correct.

So for B-EU permit have

- p.3 "sans activite lucrative" = no work at the moment / can stay without work
- p.4 "this person can work, anywhere in Switzerland bla bla", in several languages on the back cover

This means: Can work, if you want to.

not really. mine said 'sans activite lucrative' which meant i was not working, not that i was not allowed to work.

people who are family of swiss citizens have the right to work any where in switzerland and are on equal standing.

Thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate all your time and efforts.

My case is quite exceptional since my partner and I are not married. Our relationship is genuine and recognised by Australian government. We did provide many documents to support our application though.

As far as I know, my future employer needs to apply stellenantrittsgesuch (request for taking up employment) at its canton and I can start to work after the application is approved. The question is how "hard" or "long" it takes to apply a "work permit" for a person like me.

We are currently living in canton Bern and seeking employment opportunities in Zurich. One recruiter in Zurich declined my job application as I don't have a valid work permit. He also mentioned that it'll be too hard for an employer to apply for a work permit since I am a non-EU citizen. I just want to know whether his statement is true or false.

AFAIK, EU citizens without work permits just need to bring their employment contract to local gemeinde (commune) to change their residency status from without to with work permission.

On Article 46, (German version / French version)

In fact, technically my role is not a "spouse" but a "partner" since we are not married. However I did get the B permit based on family reunification, so I am a family member of a Swiss.

Once again, thanks for all your valuable inputs.

Elvis

Just to clarify terminology for you, OP - As miniMia said, there is only one permit. It either comes with working permissions or not. It seems unclear as to whether "ohne Erwerb" means you are not working versus you are not allowed to work.

I always assumed it meant not allowed, as my permit (dependent, non-EU, married to Swiss) says "mit Erwerbstaetigkeit." I was told at my commune it means "with permission to work." So even though I am not currently employed, I can be, and the employer doesn't have to do any special requests or processes to hire me.

I think you should pop over to the commune in person to sort this out, and get a definitive answer as to what "ohne Erwerb" means for you. If it really just means you aren't working but have permission to do so, then as others have said all you would need to do is take an employment contract to the commune and they will process the change. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Dear all,

I had asked the lawyer who had helped us for the family reunion application. He had asked officers of cantonal immigration and labour market authorities in Bern, Basel and Zurich. The result is quite positive.

Based on my situation, my future employer just need to apply stellenantrittsgesuch (request for taking up employment) at its cantonal office. The purpose is to formally inform the local authority that I am going to work at the company. The employer does not need to prove that they can't find any candidates from Switzerland and whole EU. The process of "request for taking up employment" should not take long.

miniMia is right, "ohne Erwerb" for the case like mine is to indicate that I am not employed, not I am disallowed to work. Since I am here based on family reunification with a Swiss, I have the right to work.

Once again, thank you for all your kind replies.

Elvis

You're welcome. What do I win? I hope it's a brand new car!!

Good luck on the job search!!

miniMia, you have won my heart

Thank you and all other members who have made contributions to this thread and forum.

Elvis

Aw, cute. Your partner is a lucky one.

I hope it's black and looks like this:



They don't call me "Mini" Mia for nothing.

Good luck with the job search!