Hello everybody!

Really need an advice or some tips if anybody had similar case or knows a good lawyer who specializes in immigration cases. Would greatly appreciate your feedback. So here is our case and we are trying to find the best way with the least possible headache to move from just a couple to a married couple

1. My partner is EU-citizen working & living in Geneva for a little over 5 years on C permit.
2. I am Non-EU, with Russian citizenship
3. Since he cannot relocate to their Moscow office, most likely I will have to relocate to Switzerland with my 8 years old child.
4. Since 3 countries are involved we cannot understand where would be the best place to get officially married so afterwards it's easier to relocate me and my child, and we don't need to go through 1 million institutions (only 100 to prove our marriage and get permit on staying in Switzerland. If we get married in Moscow, Russia, then translate and notarize all the documents, would it be easier to get approved for a legal stay in Switzerland with my husband? I assume I cannot legally stay there on my Schengen visa in case of our marriage.

Thank you for any help!

Getting married in Switzerland, when you are not resident here, is a paperwork nightmare! Where is your future husband from?

Holland

Basically, if you choose to marry in Switzerland, since you are not currently living here, it will take 3-6 months the total procedure before you are officially married, provided that everything goes smoothly without problem. And be prepared for investigations/questions from Swiss authorities to both your future husband and you with regard to your relation.

You may want to check if getting married in Holland then get it recognized in Switzerland is much less painful, or no...

Thank you! Questions and investigation doesn't really scare us, we are together for more than 2 years and I suppose we can prove that our relationship is real, but what scares me is the timing I know in Russia we can get married within a month, providing all documents translated and notarized. But then the question is would our marriage certificate be accepted by swiss authorities, and how does this process work?

Either way (getting married in Switzerland, or somewhere else and then get recognized in Switzerland) takes time (at least a few months). Seems there is no shortcut.

The thing that takes time is sending documents to embassies to be checked - the procedure on the registry office's side is quite fast. As you will have to have documents verified either way (birth certificate and either certificate of ability to marry or marriage certificate) it is the same bottleneck.

However: I submitted papers for marriage in Switzerland last week and was able to persuade them to mark the verification of documents as "urgent". Who know what that means? (except high fees)

Hi there


It doesn't really matter for your case where you marry. In your situation, you should really try to get married in Russia. First of all, you are there so can easily sort out the admin. Your husband will need a visa for Russia, but that's unavoidable given your situation, as one of you two will need a visa anywhere you go.


The problem with marrying in Switzerland is that it is so complicated, even for those living here. (many foreigners actually marry outside switzerland). When you apply for the marriage permits, for foreigners (even if they live in Switzerlnad), they want to check all documents with the embassy which can take months. Then, once they give the marriage permits, they are valid for only 3 months! (most other countries have 6 months). After that, you have to do it again! So it makes even choosing the date for the marriage impossible to get correct.


After the marriage, all the Swiss need, is a copy of your Russian marriage certificate with an official traslation and an Apostille (Hague) stamp on it. This is to prove the document is genuine. You get this stamp from the russian authorities, but often from a different office than the one which gives the certificate.


Then your husband takes this to his townhall, who will update their books. Then he applies to invite you to come and live here. He will have to sign that he accepts to be financially responsible for you and the child for 5 years. This process cannot go wrong generally, unless they think that he is not earning enough to support you. But if he works here full time (100%) this is unlikely. Then when they say OK, they will give you a temporary visa on your passport just to enter Switzerland, and when you are here they will give you a 5-year B permit. You can also work as a dependant here at any job (no job authorization is needed), but of course if your husband leaves the country or loses his job you have to leave too.


They dont really care in your situation (as married) about your relationship etc. All they care is that he signs to be responsible for you for 5 years, and then they are ok. Note, that in some cases (for some nationalities) before they give your final permit they may ask for a copy of your birth ceritificate (again with apostille stamp) and/or a copy of your criminal record. This you will have to ask just before you are ready to move to Switzerland (so you can bring it with you).