Hi all, need a bit of help here..... I am a British/Brazilian, work in finance, moved here a month a go to work and have a better quality of live. I applied for many jobs over the past month had an interview last Friday and was offered the job by the end of the day. I liked the company and the possibility to learn loads of new stuff the only problem is the salary. I've asked for 5k p.m. net and they offered me that amount gross, which will be around 3,500 Swiss Francs net after tax
I have asked to think about that over the weekend and get back to them on Monday, to start work on Tuesday. I am based in Bern and will have to commute to Montreaux ( I speak French but not German). My Swiss friends say that I should take it and that I need to have a work experience here to be able to find a better job but I am not sure if I will be able to pay my bills on that salary ( rent, insurance, transport, etc..).
My questions are: If I take the job do I apply for my work visa here or the company will apply for that? Will I be able to live here on that salary?
Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers!!

You will take your work contract to the municipality where you're living and they will start the paperwork for your permit. Since you're EU, you apply for your permit, not the employer.

The second question is tougher. It depends on where you're currently living, how much you're paying for food, rent, transport, etc. now and how much it will change with the new job. Do you have a long-term rental contract signed, or are you somewhere temporary where you might be able to switch to a shared room closer to work?

Good luck! Not knowing what type of job it is, it's hard to tell if the salary is a fair offer or not.

Did you get them to do the tax calculation ? For that sort of salary I would think that 30% tax sounds high... plus you have to pay for health insurance etc...

However, it's a base salary for a basic trained job...and as said, better to have a job than not have one, and to get local experience.

The key will be to reduce your living expenses - share house, minimise commute, get settled in, then go upwards (hopefully) from there.

3Wishes Thank you! I was offered a Job as a Bookkeeper 100%. I am currently staying with friends until I find a job and can rent my own place in Bern. Hopefully it will be fine. :roll eyes:
Many thanks

In that case, I would get started working, keep living expenses low and do your best to get settled in...

I would look at moving closer to your workplace for a start. Yes, I know all your friends are in Bern, but the travel costs may turn out to be a big part of your expenses. It'll cost 82 francs a day (41 if you get a half price travelcard) plus it takes and hour and a half each way to get there and back! Do you really want to spend 3 hours a day travelling?

That's what I thought too. I plugged in OP's gross salary for 12 months on Comparis and ran the tax comparison. If he/she lived in the most expensive municipality in Kt. Bern, the taxes would wind up at around 25%. If OP moved to Kt. Vaud, then the highest tax would only be 20%. Only.

I ran the numbers based on a single person, no dependents, and with church tax. OP's info might be different.