Hi,
I am a New Zealand citizen, and have been in Switzerland for a year now on the L permit, granted under the Young Professionals scheme. It is a 18 month visa so I have 6 more months left.
I am searching for a way to extend my L permit, or change to another permit to hold a more stable visa status.
Since arriving here last year, I have come to co own our design firm with my Swiss boyfriend. Our company is registered in Switzerland where I legally own half, and have equal responsibilities.
I have a Masters degree and am working in the career that I have studied, and my German efficiency is now at B2. I have heard so much that for a Non EU citizen, a B Permit is pretty much impossible to obtain, unless you were a rocket scientist.
Is there ANY other way than getting married?? I guess it is the "easy" option but it seems quite ludicrous that I can own and operate a business here, but cannot reside here unless I was hitched.
Has anyone extended their L permit beyond 18 months? and if so, under what circumstances? Or any other ideas?
Thanks in advance!

According to the link below, a Young Professional should be able to extend the stay for up to another 18 months for justifiable reasons. The Young Professional needs to provide a reason for the extension and a new employment contract with a training programme. See section 6. for details:

https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/data/se...ires-CHE-e.pdf

Also, owning a business in Switzerland does not normally give a non-EU owner a right to a Swiss residence/ work permit. There is an exception if the business is sizable and is or will be employing a number of Swiss residents.

Thank you so much!
I forgot to mention in the main post, that I am currently 30, and turning 31 in December 2016. For a NZer, the age limit for this permit is 30 (inclusive).
Would you happen to know by any chance, whether the extension would be possible regardless of my age, because at time of initial application I was 29?

I just found this under section 2:

"Work permits are granted for a maximum of 18 months (several stays are possible as long as their overall duration does not exceed a total of 18 months)."

It appears that a work permit extension under the Young Professionals programme beyond 18 months is not possible.

Other than marrying your Swiss boyfriend, I can think of the following approaches to obtain a new residence/ work permit:
1) Obtain a concubine (Konkubinat) residence permit (may not be available in all cantons).
2) Find an employer who wants to hire you as a highly-qualified employee and who is willing to jump through the hoops to obtain a non-EU permit.

A non-EU citizen can be considered as "highly qualified" with:
a. Masters degree
b. Necessary professional experience
c. Comprehensive language skills, further education and rewards are highly beneficial
d. Annual salary of at least CHF 100'000

See pdf pp. 11-12 at this link:

https://www.vischer.com/fileadmin/us...tzerland_2.pdf

Another possibility might be for you to enroll in a Swiss university as a student.

Given your nationality I think it's worth checking with the cantonal migration office on whether your permit can be exchanged or not.

"Nationals of the following states do not require a visa to enter Switzerland under any circumstances: Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

However, the competent Swiss authority will issue a prior authorisation of a residence permit in the following cases:

a) for a stay of more than 90 days, or
b) a stay involving gainful employment:
lasting more than eight days, or
from the first day of work in the primary or auxiliary construction sectors, the hospitality sector, industrial or private cleaning services, surveillance and security services, itinerant sales and services or erotic services.

This prior authorisation of a residence permit is issued directly to the foreign national, or to a third party (employer), by the cantonal migration authority. The Swiss diplomatic or consular mission is not involved in this procedure."

Whether you would still come under the non-EU hiring criteria I don't know, but it's worth checking first.

And at age 30 you may also not be able to study at a uni here.