I am a US Citizen engaged to a C permit holding Swiss resident. In October of 2016 I supplied all the documentation required to get married in and move to Switzerland to the Swiss Embassy in Washington D.C.. Since that time we have had to supply additional information to the immigration office in Geneva, the last of which was requested and supplied 3 weeks ago.


I am curious how long you think I will now have to wait before I am contacted by the embassy informing me if the visa is approved and then also how to collect it? Also, will they call, mail or email notification? We had planned to get married this August but I am hesitant to book my flight since this has taken longer than we anticipated.


Thank you for any insight,
Anxious to get married

Has your fiancé done their stuff at this end? Do you have a date for the marriage to take place?

https://www.ch.ch/en/civil-wedding-ceremony/

As for getting the visa, you'll need to either take in person or send your passport to the Swiss embassy once they receive notification from Geneva that the permit is approved. 3 weeks is not very long, according to the embassy's website it's usually 8-10 weeks.

https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/u...-national.html

Yes, fiancé supplied everything requested as of three weeks ago and told them we planned to get married the end of August. Not sure how to inform them since the local office won't schedule a wedding date until my visa is in place.


Since it's been processing since last October I wasn't sure if the 8-10 weeks applied to the embassy appointment date when I started the process or the date the immigration office was supplied the final requested document. As I type this statement, it now makes sense to me that it would be the later.


Thinking our anticipated August wedding will have to be pushed back a month or two.

Well, it might be less since the application's been made for a while now. But the problem at the moment which may slow it down a bit is that it's holiday time here. Still, don't give up hope yet, they might surprise us both and you'll get a notification about the visa soon.

Yes, the holiday may slow us down again but my fingers are crossed we will hear something soon. I'm learning things don't move quickly there like here in the US (sometimes) and that's fine. I like the nice balance of work and personal life in Switzerland so I can't complain when my request is handled with that healthy balance.

Patience is earned, not given.

Thanks for your positivity. It helps.

Well, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. It also depends on the canton itself, some being much more busy with these things than others. But one thing I can guarantee - Geneva won't be passing on any info tomorrow. It's Swiss National Day - their 4th July - so everywhere is closed for celebrations.

Is the holiday just on Tuesday? Or will it the Geneva office be closed longer?

No, just Tuesday. They'll be back at work on Wednesday.

Just clicked on the first link you provided and now I'm worried about another point.


If the local office approved the marriage over a month ago but the immigration office is holding up the visa, will I run out of time to get married? It stated we have only so many days to get married once the registrar office approves the marriage and they did so over a month ago. Do the two office communicate? Should my fiancé go to them and explain our wait?

I would certainly keep them informed. It won't hurt and they may be able to extend if necessary.

I can't thank you enough for all your help! I will post any updates when they happen.

My fiance' stopped by the local office and explained our timing concerns since our 90 day window of marriage approval is almost expired. He confirmed with them that immigration had been in contact with him and all requested information has been provided. They told him it's not rare for their timeline to expire in cases like ours and not to worry since they are aware of our case. He felt like he wasted their time but I still think it was a good idea to inform them.

I will post any updates when they happen - thanks!

It's certainly not a waste. If nothing else it helps make clear to the Swiss authorities that you and your fiancé are aware of the rules and don't want to break them if you can help it. Always a good thing when it comes time to renew those permits.

Hope you get a result soon.

My thoughts exactly. We don't want to aggravate them but we also want them to know we respect the system and its rules.

Fingers crossed within two months we will know something.

Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge - it's greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know of delays within the immigration office? It's now been over 12 weeks and we haven't heard anything. Our attorney in Geneva sent them a request 2 weeks ago for the status and he hasn't heard anything back either.

Was wondering...

My reunification visa was approved on October 10th after almost 14 weeks of processing, in case someone is waiting or wondering on theirs past the 8-10 week quote. It took a little longer than anticipated but they've already made me an appointment for my bio-metric visit.

I'm still a little worried since my upcoming visit is only for two weeks and I need to get married, have my bio-metric exam and meet with the US Consulate regarding my marriage being recognized in America along with the passport name change. Oh yeah, I'd also like to spend some time with my husband (2b - for now). I'm thinking I can complete the passport name change when back in the US. Does anyone know?

Also, I read somewhere on here about a multi-entry visa. The reunification visa will allow me to go back to the US for a few months before coming back to Geneva, no?

Any information on these topics will be greatly appreciated.

Congratulations.

When you get your permit it takes the place of any visa for travel purposes in the Schengen area. But you mustn't be out of Switzerland for more than 6 months at a time or the permit becomes invalid and you'll have to start the application for a permit all over again.

Oh, that's good news about the visa! I can't thank you enough for all your help.

I did mine here and it was straightforward. First, you update your SS card. Then use that and the marriage license to update the passport.

Did you update your SS card with the US consulate?