Hi there,

I was hoping that someone out there might know the law regarding residency requirements.

My husband and I have C permits, living in Switzerland. My child, who also has a C-Permit, will be attending High School in the US.

Can this change his residence status in Switzerland?

Any knowledge on the subject would be helpful!!

You need to ask your gemeinde if his permit can be put on hold. It's possible for things like studying abroad. This can be done for up to 4 years.

Thank you for your response. The permit is put on hold, but during that time it is not considered valid.

He has to keep his Swiss medical insurance due to medical reasons. However, the insurance can take it away if he takes up residence outside Switzerland. The insurance would consider him living in the US.

So my question is, being 15, can he take up residence somewhere else other than where his parents reside?

He can (lots of kids are in boarding school), he would need to have a legal guardian I´d imagine

Do not mix up different things. Tax residence, residency according immigration, and residency for other purposes can be different and do not have to be the same.

See also Section 6.16 of the SEM Handbook
https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/data/se...ngen-aug-d.pdf
and Art. 23 Swiss Civil Code https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classifi...index.html#a23

Best is to discuss the mater with your cantons migration office how to handle it and if a deregistration at commune is needed.

Sounds like you need to discuss it with his health insurance company too. If he has any complementary insurance cover and they cancel his insurance because of the move he may not be able to get it back when he returns to Switzerland.

Why is he going to school in the US? I assume he's been here serveral years with a C permit and gone to Swiss local school so why the change now?

A child residing with its parent(s) in Switzerland can go off to school abroad, returning home (= to parents in Switzerland) during school holidays. Such a child continues to have his/her domicile with the parents, in Switzerland.

The parents continue on have the same parental duties, including
ensuring that the child does attend school,
paying the premiums for Swiss compulsory medical insurance,
covering liabilities for any damages the child may cause, and
paying Swiss tax on any relevant income or assets owned by the child.

Not really relevant and, to be frank, none of your business.

To be frank, it's up to the OP whether they want to answer my question or not. I thought it might help to know the reason why. Might make a better case for the insurance company.

He was in an accident in 2017 in Switzerland. He is still undergoing treatment, however, now it is in the US. He has 2-3 more operations ahead of him with a minimum 6-month wait in between.

I have talked to the Migration Department and they have agreed to put his permit on hold, however, as mentioned earlier, his permit is considered invalid during that time. I am not sure if this is grounds for the insurance to no longer cover him. We can have it put on hold for up to 4 years but if we do that, he would not be able to attend University in the US.

I have talked to the insurance company and they said as long as his residence is in Switzerland he remains covered. I was also told by the insurance that if he is going to school in the US, he would be considered living there, hence my question.

We cannot jeopardize losing his insurance and want to make sure we know what we are doing before we do it.

Thank you very much for the information.

Then don't do it. He continues to live here, doesn't go to school in the US and has to travel back and forth for the necessary medical treatment. If that's your main criteria then I can't see any other way around it to keep the insurance valid.

As long as the child returns to Switzerland at least once every 6 months, for instance during holidays, there is no need to put his permit on hold. Beware that putting permits on hold can have implications if your child later wants to apply for naturalisation.
I wouldn’t worry to much about losing his insurance; so long as his C permit is valid, there’s no reason the insurance should stop.

Horrible advice!

Temporary returns don't interrupt the 6-month countdown.

See §80 VZAE.
"Art. 80 Erlöschen der Bewilligung
Die Fristen nach Artikel 61 Absatz 2 AuG werden durch vorübergehende Besuchs-, Tourismus oder Geschäftsaufenthalte in der Schweiz nicht unterbrochen. "

My daughter went to school in the US for 9 months, she didn't de-register.

Tom

You mustn't drive faster than the speed limit yet you rarely get fined if you do. But OP can't take that kind of chance.

Perfectly legal, we asked at the commune to be sure.

Tom

Swiss medical insurance is obligatory for everyone who resides in Switzerland, unless - and under special circumstances - they can demonstrate that they have an equivalent.

Leaving Switzerland means that one can no longer have Swiss obligatory medical insurance. One is no longer eligible. The only exceptions of which I know to this, are old-age pensioners leaving Switzerland to take up residence in some EU countries.

Therefore, it seems to me that if you put your son's C-permit on hold, and have him residing abroad, you automatically disqualify him from being insured with a Swiss medical insurance company (Krankenkasse / caisse maladie).

I do not define him as leaving Switzerland. He is out of the country for medical reasons and needs to go to school. That is it. I don't think he is living there as he is not old enough to make a living. He is still our dependent and staying there. However, I need to be 100% sure.

I have talked to the Migration office and our insurance and no one can give me a clear answer.

They do actually under certain conditions:
A child or dependant adult whose parents remain in Switzerland,
Continued payment of obligatory insurances,
Purpose of residency abroad being education. The idea is that the centre of the child’s interests is in Switzerland, and that the child is still therefore domiciled in Switzerland.
The manual on nationality law details this.