I am a Brit (so only EU for the next few days) on a CDL with an Intl Org. My son, now aged 13, arrived in CH aged 2, missed out on his chance at Swiss naturalization when the law changed (Jan 2018) requiring a Permis C first. We immediately put in an application for his Permis C anticipe.

After a year we got a reply saying that my husband and I would need to meet the (new) language requirement (B2 oral/A1 written) in order to progress our son’s application. Since we are staying on the CdL, we tried to find out why we now figure in our son’s application. Everyone we speak to at the cantonal office, at the desk or on the phone, expresses surprise that we have been asked this, yet the letters keep coming saying we have to meet the requirement.

My question is, what should we do next? I await my exams in Nov, but my husband who works in an English language environment is unlikely to meet B2 level for at least a year or two. By then, we might be moved out of CH by our employers and our son will have no right to stay on. His sister has her Swiss passport already, under the old rules. Both kids are fully integrated, native speakers in the Swiss school system.

Do I get a lawyer to intervene at this point? Or is that likely to ensure a rejection? Should I try to get my son on a B permit first, so he has some right to stay, and also the (parents’) language requirement will be only A2/A1? I have found no one in our situation, so there is nothing online that answers my questions. Would truly appreciate any advice.

Why would your son stay on if you move away? He seems a bit young for that... When he is 18 he can apply for permit in his own right which he should get without problems.

.... You have lived here for 11 years and still can't make the minimum requirements in French?

If the son’s permit is tied to theirs then it would be pretty difficult for him to stay on if they leave.

Why would he be entitled to a permit in his own right without problems when he turns 18?
If the parents were no longer living here he would have to provide proof that he has the funds to support himself and depending on the outcome of Brexit could be treated as non-EU. It wouldn’t be a straightforward process.


I assume they are asking for the language profiency of the parents as a way of showing that the family is integrated in Switzerland.


BTW the title of the thread is very misleading, I suggest the OP googles the meaning of orphan.

Your son can't get any other permit, he gets what you have under family reunification. Only if he was old enough to get a job and an independent permit would he be able to get one. However, googling just found this so I don't know if that would be possible for him.

https://home.cern/news/official-news...e-legitimation

I would seek guidance from the Swiss Permanent Mission and also perhaps contact SEM to see what they have to say about it.

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home...s/kontakt.html

Still as Tilia says he's too young to stay here on his own if you do move and staying with his sister wouldn't get him a permit either, especially if he becomes a non-EU after Brexit.

And yes, many of us don't meet the language requirements despite living here for decades.

I am assuming that if he is 18 and wants to stay on there is a reason for him to do so, such as work or studies. Which in turn should give him a permit. If he were to stay on to live on welfare, yes then he probably wouldn't get a permit.

I am also assuming that by that time there will for sure be a bilateral agreement in place between UK and CH.

But of course, one can never be 100% sure. That is something the parents should think about well in advance and not last minute and 11 years down the line though if you ask me.... If you make such choices, you also have to live with the consequences.

Contact the Permanent Mission and ask them if they have some experience in this matter. I'm pretty sure they have encountered this before thanks to the changes in the law, and can advise you on how to proceed.

https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mi...functions.html

If he's a child and has been here since age 2, meaning at jan 2018 he was 11? Then couldn't he apply under the old rules?
I would suggest contacting the SEM and maybe the swiss mission but they'll just copy paste the rule without providing any help, in my experience.

Under the old rules a total 12 years of residence in Switzerland was required and the years between the ages of 10 and 20 counted double so he wouldn’t have been eligible to apply before the new rules came into force.

Yes, I agree. Please, could a mod remove the word "orphaned" from the title? As far as OP describes the situation (which is about permits and language requirements), both his parents are alive. Thank you.

I think it might also be worth contacting the British embassy, particularly their Brexit department, as they have a lot of information about most situations relating to Brexit, CdL situation etc.

Thanks to the mod who did this.

Is it just me that finds it a bit strange and odd that the parents which haven been in the country for around 11 years, barely speak and understand the local language, want there child to be integrated and naturalized

Next question will probably be "how can my son get out of doing military service if he gets a Swiss passport".....

I don't find it strange. Kids adapt and integrate very easily, don't judge a child by their parents....and if a child lived most (or entire) of his formative years here, what on earth is he supposed to call home?