Hello,

I have been in Zurich for 5 years and got my PhD recently. As a non-EU, I applied for a few jobs and got an offer which is a contract based but will be renewed easily for some years. During the negotiation, I asked for a 14 months contract for the start to make sure I can continue on B permit as I have had so far. They agreed but seems like the HR person who filled the application made a mistake and applied for L permit. I went to the immigration office and realized this. The guy at the immigration office told me that they can submit another application for B permit and we most likely approve it. Now I am in negotiation again to encourage them to submit another application. There are a few question here.

1. Do you have a similar experience? How did it go when the second application for B permit was submitted?

2. Does the employer mentione in the application whether the work permit is tied or untied? Or that comes from AWA decisions?

3. If the employer can decide on tied/untied, is there anyway to convince them to apply for an untied?

4. If the AWA decides on tied/untied, is there any way to push them towards an untied permit?

Thank you so much in advance for your supports.

From everything I've read on here, non-EU B Permits are more than likely tied to a specific employer and canton. I say this on the basis that:

1. It makes no sense for an employer to apply for an untied permit, they're investing alot of time and resources in recruiting and getting the permit, surely they'd want to minimise exposure / risk of you leaving

2. Permits are issued out of cantonal quotas, much like the business case, cantons benefit from the increased tax take, its surely more likely that you'll be tied to the canton also.

Are you sure being issued an L permit was a mistake in the application? There are many reasons why this could have happened, ranging from the short-term nature of your contract through to cantonal quotas being used up for the quarter.

I think for most of people it's tied to the canton not employer. And regarding the mistake, I guess so, because this was one of the thing I negotiated early on when I wanted to accept the offer. And the L permit request was on the HR application. Due to the covid situation and the market, i think they have more than enough permit. They didn't use ~800 permits (both L and B) last year at all.

No, non-EU L and B permits are always tied to the employer unless the B is an open one. That is the whole point of them. If the job they're tied to ends, then the permit becomes invalid no matter how long it says it has left on it. It's also why they're renewable every year and not every 5 years as an open B would be.

There are different rules in place if you were on a student visa before the work visa...



It's very normal for L permits to be issued, but if your work is really a long-term open contract then it needs to say that - you won't generally get a B permit for a one year contract if you are Non-EU.



Is there a specific reason why the employer did not give you an 'open-ended' contract - even if you assume it will be renewed, if it's not long-term then they may need to keep re-advertising the position each year - it's certainly not secure for you.

IMO it's unlikely they would apply for an untied permit - at this stage the only leverage you have is whether you work for that company or not, and as you've just finished studying and got offered a fixed-term contract it doesn't sound like you are an absolutely must-have candidate.

What is the longer term goal - convert that to an open ended contract in a year? At that point as a valued employee with some key knowledge you would have much more to convince them with.

When I first arrived in Switzerland for my job (late summer, 2009) I was issued an L permit because the quota for B was met. My employer applied on my behalf at the start of the next calendar year for a B, which I received.

>3. If the employer can decide on tied/untied, is there anyway to convince them >to apply for an untied?
>4. If the AWA decides on tied/untied, is there any way to push them towards an >untied permit?

Employer needs to write a letter with during the next renewal to make it untied, AWA won't do it on their own. At the time, I used an argument with HR that it will make their life easier as well, due to simplified approval process, once it's untied, and for you personally it's a requirement for future C permit upgrade. And open-ended contract is needed indeed to make it happen.