Hello everyone,

I am new here and I wonder if someone could help me.

So, I have just received a job offer in Zurich and I am currently waiting for the work permit (B). ATM, I live in London.

My wife will be my dependant in Switzerland and FYI we are both non-EU.

However, my wife is looking to pursue her masters in Konstanz (which is just 50 minutes away). Therefore, as a non-EU, she would also need to apply for a student visa to study in Germany and technically, I could also apply to be her dependant which shall then allow me to legally live in Germany.

So, may I know if I would be allowed to live in Konstanz with her, but work in Zurich? Would this be allowed once I have obtained my Swiss work permit and dependant visa in Germany?

Thank you.

Welcome to the Forum.

You posted this late last night so have a bump. I believe any non-EU living in a border zone must have permanent residency there before being allowed a cross-border (G) permit in Switzerland.

But hopefully someone will be along with links soon to clarify.

Short answer, no. You must live in the same canton as your workplace is based in and certainly can't live in another country. If she really wants to do this then you're going to have to face up to being separated for a while and only visiting one another when you can. She won't get a family reunification permit for Switzerland if she's not living with you here' part of the requirement for family reunification is that you live together in the same accommodation. She would only be able to visit as a tourist.

While it is possible sometimes to get a G permit for cross borders, as a non-EU national you would have needed to live in Germany long enough to get permanent residency there and to live in a border zone for at least 6 months.

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home...willigung.html

Can she not pursue her masters at a uni in Switzerland?

Thank you for the bump.

I see... I just thought that if she has a visa to study in Germany, she could - anyway, thanks!

I see, thank you your advice.

So, even if we get the Swiss L/B permit first (where I would be main applicant and she would be my dependant), live in Zurich for a year and then, apply for the German student visa to study for example, in Konstanz the following year (where my wife would be the main applicant and I would be her dependant), we won't be able to live in Konstanz?

Also, what if we keep our flat in Zurich and rent another one in Konstanz? Could we still not do that?

It's not that my wife can't pursue her masters in Switzerland, she'd love to, but she thinks that it would be very difficult for her to get into either UZH or ETH, particularly in her field based on her undergrad results.

No, as a non EU you have to live in the Kanton where you got the permit. MF posted the link. You cannot be a Grenzgaenger.

That is fine, but your residence would still be in ZH.

Tom

Surely the easiest thing to do would be to see if as a Non-EU Swiss resident permit holder, your wife could attend the Uni in Konstanz. Then live somewhere like Winterthur and she can commute every day.

It doesn't work that way. Your centre of life has to be here so living in Germany doesn't cut it. You'd lose your Swiss permit and your job.