Hello folks,

I'm wondering what the process might look like for me to move back to Switzerland. Here's a summary of my story:

- I'm British but haven't lived in the UK since I was 12
- I lived in Zurich from 2018 to 2020
- I had a B permit that would be valid till 2024
- I deregistered from Zurich in 2020 while abroad (long coronavirus related story)
- I'm split between moving back to Zurich and moving back to the UK

Anyone know if the fact that I've lived and worked in Switzerland and held a B permit will help me move back post Brexit?

"Anyone know if the fact that I've lived and worked in Switzerland and held a B permit will help me move back post Brexit?"

It should... but only as long as the Swiss authorities have not cancelled your B permit due to you being away for more than the allowed 6 months.

It also depends if your permit was tied to an employer or allows you to take other employment.

However, if your permit has already lapsed or been cancelled when you deregistered, I think you are pretty much back in the queue with all the other 3rd country nationals.

These pages may also help:

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home...arbeit/uk.html

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home...ne-rechte.html

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home...it/uk/faq.html

The last one has this (not very good news for you) example FAQ:

6. How long are these acquired rights valid for? And is it possible to lose these rights? The rights acquired under this agreement are valid indefinitely, provided the conditions stipulated in the agreement are met.
The acquired rights are lost once the terms of the agreement are no longer met.
Example 1: A UK national who gives up their residence in Switzerland by announcing their departure to another country cannot ‘reactivate’ their acquired rights at a later stage. If they do not announce their departure, their short-stay permit or temporary residence (B) permit expires after an absence from Switzerland of more than six months. On request, a permanent resident (C) permit can be maintained for four years in case of absences from Switzerland.



Kind regards






Ian

You de-registered last year. So your permit is gone. So nope, having lived here before won’t help you at all I’m afraid.

It's possible to suspend your permit (certainly a C, anyway) for some time but you have to do this in advance, before you leave i.e. as an alternative to de-registering. If you actually de-registered before you left then my understanding is that you can't re-register without going through the normal process again.

Added -- it's just possible that you could try to appeal using Covid as some possible justification (depending on your circumstances), seeing as the entire process of registering was chaotic, and suspended for a long period when Covid arrived in 2020. Not saying that this will work but if you think you have special circumstances it's just possible I suppose.

You could try an appeal, but I think you'll be out of luck. If you hadn't deregistered then you could make a case for your permit becoming invalid after 6 months out of the country due to the covid situation. But that's not what you did, you deregistered so as far as the Swiss are concerned you had no intention of returning.

Now, as a non-EU national, you'll need a job offer from a Swiss employer who'll have to apply for a permit on your behalf and prove they can't find a Swiss/EU national who can do the job. Only if that can be proven would the Swiss grant the employer a permit so they could hire you. Here's the hiring criteria:

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

I am almost certain that it will not help you. You will have to go through the visa application process from step 1. Good luck