Hi everybody,

This question has probably been done to death in various other threads but i would appreciate an answer to my peculiar scenario.

My Spanish partner has been offered a job in the Zurich/Zug area. I (Non-EU/Indian citizen) would like to relocate with her.

We are living in belgium at the moment and you gain the right to live (residency) and probably work (work permit) on the basis of a cohabitation agreement with an EU-partner.

I'd like to confirm if it works the same way in Switzerland and how much time such a process usually requires?

Thanks in advance,
N

I'm no expert but I don't think cohabitation is recognized in Switzerland. I think you would need your own job and permit to reside here, unless you got married of course.

Both my partner and I are Non EU (US Citizens) and he was offered a job in Basel - we are not married and he was informed by his employer to write a co-habitation letter that he would take care of me financially - and it must have worked cause my daughter and I both got our visas

Hi all,

basically it pretty simple:

IF you are not from an EU country, than you are treated as a 3rd Party foreigner. That means that you can only stay/work in CH IF you have an limited or unlimited (better) contract.

(Even if you are a 3rd party foreigner with a permanent stay and work permit for an EU country, this does not count at all....period. (My case...))

If it's a large firm (e.g. Novartis) than they will most probably have a contigent of visas they can give out (Not sure if this is the 100% correct statement).

The other option is that you are a specialist in some area and it has been proven by the employing firm that there is no resource in CH that can cover the required skill (Mostly by putting multiple adds out & given that no one that answered was qualified).


If you do receive a permit on one of the above than in 99.9% of the cases it will be an L permit with one year limitation after which it be renewed, given that one of the above cases still applies. (If is was a short term contract then it will be limited to the length of term)

AFAIK the only way to side step any of this is being married to person with a CH passport... (I think in cases where one person already is in possession of an unlimited B or C permit, there may be alternatives)

Note: This is to the best of my knowledge and based on what I've experienced...and...don't be surprised if the local department has no clue...since the decisions are made in the HQ in Bern....

Cheers
Will

There is no automatic right under family reunification rules to relocate here on the basis of unmarried cohabitation but unmarried partners are sometimes granted visas to live here. It's dealt with on a case by case basis, and what flies in one canton may not fly in another. As ssuarez1081 says, the person with the visa must support the application and show ability to support their partner financially. You may or may not have to provide evidence of a long term relationship which might include showing documents such as joint tenancy agreements for accommodation shared in the past, joint bank accounts etc. Having children together will also be relevant. You might also be asked to provide reasons why you are not married. There are no hard and fast rules, each case is dealt with on an individual basis and it's totally down to the discretion of the canton. The best thing to do is ask your partner to contact the immigration office of the canton they will be moving to for guidance or alternatively you could call your nearest consulate or embassy in your home country..

Having children is big plus factor .

Basically, it's pretty complicated .


In the context of this thread, the above statement is not true. It is difficult, but certainly possible, for non married partners to get a residence permit.

It is 100% incorrect .

There are many factors influencing the type of permit.

Married people have a right to family reunification no matter what their nationailty.

You are not wrong there.

Thanks a lot for all the helpful advice.

I appreciate the idiosyncrasies of Belgian bureaucracy a lot more now!

For reference, we are both Old-EU, and have a cohabitation contract.
This is 12 pages long, and the kanton wants this translated, which will cost close to a thousand francs.
But there is no guarantee of acceptance, and once you move kantons, perhaps you will encounter the same problem all over again.

It definitely is not easy, even as EU citizens.