Hi mash, welcome to EF Try searching the forum for "self employment" to get some information.

Hello to everyone,

I'm new on here, and have been browsing thru these bullets of regulations for work permits. I'm a u.s citizen and want to visit Switzerland, however maybe possibly remain there. Is this possible to do legally?

Please let me know if possible??

Thanks

Just wondering if the following is possible...

I got an L-permit, Non-EU, for an unlimited contract, the permit is going to expire soon and may be renewed, this is for canton of Zurich. The company I work for has its headquarters in Bern. Now that the permit will expire, I want to know if its possible to try to get the B by requesting the permit in Bern, but then keep working in Zurich, since If I read correctly, the B permit would allow me to work in other canton.

Thanks!

Chris

Yes, you can do that, as long as you move to Bern to live.

Not 100% sure of the question - you want to come as a tourist, no problem. You want to live and work here, you need a work and residence permit.

You are actually talking about 2 different situations.

First, your employment will end and therefore your permit will expire and you should leave the country.

Second, you will start a business in Switzerland - no problem but this does not give you the right of residence. In order to get the right of residence you must be employed by your new company. For this your company must go through the same permit application as any other company, ensuring that there is no Swiss or EU applicant available. The chance of success depends on what it is you will be employed for - in the current climate it will probably need to be a specialist or niche area.

Hi,

I was trying to browse through to find the answer to my question, however i did not get anything definate.

My husband is getting a 1 year L Permit, and I wish to accompany him as a dependent. Would I be allowed to take up a job without much hassels?

With a L permit Dependent you do not have a right to work in Switzerland. The company employing would have to go through the same process of applying for a work permit. This information has been mentioned a lot of times in a few posts. I am assuming that you are a Non-EU person.

Hi,

Thank you for your response. Do you by any chance know if most companies are ready to go through these hassels? I am assuming not. We have the choice of living in Zurich or Geneva, is there any difference in number of jobs between these 2?

Well a lot depends on what kind of job you are looking for and in which field ..and if you speak German or French..

I agree, normally Zurich has more jobs than Geneva. However most of the jobs need some german knowledge. In geneva you might get some jobs in international organisations. Good luck with you move

To be honest not many companies are willing to do it unless you have special or niche skill. But dont get discouraged, there a lot of non eu employees here and the companies did go through with the process for us. You have an additional advantage on being here, which we didnt have. But the downside is that since your spouse is there only for one year, the companies might hesitate to give you a job since you might leave along with your husband, when he leaves

Though it seems somehow the economy might recover earlier than previously expected, but still everyone around you forecasting doomsday and downturn, being an employer yourself, lets say, you have two candidates with exactly equal quilifications, you have two options:

• First one is a local,
• Second a non-local (non-EU), so expensive in terms of effort from HR department for permit process, time by which the employee can join your workforce etc

Which path would you take?

On other hand, if the non-local brings something to the table, which the local lacks, then the ball game changes completely.
So you just need to be good enough to "not" be equal to the other local guy, but slightly better to tilt the balance to your favor.

Both equally cosmopoliton, but also equally difficult to find apartments in... . If you are already familiar with German or French language, then I would tend to chose Zürich or Geneva respectively. If you are unfamiliar with both, then I can't think a good reason of chosing one over the other. In terms of job-prospects it would depend largely on what kind of role you are searching for. Post it here or in the employment section of EF, I am sure, someone working in the same field, would answer you.

Shorrick, great summary of all the different permit types.

I'm a non-EU, waiting for the C permit decision on the federal level (locally they're happy to grant me one).

For a long time I was wondering if I really need the C permit and what (if any) are the benefits more than a B permit. I gathered information from various posts, but your summary reinforced my info.

I still have one pending question though:
There doesn't seem to be a clearly defined category for "Dependent C permit" for spouses and kids. I know that the "Ci" permit is different and thats not it. Does anyone have any info on what permit will the C permit holder's dependent family get?

Thanks in advance.

Hi! I am going to work in Switzerland in a few months and they have issued me a permanent residence permit (I'm a non-EU citizen). Since I'm still single (I am not yet married and still don't have a family of my own), can I apply my parents as my dependents? If so, how long would it take for me to get them and live in Switzerland?

Thanks!

Hmmm. That sounds a bit unusual - it is unlikely you will get permanent residence status on the strength of a job for a few months.

You can apply to bring your parents as dependants - but you will need to prove you will be able support them, it can be a long drawn out process, and their is no guarantee of success.

Hi, guys

It might be a silly question but as a Hungarian, which sticky am I supposed to check? I know I'm de facto EU, but still not enough from some respect.

Also, if I go to Geneva as a tourist (coming back for Christmas, so that's 3 months alright), can i look for traineeship? Or similarly to job hunting, do I need a permit for that as well? Because in the long term I'd love to apply for an L as a trainee... (Writing my MA thesis, so I'm not really hoping for anything better at the moment...)

Thanks loads.

Flower

Hi,

I'm quite confused with the application for a working permit type B.

Almost six months ago I signed an unlimited contract with a Vaud based company. They applied for a working permit type B in the middle of April. After one month I received an invitation letter to apply for a Swiss Visa in my hometown's Swiss Embassy.

Guys from HR told me to wait for some time. At the beginning of August they were told by the Service de la Populacion's people that I should have applied for a Visa which I did. After a month, few days ago they issued me a Visa.

It's 'Suisee + 1 Transit Schengen', duration of stay 'XXX', valid for three months from the day of issuing and in field remarks 'Motif Professionnel' is written.

I thought that's it. I should pack my staff and travel to Switzerland, register at some Municipal office and wait for the working permit.

For my suprise guys from HR told me that after receiving the Visa they need to inform cantonal administration. Then, they need two to four weeks to issue a working permit and I shouldn't travel before that.

I'm confused because of the fact that the Embassy has issued me a valid Visa which I shouldn't use and travel to Switzerland. It could not be done without a notification from federal administration in Bern and their communication with Vaud's cantonal administration.

You can travel as soon as the visa is issued. The employer will register on your behalf as soon as you arrive; the permit will take anywhere from two to four weeks to be issued.

Most likely a misunderstanding there.

Hi,
I'm non-EU and came here June-2009 with L-permit for project.
( it was sponsored by Swisscom )

Now got an offer for permanent position from my company in Switzerland and I asked B permit to HR.

My question is "how long does it take to process this changing L to B?"
I know getting new permit usually takes 8 weeks initially,
But does changing type of permit also take the same time?

Does anyone have same experience?