I am the girlfriend of an EU citizen who has just moved to Switzerland from the US for a job (canton of Vaud) on a long term B permit. I am a US citizen and we applied for a residence permit for me 8 weeks ago. We have every intention of getting married but did not rush to do it before his promotion & before I applied for the residence permit. The advice we received was to apply as his "partner" of 3 years with plenty of documentation to prove it and if for some reason that failed, we could then get married (and reapply?) I've just received a letter from the immigration authorities stating that they expect to deny my application but we have one month to respond. Now we've been advised NOT to get married now because then they will definitely deny me. That makes no sense to me because it was stated in the application that we already have every intention of getting married. Their letter stated they weren't convinced of the seriousness of our relationship because we did not live together and are not married and have no obstacle or reason to not be married. Any insight on this issue would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I am the girlfriend of an EU citizen who has just moved to Switzerland from the US for a job (canton of Vaud) on a long term B permit. I am a US citizen and we applied for a residence permit for me 8 weeks ago. We have every intention of getting married but did not rush to do it before his promotion & before I applied for the residence permit. The advice we received was to apply as his "partner" of 3 years with plenty of documentation to prove it and if for some reason that failed, we could then get married (and reapply?) I've just received a letter from the immigration authorities stating that they expect to deny my application but we have one month to respond. Now we've been advised NOT to get married now because then they will definitely deny me. That makes no sense to me because it was stated in the application that we already have every intention of getting married. Their letter stated they weren't convinced of the seriousness of our relationship because we did not live together and are not married and have no obstacle or reason to not be married. Any insight on this issue would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Who is providing your advice. If you are paying them, ask for your money back.

The initial advise was from people in his HR department. The advise to definitely not get married NOW is from the attorneys at the legal firm that my boyfriend's company hired to help us with my residence permit. The want to get further documentation/witnesses to prove our case as to the seriousness of our relationship and said that it will look like we're only getting married now to get me in the country. Then appeal, then fight it in court if need be. Sounds to me like a bigger paycheck for them.

Is your opinion that we should have just married before applying? Or that we should get married now instead of trying to appeal as single partners? I just don't understand how getting married now can be bad since we've stated from the beginning that that's our intention. And that's the reason they've stated for possibly turning me down. Thank you for your input.

Yep.

Whichever, you are probably in for a rough ride and can expect it to be a more drawn out process than it might have been. Personally I'd opt for the marriage route as the questions may well be the same but at least you'll have made your intentions a fact. Yoiu could consider getting married in Switzerland - informing the authorities and asking for a "fiance" visa is also not a bad idea.

Thanks. I'll come back to the forum to let everyone know how it turns out.

Hi,

There is lot of information in this thread and I want to thank all of the contributers for it.
But, I got not get a straight answer for question by reading all the pages, so posting my question here. Please reply

I am non EU national working in Switzerland on an L12 permit since September 2010. I want to know, Can I change my job in my canton or other canton with a L12 permit. If I cannot, can you please also tell me, what are permit related possibilities and ways for me and for a company who is ready to give me a job

Thanks.

Hey Efendi,

Long time no communicate. I was wondering if you would like to update your start page to accommodate "erleichterte C permits" no idea what that is in French. Ones that are given to non-eus after 5 years who can demonstrate that they are fully integrated into Switzerland. It seems these are kept a bit quite but I could imagine a few people here would be really interested to know about them and you are certainly the best person to explain...

Hi All,

Can some one please reply to my question posted little above...

Thanks

Not sure if this is the right place, but I just read this article, which gives the quota numbers for 2011.
http://global-immigration-news.total...eased-in-2011/

It's interesting that they comment that the quotas for 2010 were not exhausted (After all those restrictions!) and that they expect the 2011 quotas to be adequate to cover the applications....

So, I guess the point is if anyone (Non-EU) has their permit rejected this year it will be because they don't fit the criteria, not because the kanton 'ran out of numbers'...

Seeking advice from the EFS gods that frequent this thread! Thanks (for what it's worth) for all of the useful information in the 3+ years' worth of info.

I've just officially moved to Switzerland (Vaud canton) a couple weeks back in order to live with my partner of 3 years and apply for entry-level jobs and/or intern positions in the fields of international development and the environment. Nothing has come to fruition as of yet, but my qualifications and language skills will hopefully distinguish me as a desirable non-EU citizen (US/CAN citizenship).

I've been trying to learn the system as best I can so that I appear relatively knowledgeable in the event that I soon find myself being interviewed. A few things seem clear, but please correct me if I'm misunderstood:

1. There is no permit type that I can apply for as a jobseeker. Therefore, I am presently limited to my 3 months as a tourist to find something. True?

2. It has been said that it is up to the employer to apply for a work permit, whether it be L- or B-type. Is there anything I can do in preparation? Documents in hand, for e.g.?

3. I've read that obtaining the B-type permit can take quite some time. Perhaps I missed this in the thread, but is the L-type generally quicker?

4. In any case, I'm anticipating that I may have to return to the US to deal with the application process from there. Any way around this? Someone earlier in this thread seemed to have had luck expediting this process from the normal 6-8 weeks down to one, what steps should I look into taking to make my experience this quick?

3. I've read that Switzerland does not adhere to the rule that long-term partners can qualify under any spousal arrangements. Given jacee's experience above, what are the conditions of the "fiance" visa that you speak of, swissbob?

=> Any general recommendations that people may have for my particular (though not so unique) situation will be greatly appreciated. Also, a swift kick toward any useful or more related threads will merit my subservient bow.

Correct.

Not really.

No.

Currently 3 months is average but there is quite a wide spread.

What rule? I think you made that up .

You can get a "fiance" visa if you have arranged to get married in Switzerland.

Cheers swissbob.

A couple more questions, if you don't mind, now that I've looked at a few other threads.

Is it possible to gain employment whilst already living in Switzerland? In other words, is it mandatory to return home?

The reason I ask is because I came across a thread that seems to imply that if I land an internship with a UN-affiliated organisation, I can be issued a carte de legitimisation almost immediately after entering the country as a tourist (which implies that I could technically be inside already).

[Here's the link: Internship International Organization - Carte de legitimation

Does that mean my best bet is to focus on the UN network if I want to remain in the country until I find a job (within the 3 months, that is)?

Does that also mean that applying for positions with other organisations (even international ones, such as WWF and IUCN) will necessarily send me back to the States to apply, and thus wait the ~3months?

A million thanks!

Oh yeah, and I also wanted to ask if there was any way that I could become a dependent of my girlfriend without :gulp: proposing?

You do not have to return home to apply, just make sure your visa is valid. Some companies prefer to hire locally, since it saves them arranging the relocation. I would advise to contact a hiring agency, while you are also looking yourself.

You could technically be anywhere in the world, they deal with people all over. You do realize, that internship is unpaid, right? I hope it works out for you. The idea of getting UN work, though, in order to stay in the country, is a little unusual, since it is really hard to nail those jobs in Ge international orgs and paperwork is just the follow up.

I would try whatever is out there, UN included. It is difficult but it is doable. Depends on your edu, work experiences, line of work, nationality and quotas..

No.

You should just make sure, that she, gulp, does not read this...

Good luck! It has been really difficult for US folks to get visa, if you have no work laid out and company that is applying for you, I haven't heard of a case where the visa would be given. Try to reach out to other cities than jut Ge, though, Lausanne, Vevey, Morges, etc. Read up on job search here, the little details of applying for a job is different here than elsewhere.

It is better to make a separate thread for this, move visibility rather than squat a stickie..

__________________
"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

The thread is only about getting the residence permit, not the application nor approval for the job.

There is nothing to stop you looking for a job while here as a tourist.

The application is handled by your employer. As part of the process, you may be required to present certain documents at the Swiss embassy back in your home country. You will need a visa and this must also be applied for in your home country. You can arrange for the visa to be collected at any Swiss embassy - in Germany or France for example.

An internship would be, at best, a temporary solution as it does not give you access to the Swiss labour market.

And, welcome to the EF. There is a nice intro section for newcomers in the main area of the forum, cheers.

Hi Shorrick MK2 and SwissBob, thank you for all your detailed responses on this very helpful forum.

We are non EU (Canadian) I am the trailing spouse, hubby has an L which is not due for renewal until Oct 31 2011. He has been assured it will be renewed. They have also offered to issue a letter from HR to that affect.
He was successful in obtaining employment with ETH as an IT Manager.

I came over on a tourist visa to see if I would like living here (yes, its all good).

I visited the Migration office, (Sicherheitsdirektion Kanton Zurich) and they gave me a form, which I fill out the top, hubby fills out the bottom

He is suppose to hand the form (Gesuch um Einreisebewilligung) in when I leave for home, Victoria BC (March 10th ). Then he will hear from them they will send him a letter indicating what he needs to submit, and what I need to do at the Swiss Embassy in Vancouver Canada.

From what I have read on this incredibly helpful forum, he will need to have our marriage certificate and maybe my birth certificate, validated and translated into German to submit to the Migration Office.

Can anyone recommend who he should use and where he can get this done?

He has only been in the job since January and is incredible busy at work and travels a lot, so if I can give him all the information on what he needs to do before I leave, that will help out a lot in getting me back quicker (yes he does want me back ASAP.

Also is it possible for him to ask now for his L visa (1 year term with ETH) be upgraded to a B. There are very happy with him and are eager to have him stay and have me back here. He has a residency permit.

It seems the B visa are allocated to each Kanton and by March they have to wait for their new allotment, so if he asked in May to be upgraded to a B he should be successful (or at least hedging his bets)? Hopefully...maybe?

Thanks for you advise/recommendations.

Ciao.
Lauren

__________________
Living the Dream

If only it was up to them .

Your documents in English are fine, no translation required.

You are confusing visas with permits. The L is a permit, not a visa. Getting a B permit for a fixed term 1 year contract is unlikely. If HR are being so helpful why don't they issue an open ended contract which would lead to a B?