Hi All,

I had a bit of a look around at the other posts but there wasn't one that exactly matched my situation

I am from Australia and am travelling to Germany in two months on a 12-month working holiday visa. My girlfriend has just been asked to go down to Switzerland for a job interview right after we arrive. If she gets the job in Switzerland, I will then begin looking for work down there as well.

If I head into Switzerland for the standard 90 days and manage to find myself a job, can I just pop over the border to Germany to pick up my work visa before heading back into Switzerland. Or even better can I just stay in Switzerland while it is processed?

I read something saying you needed to get pre-authorisation before leaving Australia if you wish to try and find work in Switzerland. I don't want to have to fly all the way to Australia just to get a work visa processed and then fly all the way back.

Has anyone done something like this?

This is my first post, if everything goes well in my travels I'll definitely be a regular on here. It looks very helpful!

I have read the excerpts below. But I can't see anything on "pre-authorisation".

From the
"Visa requirements to enter Switzerland and the entire Schengen area for holders of

an Australian passport"

Employment including “working holidays”

"...If the applicant does not want to stay in Australia during this process, the employer resp. the Police for Foreigners have to be informed in which country the visa should be issued. The Police will then send the authorisation to issue a visa to this particular Consulate/Embassy...."

"...If the applicant wants to stay in Switzerland for a holiday while the work permit is being processed he/she may only do so, if the authority (where the application has been lodged) has been informed and agrees. However, it is different from Canton to Canton and the applicant most probably will still have to leave Switzerland to have a visa issued..."

You can request to get it sent to UK. I just applied for mine while overseas. Sent it to the Swiss consulate in Sydney. But Im picking mine up back in Melbourne via post. The whole process takes about 8 weeks though. Good luck!

Hello Limnoski, thanks for posting this question. You have a similar question than me.

Somehow the question is if you can apply for a Visa for one Schengen country during your stay in the Schengen Area.

I am also non-EU (LatAm) and I have been working in Switzerland for almost 2 years with several temporary L permits. I don't have a permanent contract so far, it means that I have to leave Switzerland when both my current L permit and my current contract expire after 2 years here (Next June 22).
Therefore, my question is where I have to apply for a 3-months Schengen Visa for Tourism in Switzerland, valid after my current stay, it is from June 23.

I want to confirm what of this 3 options below is the realistic one.

Option 1: I can apply for the Visa by going to the Embassy of Switzerland in Germany? can I just pop over the border to Germany to pick up my work visa before heading back into Switzerland?

I say the same.
Option 2. Even better, can I just stay in Switzerland while it is processed?

Unfortunately, I think that maybe it always is required to apply for a Schengen Visa from outside the Schengen Area. I dont' feel sure about this (somebody can confirm this for us, please?)

Thanks SwissMissInZurich for this input,
I also don't want (and I hope I don't have) to go to my country of origin in Latin-America just to get a 3-month Schengen Visa for Tourism and then fly all the way back. I have a valid "Business Visitor Visa" for UK. Therefore I think a possible option is this:
Option 3. I can apply for the Visa by going to the Embassy of Switzerland in UK? can I just fly to UK to pick up my work visa before heading back into Switzerland?

Please somebody can confirm what of these 3 options above is the one I have to follow, for a Swiss Schengen Visa. Can I apply in Switzerland (Option 2)? I have to apply outside of Switzerland, at least in Germany (Option 1)? or, I have to apply from outside of the Schengen Area (for example UK) (Option 3)?

PS: In addition, what do you think about whether I am on time or not? My Swiss L permit expires in one month!!!
Thanks a lot!

__________________
You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it's a little thing, do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.

Hi All,

I spoke with a person at the Swiss Consulate and got the following answer:
"You will have to apply for your residence permit from the country, where usually you have your residency. This means, the application will have to be lodged in Australia."

The person at the consulate suggested getting a permit D. But this permit requires you to give them a written declaration that you will not look for work while over there (which is the whole point I would be there!).

I replied asking if I could get a different type of residence permit while in Australia and then get it changed to a work permit once I was overseas and had an offer of employment. The answer:
"Either way it does not make a difference. You will have to apply for any residence permit from the country where your usual residence is."

So it doesn't look good

I'm not sure if once you get over there you can convince the Canton in which you wish to work to send the visa to the UK??

I think you are confused between visas and work permits.

You will have a valid working holiday visa for 12 months in Germany - therefore you do not require a schengen visa to visit Switzerland (as an Australian you don't need a phsical visa anyway).

If you find a job in Switzerland then your employer will apply for a work permit for you. If successful, you will be issued with a single entry visa for Switzerland which can be picked up at any Swiss embassy - Germany seems an obvious choice for you.

If you are required to submit paperwork in support of your application at the Swiss embassy in your home country then do that by post - you do not need to be present in the home country (although there is a small possibility then you may need to attend an interview).

You only collect your work permit when you arrive to take up residence in Switzerland.

Your question is actually quite different and you already asked in elsewhere .

It's unlikely that you have enough time to apply for a Schengen tourist visa to enable an uninterupted stay in Switzerland and yes, the application must be made via the embassy in your home country.

Limnoski,
My company applied for a D permit for me. And because I was overseas in SE Asia at the time, I was allowed to post my application to the Swiss embassy in Sydney. That was about 5 weeks ago and I'm still waiting to hear back from them. They will however post my passport with the visa back to Melbourne which is where I am now.

Thread hijack?

hey Limnoski!

I was just wondering, since it's been almost a year since your original post, how everything worked out. My situation is the same (except I'm from the US) and am just curious as to how everything was resolved.

Thanks in advance!