I am hoping to be moving to Zurich in the next couple of months, no issues for me with Visa's as I am a UK citizen, however, my girlfriend is Panamanian.
I ran a couple of searches and she will get a 90 day tourist visa on arrival, all good. When that runs out though is it as simple as going in and out of Switzerland to get another 90 days (as is in some countries)?
on the basis of just being a girlfriend... damn near impossible.
I tried to apply for it, and we check all the boxes in terms of I'm EU, she's from the US, good job, good salary etc... and it has been a year of paperwork and nightmares etc all for a big fat no.
If you're serious about the girl, jump in with both feet and put a ring on it...
I know tourist visas (including for people who can enter without an actual "visa", just passport stamped on arrival) are limited to 90 days.
Is there a way to get a "long" tourist visa? I.e. for someone to stay for 4-5 months, if I guarantee them room & board and that I will cover all of their expenses should they run out of money?
I think this was possible before the Schengen area thing, I know people who had family members (sisters, brothers, aunts) come and stay for 90 days, and then before the 90 day limit ran out, they would go to the Kreisburo and get an extension for a month or so. I heard from people that a similar procedure exists in other European countries (e.g. France).
I could not find anything about this on the Swiss migration office website, they only speak of the "L" permit if you need to stay longer than 90 days (I'm a "B" permit holder btw).
Any ideas on this? So what I'm getting at is not a residence or work permit of any kind, just an "extended" visitor's visa. Is that possible at all?
Tourist visa is just what it says for "tourism". Anything else isn't permitted and, if found out and forced to leave, it might ruin your chances for any future visits to Switzerland. Don't risk it and go through the proper channels.