Hello everyone,
I am looking to move to Switzerland so I can be with my partner. She is Swiss-French and I met her a few years ago while we were both on holiday in Europe. We began a very taxing long distance relationship and I say taxing because we both live in different hemispheres that prevent us from seeing each other more often; in the past three years we’ve only been able to get together twice! Although COVID is largely to blame for keeping us apart, even without the pandemic seeing each other only a few times a year (if we’re lucky) is not enough. So, I want to change that…
I currently live and work in South Africa as an IT Support Specialist / System Administrator but I have Italian citizenship through my late father. I have a very good job which I have been hesitant to leave because of job security in SA, but also because of SA’s employment policies. I am a white South African in a government department but because of something called BEE I am all but certain I would not be able to get my job back if I were to leave and come back if things don’t work out.
That being said I am willing to take the risk of leaving my position if I know I have a chance of finding employment in Switzerland. As mentioned I have an EU passport and I am aware that I can remain in Switzerland for 90 days with that. But are there circumstances that would allow me to remain longer if I am seeking employment in Switzerland? I think I saw something in these forums about a job seeker’s permit and I would appreciate some clarity on that.
Also, how likely am I to find gainful employment if I only speak English? I fully intend to learn French so I can more easily communicate with my partner, but at the moment I only know a bit of French and Italian but not enough to hold any lengthy conversations just yet.
If anyone can give me any advice on what I should know or do, I would appreciate it. I have looked at job postings on LinkedIn, but I feel I would have better luck applying for these from within the country rather than from outside.
Thanks in advance.
A job seeker permit would allow you to be here for up to 3 months to look for work, it can be extended for another 3 months if needed. You can be here as a tourist before you apply for the job seeker. Of course you would need to show you have the funds to support yourself while you look for work before said permit would be granted.
However, I would guess that for your skill set you’re going to need to speak a Swiss language fairly well.
You need to be clear on any job applications that you have Italian citizenship because it’s hard for Swiss employers to hire non-EU nationals; if you don’t make it clear you have EU nationality then any applications could be rejected out of hand.
I'm sorry I can't give much advice in terms of the job situation, but I can say that from what I've seen, the job market here is very competitive and jobs here often require a lot of experience / certifications, etc.
But if you don't mind, what I would really like to say is... Please be very careful about moving to a foreign country for a woman that you have only spent actual time with twice. And I say that because I had done something similar with my Swiss husband, only to learn (once I moved here) that he was a much different person than who I thought he was when we were only doing the long-distance dating thing. Also, I think that moving here simply to escape the frustration of having a long-distance relationship was not really a good idea. Basically, I was "thinking" more with my heart than my head, I guess. And moving here can be very difficult to undo, if things don't work out.
So of course, I hope that you would have a much better experience than I have, if you do move here, but I guess I just wanted to suggest using a lot of caution, because giving up everything you currently have in order to be with a woman that you have only been in the physical presence of twice is a very risky "move" (pun intended ). So whatever you do... I hope it proves to be the right choice.
Another thing to consider is that even with an EU passport, landing a job while you are in CH as a tourist and have no Swiss experience could be difficult. (Unless it is for a high level/niche skill set job.)
I have been involved in the hiring process in CH for intermediate-level jobs (with 80+ CVs to sort through) and we discounted applicants who would have to move here because of a sense of social responsibility. Why did we did not consider those who would have to move country for the job? Given the large numbers of suitable local applicants, in the situation where the person might be let go before the trial period was over (=before 3 months), if we'd selected a foreign candidate we would have been responsible for a person giving up their previous life and spending a lot of money to move to a new country, only to end up with no income and no possibility to receive unemployment support from the state. We might have felt additional pressure to keep someone even if they weren't suitable for the job out of a sense of duty, which is not a good situation to end up in. We have always hired people who live in CH or neighbouring France who are within commuting distance of the job. (In this role there is no possibility to work remotely.)
I would also add to this that the Swiss government encourages employers to hire people who already live here. It’s not a requirement, but it is strongly encouraged.