I am an experience critical care nurse from the US. I moved to France with my partner (who is french) a few years ago. Since then he has found a job in Geneva, but I still haven't been able to secure a work permit to work near him in Geneva.
I have finished the initial paper work to get my reconnaissance through the Red Cross, but now I am lacking a work permit. It was my initial impression that once I found an employer they would sponsor the work permit, but that seems to not be the case any more. My understanding is that I must already have a work permit... then I can finish my reconnaissance with the Red Cross... and then I am able to apply for the job.
Any advice please? Is there any other way for me to get a work permit?
I am going crazy not working as a nurse! I have been volunteering overseas to keep up my skills and to stay sane
If your husband has a job in Switzerland, then you should be able to get a permit as his dependant, which I think gives you permission to work. You will both have to live in Switzerland for this to work though, not France.
What is your French like- without more or less fluent French- working in Romandie as a nurse is not possible. I suppose the same would apply to working as a nurse on the French side.
Ah, I missed that bit. From the stories I've read here, it's pretty difficult as a non-EU that's not married to come here on a dependent permit with boyfriend/girlfriend. Not impossible, but certainly tough...and not sure how it would work if they wanted to just be frontaliers as opposed to residents.
Probably not. The OP says she is going crazy not being able to work as a nurse so I am assuming (possibly wrongly) that she hadn't been working as a nurse since she moved to France.
The language requirements plus the extreme reluctance of the French to recognise any qualifications not obtained in France probably don't make working in France a viable alternative to working in Switzerland really.
Maybe the OP is a fluent French speaker having lived in France for several years in which case she may have an easier time finding a job although I don't think she'll have much luck finding a hospital or clinic to sponsor her permit application.
I think her best bet for getting a permit would be to go down the family reunification/concubine permit route or get married.
French hospitals near the border are desperate for staff- as all the qualified nurses work in Switzerland (for much higher wages / same for staff in OAP homes, etc- in the one where my parents were, all but 2 of the staff were frontatliers.
Your chances of getting a work permit (incl. permis G frontalier) is nil.
- You have to be married since you are not an EU citizen.
- You must meet the French language requirement: min. B2 level (French mother tongue is preferred).
- You need to have your U.S. nursing degree recognized in CH. Things would be much easier if you have a French nursing degree (IDE / infirmière diplômée d'État). ESI is not enough.
- If you have a French titre de séjour, you may want to look for work in France voisine (Annemasse, Chablais, Genevois français, Pays-de-Gex...).
Your first impression was correct, it’s up to the employer to get a permit for you. The problem is non-EU’s are last in the jobs queue here so even if your French is good enough and your qualifications recognised it’s going to be hard to find a job.
The only other way to get a permit that allows you to work is to marry said partner.
My French is not bad, it can always be improved, but I plan to pass the B2 exam in the near future.
In france they will not even consider taking me as a nurse since I am not an EU citizen. I am Pacser with my partner which is a french version of a civil union. It allows me many rights in france, but switzerland does not recognise this contract.
We will look into the concubine permit and see if that will work. Maybe we will have to move to Switzerland- I don't think that would be a bad thing.. as long as we both have a swiss income
Ellie Bee, there are a whole group of American Dental Hygienists in Switzerland, as we were an unknown profession a few years ago. It used to be easy to get a work permit, even without any German/ French/Italian. However, since the market has been opened to the EU, the jobs must first be offerred to them, before non-EU professionals. This is unfortunate, as their qualifications for Dental Hygiene are not the same. Ours have pre-requisite university courses and offer a Bachelors degree, as does American nursing.
It would seem you would be in high demand, as even Swiss hospitals have English speaking patients. ( more and more!) There have been many Philipino nurses coming to Switzerland and they are not EU, so I would not give up hope.
If I were you, I would ask the nursing organization or Red Cross for a list of available jobs, and start with the employer in mind. Meanwhile, take your French exam.
Island Monkey, I decided to delete my post until I can speak with more information. Apparently, from your post, I am mis-informed!(at leadt about the UK!) thanks!