Hi Everyone,
I just finished my Masters this year in Switzerland and got a 6 month L permit which expires in August. I would like to know if I can apply for a Schengen Visa before it expires. I would like to travel around the EU before I leave as I never got to do so while I was here. Can I apply for it before my permit expires or do I have to return to my country and apply from there?
I am Non-EU and my country doesn’t allow the rights to be here without the visa
What is a Schengen visa?
A visa for a Schengen country allows you to enter the country and Schengen area. Is there a general one that does not specify a country?
If you have the Swiss permit you do not need a visa for any Schengen country and, I think, will not be able to get one. So any visa application would be on the basis of not having Swiss residency; as such it’s a moot question.
I was just thinking that since my Swiss permit is about to expire I can get a Schengen visa
There is no such thing as a “Schengen visa”.
Yes there is
If you’re planning to travel in multiple countries you should apply for it via the country you’ll be spending the most time in.
Well, we call it Schengen visa, but in reality its a national visa issued by an embassy of a Schengen country. I’m yet to see a Schengen embassy 
It’s the EU website calling it a “Schengen visa”.
@Reee2 the website shared by BelgiumMum says:
As a general rule, you must apply for a Schengen visa at the consulate with territorial responsibility for the country where you are legally resident.
Since you’re currently resident of Switzerland, you should apply here. But, medical insurance and proof of financial means are required. Basically, the L permit you have now. Is this the “looking for job” permit?
We know what they mean, but it does go on to specify that they’re referring to a visa for any one specific country in Schengen. The tone of the OP question implies something different, which is what I was trying to highlight.
Now i know a quick question to spot a person with eu passport ahahhaha “you know what is schengen visa”, since the rest of the world does call it a schengen visa without bothering specifying where it comes from. To answer the question, yes you can apply for a visa, but have to be clear you really want to travel and didn’t have time to do so, you can also apply to some other eu country france, italy
Not quite, because the sticker for a national visa will say at the very top eg. “Valid for: France”, whereas the same sticker for a Schengen visa tourist one will say “Valid for: Schengen States”. So the sticker - visa is the same, just the first line is different.
In the same spirit, no one here has got a Swiss driving license in their wallet, as there is no such thing as a Swiss driving agency. What we do have is a driving licence issued by a Swiss Canton… : )
And am I allowed to drive in Zurich with my Basel issued driving license? You’re getting into formalities which are irrelevant.
Whenever we have our annual customer meetings they come come from all over the world, they get a visa for Switzerland and then quite a few of them travel around Europe on their “Switzerland Schengen Visa” with no restrictions.