I am a US citizen who has been married to a swiss citizen for 2.5 years.
My B permit will expire this coming August. My spouse has met another woman and filed for separation or divorce without me knowing this past April. I was only informed 2 weeks ago when he told me as he moved out of the flat.
He is now threatening me to sign the rental cancellation or he and his lawyer will sue me and take me to court so that the judge can make me sign the document.
I am blindsided by all of this. I have spoken to a lawyer and he told me that the marriage has to last 3 years in order for my permit to be renewed. He said my permit renewal will most likely get rejected and he can start the appeal process which would buy me another few months to a year in Switzerland with the ability to work.
According to my ex spouse, he said his lawyer told him I shouldn't have problems renewing my permit as I have a job, I am integrated, and I do not receive social benefits. However, my permit is under the condition that I live with my husband which is not the case anymore.
I have spoken to HR at work and I do not meet their conditions to help me apply for a work permit.
I find that it will be hard for me to integrate back into my life in the US as my friends and career are here. I have lost touch with friends back home and the quality of life compared to Switzerland is not great.
I have asked my ex to meet or to talk over the phone and he refuses to do so and ignores my messages.
Any advice as to how I can fight for my B permit? Or is this a lost cause?
Don't believe anything your ex says. He's clearly not trustworthy.
You do not have a lost cause.
A friend of mine - also a third country national - had divorce proceedings started by her husband after only 18 months of marriage. She had a job (in a care home) and could speak German reasonably well. Her first application for her own B permit was denied, she appealed to the Canton and lost that appeal. She appealed to the federal government. The Canton lost and had to pay all her court costs and give her a B permit.
The grounds were that she was not dependent on the state and was well integrated.
I think perhaps you need to find a lawyer who specialises in immigration.
Not in the know about any caveats regarding various permit types but unless both partners agree , divorce proceeding in Switzerland require an official separation of two years before they can be initiated.
There are only two person in this equation that has your interests at heart - you and your lawyer, no one else. Trust your lawyer and be guided by him and no one else.
Indeed. Can’t get divorced before that unless you/he can prove exceptional circumstances.
" If one of the spouses refuses to divorce
You can ask for a divorce even if your spouse does not agree, provided that you have lived separately for at least two years.
In exceptional cases, including domestic violence, you can also ask for a divorce before the two years have expired.
The court will inform you of the documents you need to submit. At the end of the procedure, the court grants the divorce and decides all the consequences, taking into account any points on which you and your spouse have been able to agree."
As for the permit renewal I’m not sure if all 3 of these conditions have to be met or whether it’s just most of them.
" Third-country citizens
You can have your permission to stay extended if
you have been married for at least three years and have lived in the same household with your spouse (Swiss or foreign national),
you are well integrated in Switzerland (respect for law and order, good oral language skills, in work or pursuing education or training), or
you need to stay in Switzerland for important personal reasons (e.g. social reintegration in the country of origin is seriously compromised, domestic violence)."
Anyway... BL for example, will grant residency if the person is well integrated and to leave the country would cause undue hardship. One of my friends got a B permit that way.
Thank you! This gives me some hope that maybe with a migration lawyer I could have a chance. As this in Zurich, hopefully the proceedings will not be much different from Basel.
No I have been firm on not signing the rent cancellation. He however has been threatening to sue and telling me the expected move out date. I’m hoping there are some laws in place that prevent this from happening.... The rent is also more than 3x my monthly salary so it wouldn’t be wise for me to take it over either
I am aware of the 2 year separation minimum in order for a divorce to be granted without both spouses approval... the only issue is that my B permit is up for renewal in 2 months and if I am unable to stay in Switzerland after the appeal process, I’m not sure how it will work then. It seems that I would be forced to sign the divorce papers before I leave to the US
Unfortunately we were only 4 months shy of the 3 year living/marriage minimum
Via work, I happen to know of a good immigration lawyer in Zurich (a one woman band, so not expensive either as Swiss lawyers go) who is fluent in english and was trained by the guy who literally drafted some of the immigration/permit laws.
The rental contract between a landlord and a married couple is always regarded as being with both spouses.
Therefore the rental company, when giving notice to the tenants, cannot do so to one spouse alone, but must send out two letters at the same time. To be valid, notice by the landlord must be given in writing, on the official form, with the contractual notice period, and by registered mail to each spouse separately.
Similarly, one spouse cannot give notice to the rental company alone, but needs the signature of the other spouse, too. The spouses can give notice in one joint letter with both their signatures, or else in two separate letters. To be valid, notice by the tenants must be given in writing, with the contractual notice period, and by registered mail.
I don't understand the part about threatening to sue you.
The date upon which both spouses must vacate the property and return it to the landlord in good condition is the date for which both spouses have given notice in the formal manner set out. There is no other date.
Your husband cannot give notice without your also agreeing to give notice. However, he could write to the landlord to inform them that he wants to move out and that you will not be able to afford the rental alone. That might make the landlord nervous and then the landlord might try to find a reason to give you (as a couple) notice. Even so (and even if one party moves out) for as long as the contract runs, both parties remain legally bound, just as they are now, jointly and severally, to pay the full rent. "Jointly and severally" means that the landlord can freely chase either or both spouses to fulfil their contractual obligation and pay the rent. The rental obligation is not split, e.g. 20%:80% or 50%:50% between the spouses, but both spouses remain fully liable.
Okay that relieves me a bit. He was threatening to have his lawyer take me to court so that the judge can order me to sign the rental cancellation contract. I also have not received any mail from the landlord and it worries me a bit
Quick background: US citizen living in Zurich. Married to Swiss partner for 2.5 months. Separated in April.
I received a Trennungsanfrage letter from Zurich migration asking me to explain the details of my separation. Why it happened? Do we plan to get back together and are we working on it through couples therapy..? If we don’t plan to get back together are we in contact still? How often do we talk?
We both made mistakes in our relationship and the love was hard to feel the last year, but we were trying. When he moved out I was blindsided and thought he just wanted space. I didn’t know that he had met someone else and is now pursuing a relationship with her. I didn’t find all this out until 2-3 weeks ago. We were in contact and not once did it strike me that he would file for separation or have no intention of coming home. I have been asking to work on the relationship but he doesn’t want to. Is that something I can write in the letter?
They are also asking for a copy of my work contract which I can get quickly. However they want me to prove I can speak A1 German. My A2 German test is this Saturday. I will not get results for another 4-8 weeks. My deadline to submit all this information is June 22nd.
It is also asking for a copy of my rent contract. My ex has taken all the important documents and I do not know where the best place to get this information is... I relied on him heavily in regards to living in Switzerland and all things contract wise.
Does anyone know if I should have a lawyer help me answer these questions? Or if it’s possible to ask for an extension until I receive my test results?
Im hoping this letter gives me a chance to renew my permit or get an individual b permit for myself.
In case it helps put your mind at rest, on behalf of one of our clients we recently asked a specialist immigration lawyer what happens if a B permit renewal is rejected, and the person wants to appeal. Do they get thrown out immediately?
The answer quoted Art. 59 Application for extension of the residence permit in the VZAE Ordinance on Admission and Residence SR 142.240 .
I'll paraphrase what we learned (cos it's in German)
Put in your renewal application between 3 months and 14 days before expiry. (Don't wait for the authorities, be proactive).
Once your application has been submitted, you can stay in Switzerland during the procedure with the same rights of residence. That includes staying during any governmental delays AND any appeals process following rejection.
Court delays mean appeals are currently taking around 2 years.
Yes, the authorities do also have a right to throw you out early BUT they have to make an execptional circumstances case (which is highly unlikely as you are integrated, working, and presumably not a danger to the state).
The one down side is that while you do have the same rights such as to have a bank account, to live/work here as allowed before, to travel and so on, plus obligations to pay taxes, health insurance, maintain a registered residential address etc. you will no longer have the easily accessible PROOF of those rights. Specifically the Travel permit.
However, if you get into this situation and you do need to travel outside CH, you can get the Geminde to issue you with a temporary Visa.