Thank you.
The information online is rather overwhelming and I'm struggling to interpret the minute details on the various documents, but does the non-British, non-Swiss spouse of a Swiss citizen has the same rights based provided for Swiss and British citizens in the Swiss-UK withdrawal agreement, IF the marriage occured after 31/12/20 (but the relationship had already existed before that date)?
You mean for someone who is resident in the UK?
Yes. Sorry if I was vague as I am totally confused!
Basically I am Australian living in the UK, and have a professional qualification from the UK. Partner is Swiss.
I am hoping that I can get it recognized in Switzerland since mutual agreement of professional qualifications for Swiss and UK citizens is provided for until 2024 based on the withdrawal agreement. We have been together since before the Brexit date of 31 Dec 2020, but we are only getting married this year.
https://www.swiss-societies.co.uk/brexit
Just an example here - It looks like if a marriage occurred after Brexit but the relationship itself already existed before then, the spouse can still exercise the rights to acquire settled/pre-settled status in the UK up until 2025.
However, I've trawled through the documents regarding mutual recognition of professional qualifications and they're not so specific about dates. Would be grateful if anyone knows more! Thank you!
Maybe ask the Swiss embassy in London. They probably know.
Entitlement to recognition of qualifications is based on citizenship, not the qualification alone. The acquisition of an EU/EEA/CH recognized qualification by the citizen of a third country does not come with any additional rights. This was always the case.
You apply for the recognition of whatever qualifications you have following the procedures set out for citizens of a third country. The process should be a bit simpler since the qualification is already known to the authorities.
Does that even apply? The agreement affects Swiss and UK citizens; you’re Australian.
It sounds like you're asking two questions:
1) is my intent to marry a Swiss citizen affected by Brexit?
2) can I get my British qualification recognised by Switzerland?
These issues are independent of one another.
As far as I'm aware, if you're an Australian citizen, Brexit has no impact on you, nor your intent to marry. If you have dual citizenship, that's potentially a different story.
Jim2007 has already addressed the second question re: your qualification. Again I'll mention the independence of these questions - getting your qualification recognised will not have any bearing on whether you can move to Switzerland / marry a Swiss citizen. Qualifications and citizenship are unrelated.
Let me know if I've misinterpreted anything. If it helps, I'm also Australian, however I have tri-citizenship; in addition to my Aussie passport, I also have a British and an Irish one. For the purposes of moving to Switzerland, I am treated as an Irish citizen, since it's part of the EU and makes life easiest. Regarding my (Australian) university qualification, when I applied for my role with a multinational, there was no question about getting it recognised - they simply accepted it (disclaimer - recognition may be dependent on the type of qualification, e.g. a nurse, for example, might need recognition, whereas a business graduate may not).
Hope this helps but feel free to add more detail.
Actually they are in the sense that your rights to have your qualifications recognized is dependent on your citizenship.
I’ll explain the accounting one since it is the one I know best. As an Irish Chartered Accountant I’m entitled to engage in public practice in Switzerland once I pass the multiple choice exams on Swiss law and taxation, it was a week long course at the time plus the exam.
In the British Isles, members of the three chartered institutions are entitled to practice in all jurisdictions and furthermore switch institutions. As a result, many assumed that switching to the Irish institution was a BREXIT work around, some firms even enrolled their trainees with the Irish institute! About two years ago the EU Commission highlighted the fact that the EU/EEA/CH was only bound to recognize qualifications of citizens.
As I said the OP needs to apply on the same terms as every other third country national and see if the relevant licensing authority are willing to accept them.
Thanks for the extra detail Jim.
Perhaps what I should have said, is that a qualification does not confer any additional citizenship rights on top of what one's citizenship already provides.
You said it much more effectively than me!
Well actually spouses do have acquired rights for mutual recognition of professional qualifications, as it says here on BAG. I emailed them directly and they replied pretty quickly with a favourable answer: these rules are in effect even if a marriage to a Swiss occurs after 31 Dec 2020.
https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/de/home...g-diplome.html
Voraussetzungen für die Anerkennung
Anerkennt ein Vertragsstaat ein Drittstaatendiplom (erworben ausserhalb EU/EFTA), kann die Schweiz diese Anerkennung anerkennen, wenn die gesuchstellende Person:
die Staatsangehörigkeit der Schweiz oder eines Vertragsstaates (EU/EFTA) besitzt, bzw. ihr/e Ehepartner/in besitzt eine dieser Staatsangehörigkeiten;
That's quite specific to the medical profession, so I'm assuming that's your field.
It's worth highlighting that the page you've linked does have additional conditions listed, and indicates that they must be met cumulatively. i.e. meeting the singular condition of having a Swiss spouse on it's own is not sufficient (this is my interpretation, happy to be corrected by others more knowledgeable), in addition to the language requirement.
I'm not sure where Brexit factors into your situation, but either way - congratulations on the upcoming wedding
So are you seeking recognition as a medical professional and do you meet all the requirements to qualify?
Thank you Yes, I do fulfil the other criteria so that is a relief indeed. Sorry, perhaps I should have been more clear that this is for a specific profession but I had assumed that it would be the same for all regulated professions. The Brexit part in retrospect is I guess a separate issue. My British qualification would not be recognized by BAG if I was not an EU/Swiss citizen. Hence, without being married my British qualification would be of no use to BAG. Hopefully this post helps someone in a similar situation.