Hi all,
I'm a long-time reader of this very useful site. Now, I have a question about my own permit situation, for which I've come across contradictory information on this forum.
I first came to Switzerland in 2015 on an L Permit to work at a university for 1 year. I then started a PhD and switched to a student B permit for the next 6 years. Towards the end of the PhD (2022) I married a Swiss citizen and switched to a family reunification B permit, and then shortly thereafter started a job in Zürich on a permanent contract.
I have US citizenship, have lived in Zürich the entire time, and meet all of the C permit integration requirements. To summarize my permit history: 1 year L, 6 years student B, 1 year family reunification B.
I am aware of the rule that time in Switzerland on a student B permit does not count, unless you then switch to an unrestricted B permit for 2 years. My question is: does switching to a family reunification permit count as an unrestricted B permit? Will I be eligible for a C permit after 1 more year on a family reunification B? I have asked the Zürich Migrationsamt about this, but they did not seem to know.
Thanks for your help!!
I would say it should.
If it doesn’t, the next best option is to apply for citizenship after 3 years of marriage (as you will meet the 5 year residency requirement easily).
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home…rheiratet.html
In the text of the law, there is no indication that family reunification counts as a "long stay permit" that will count for student years. So we cannot definitely say.
Having spoken to a lawyer about this, even they were very clear that the law was ambiguous in this regard.
Definitely try to apply, and otherwise follow through with what aSwissInTheUS mentioned. If you get it, let us know for future posters!
Yes it's quite ambiguous, no where do they define what "long term permit" means specifically, aside from generally being a non-study B permit or possibly an L permit in some cases (also ambiguous).
Definitely not L permit, also known as short term residency permit (not ambiguous at all)
L's count if they are followed by a "long term permit", or if they are provided for someone who is here for a long term purpose.
E.g., if you got a job and applied for an B permit after your studies but got an L, and after 2 years on a L you get a B permit, those L permits count towards your C because they were indications that you were here for a long stay.
Thanks for the very helpful replies! I will be sure to try in a year and let you all know the outcome
And yes, I am aware of the naturalization option after 3 years. This route of course takes a long time, so I'm very keen to get the C before all of that.
Except the bit that says "years as a student don't count [...] unless followed by two years with a long-term B permit or if the L permit has acquired a long-term character, for example in the case of a permanent work contract "......
You are confusing readers with biased interpretation.
Baseline is that a long term residence permit (dauerhaften Aufenthalt/autorisation de séjour durable/permesso di dimora duraturo) per the law is a non-student B permit.
It could be that in some cantons the migration office decides to align themselves to SEM guidance document (where your quote originates from) and count years on a non-EU L working permit subject to quotas on a case by case basis but this would need SEM approval so implying that this is de-facto the case is plain wrong.
Yes, I agree. Which is why I didn't say it's "de facto the case", and I only said "it's ambiguous". The mere fact that we are having this conversation and agree the language is there but may or may not be followed by migration authorities is proof that it is, indeed, ambiguous.
I said implied, which is what you did by saying the definition of long term permit (dauerhaften Aufenthalt/autorisation de séjour durable/permesso di dimora duraturo) per the law is ambiguous, when in fact it is clear as day, and by grouping that condition under the same bucket as the non-EU quota L working permit provision which is detailed in the SEM guidance document, not the law, and is applied on a case by case basis as an exception, fully up to the discretion of migration authorities.
I am wondering if anyone was in the exact same situation ( student b - > reunion b) for a total of 5 years and actually got his/her early C?