C Permit Question - American

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1

Hello all -

I am an American citizen and have lived in Zurich for 4 uninterrupted years now. I have my B1 German certificate. I just renewed my (hopefully last) B permit. My B is open. I am burnt out and unhappy with my job, and I would like to resign this year to take time for my mental health.

If I resign and have no job, would this create an issue when I apply for my C permit in less than 1 year? I understand that Americans and Canadians are eligible after 5 years, provided “integration criteria” are met. On the Zurich Immigration website, it describes “Participation in Economic Life or the Acquisition of Education” as a factor of integration. It doesn’t specifically state how long a person must be employed or if they must be employed at the time of application for the C permit.

Does anyone know if I can still receive a C permit, without a job at the time of application?

Link to Zurich C Permit: https://www.zh.ch/de/migration-integ…tml#1534740075

Link to Zurich Integration Criteria: https://www.zh.ch/de/migration-integ…n-vollzug.html

2
Integration includes knowing your neighbours, shopping locally, reading local newspapers, participating in local clubs, knowing and understanding local politics. Very subjective.

Also, sorry for being a pedant, but I think you meant to say you area US citizen. America is two large continents and most Americans are not US citizens.

3
I don't really know, but I think your safest bet is to not resign until you have your C permit in hand. I am, however, very risk averse.

4
Fairly sure you won’t get a new permit without a job - unless you are super rich.

5
It may have changed but I was asked to provide a letter from my employer to show that I still have a job.

Participation in Economic Life means that you have a job. No idea if RAV counts as that, especially not if you are non EU.

6
Yes. A friend (with EU citizenship) who has just been granted a C-Permit was asked to provide proof of continuous employment, or of continuous financial support by a partner/spouse, during the past 3 of the 5 years of B-permits.