I have received my C-permit beginning of 2022 (Fast-track). My husband (soon to be ex) got his C-permit a few months before I renewed my B-permit so it was probably the reason why they also considered me for a C-permit. I actually didn’t apply for it and just received a letter that I could get my C-permit. I also didn’t submit a language certificate but I am always speaking German when I visit the Gemeinde or the Migrationsamt. The C-permit says: Familienmitglied EU/EFTA.
My husband and I are already living separately since end of 2022 but we haven’t filed the divorce yet and we plan to do this next year. We are married for more than 5 years. We are in good terms but we have decided to end our marriage.
My questions are:
Am I still allowed to stay here when we divorce? I’ve read articles that with the C-permit, I should be allowed to stay but wanted to ask if somebody here had been divorced , and non-EU and was actually granted a C-permit again?
Do I need to submit a language certificate? Is this a requirement for the C-permit renewal? I speak German (not super fluent but good enough to have decent conversations). I studied until B2 but never really took a language exam.
I live in Zürich city and thinking of moving next year to another Gemeinde just outside the city of Zürich. I also have a stable job and employed for almost 10 years with the same employer. I don’t have any bad records also.
Hello @MedeaFleecestealer , thank you for your feedback! Appreciate it!! Do you think I should still take a language test or will they just renew my permit automatically without it? Btw, we don’t have kids and I won’t be needing his financial support. It’s just the permit that concerns me since I am not from EU.
I’d say it would be a good idea to get it as it shows you’re working on integrating into the Swiss community. Also check with your canton immigration office to see what they have to say.
Agree with Medea - get the language certificate as it can only help you long-term if you wish to stay here.
As you’ve been here for 10 years, you’d probably be eligible to apply for an independent C permit even if they didn’t want to renew this one. Once you have the C permit and the required years of residency in CH, you can then apply for naturalization (if that is something of interest to you).
Is there any reason to think that a language certificate is required? I can’t see anything suggesting that the circumstances of the divorce will make any difference, the C permit will just be renewed in 5 years as per normal.
And apart from the initial C permit, or a possible eventual nationality application, what would be the point of getting the language certificate now?
I didn’t say it’s required, just that it could be a good idea. A language certificate is normally required to get the C permit in the first place, so it seems like ladybug might have slipped through unnoticed. At renewal time, the authorities might take a second look and ask for one since the initial C permit was a dependent one and ladybug is non-EU now seeking an independent C.
You’ve been in Switzerland long enough to know that “might”, when it comes to the rules, is not a thing here. you either need it or you do not.
There are loads, probably tens or even hundreds of thousands, of C permit holders, including myself, who never needed a language test in the first place, simply because it was not a requirement where and when we were granted the permit. The fact that relatively recently it has become a federal requirement does not apply retrospectively.
As it happens, I’ve just renewed mine for the, oh probably fourth or fifth time, I lose count. This time I had to go down (just yesterday) to Monthey and get photographed and fingerprinted to get the new plastic card biometric version. Up until now it’s always been the old-fashined paper jobby. Should be in the post in a couple of days.