Hi everyone!
I'm a British National and a C-Permit holder, and I am about to leave abroad for a year (possibly more, up to 2) to complete my masters degree. I have lived in Switzerland for the last 13 years and plan to return afterwards.
I am aware I can 'pause' my C-Permit so I don't lose it while I'm abroad for longer than 6 months, however, my employer wants to keep me employed while I work remotely from the country I'm studying in, as my masters is one day a week and I work 80%. As a student in the country I plan to study in, I am allowed to work remotely for my home country, and I will continue paying taxes etc and will get paid in Switzerland.
What I am wondering is: if I pause my C-Permit, does that also pause my rights to work for a Swiss company as a Swiss resident? Can I keep working?
I have looked everywhere online and I can't find an answer to this question.
Thanks for reading!!
You cannot work without a permit.
Tom
Contrary to what Tom thinks, the company can continue to employ you, However as you are not resident in Switzerland, you will have to pay taxes in the country where you intend to study and and this is the big AND your employer will have to comply with any local payroll requirement in that country - this is something most will not do as it can expose them to serious tax consequences. From the Swiss side the easiest solution is to use a local payroll company.
The other issues is do you have a permit in the other country that will allow you to undertake this work?
Hi Jim, thanks for your response! I really appreciate it
I guess to rephrase the original post: does pausing my C-Permit mean that I am no longer a resident of Switzerland?
As my company spoke with their employment lawyers, and they said that as long as I am not a resident in the country I am studying in (I won't be since I will be on a student visa) and remain a resident of Switzerland, then nothing changes in my employment contract and everything remains the same, as I would still be a resident of Switzerland, paying Swiss taxes and health insurance etc.
However, if pausing my C-Permit means I won't be a resident anymore, then the arrangement would have to change or wouldn't work.
Thanks and all the best,
Chris
You are no longer a resident. Your permit is paused = not active.
Generally speaking residency is determined by the amount of time you spend in a country, not the type of visa you hold. So unless you are spending at least 180 days a year in Switzerland, you are not resident in Switzerland. And that is only one side of the coin, the country you are studying in will also have its own set of rules to determine if you are resident in their country for tax purposes, most likely it will also be base on the 180 day rule as well. Ultimately the two tax authorities must agree on your residency. So what permits you hold is not relevant in determining residency in tax law - it's just an easy confirmation if it is available. Your employer should be talking to their tax and corporate lawyers not their HR lawyers. And it would be in your best interests to get them to agree to cover your cost of getting tax advise when the time comes.
Pausing your permit or not, will not be enough to persuade the tax authorities that you are resident or not, they will look at their rules in the first instance.
The C permit is a residency/work permit for Switzerland. If you are no longer resident in Switzerland there is nothing to stop you working for a Swiss company.
But as Jim2007 points out - it can be a bit complicated.
Depending on where the OP is actually studying, it could turn out to be very complicated and expensive as having staff on payroll can constitute corporate tax residency requiring the company to pay corporate taxes there.