I have recently joined ETH in Zurich as a postdoc. The position is for 2 or 3 years but ETH has given me a contract for 1 year (which I assume gets renewed for the next years).
Apparently, according to a new law from 01.07.2024, permit of stay for all 1 year contracts will be of type L (they should have given me at least 13 months contract for B permit).
My question is: if I get a 2-year contract from ETH is it possible that I apply again myself to get a B permit?
This is a common misconception. If they (canton) run out of B permits they can apply for L permits which are not subjected to the same procedures/quotas.
Not even a permanent contract warrants a B permit (at least this was valid some time ago)
When it is for renewal, perhaps yes. But then again as mentioned you may get another L (due to the short nature of the contract, or the B have run out, it may even depend on the month of application), you cannot really āforceā them to give you a particular permit. Even for 13 or 24 month contracts it may be a L in my experience (not in ZH) they save the B permits for āunlimitedā contracts.
For the one you already got, I donāt think it is possible to refuse it, and apply again asking for a B ; they wonāt like that (unnecessary extra work)
I donāt think it really that much depends on time of the year (even though getting anything done by the end is not the best), but rather on canton (in zurich one can most surely forget about B as a first permit) and your specialization/experience and how valuable is that in the eyes of authorities. If canton is small and you are some top notch specialist then chances are high to get B, if canton is big most surely you will get L.
Having the same issue here: EU citizen, offered a 4-year position but only got a 1-year contract (which I assume will be renewed). Wondering if you managed to get the B permit with a renegotiated 2-year contract?
