D Visa, L Permit Questions

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
Hi all,

We are a retired couple from Canada and we have been invited to live at a friend’s house, just south of Bern, for a year. From our research we believe that we will be required to apply for a D visa via the Swiss consulate in Canada and an L residence permit (to a maximum of 364 days) from the cantonal migration authorities in Bern.

Our circumstances are such that we are financially independent, will not work or seek employment while in Switzerland and will carry sufficient travel and health insurance to ensure we are not a burden, in any way to the Swiss social infrastructure. We intend to write on the D visa application to the question of our purpose in Switzerland that we wish to explore the country, its customs and traditions.

Per the ch.ch website, as a non-EU/ETFA citizen, we would be required to have sufficient financial resources to support yourself and not be dependent on social welfare assistance and have adequate accident and health insurance.

Our questions are these:

• Are we correct to apply for the D visa and the L permit?

• What qualifies as having “sufficient financial resources to support yourself and not be dependent on social welfare assistance”?

• How much, in CHF, qualifies as having “adequate accident and health insurance?”

• Is travel, accident and health insurance purchased in Canada sufficient to cover this requirement?

• Are we liable in Switzerland for taxation on income earned in Canada via pensions and investment income?

The answers to these questions are not entirely clear from the federal or cantonal government sites. Our sincere belief is that we are best to find the concrete answers to these questions before our planning goes any further. We are very grateful for any assistance you might offer in this regard. Please bear with us as newbies if these questions have been asked and answered before. Thank you.

2
On the health insurance, if you are given an L-permit, you will probably be required to have Swiss health insurance. You’ll be a resident, so travel insurance won’t suffice.

3
As IM points out, once a resident here, you would need Swiss health insurance unless you fall into one of the very limited exceptions. Same situation regarding taxation, once resident here, you are taxed here on your World wide income and there is also a wealth tax but it is relatively low unless you have huge assets. This is the normal tax situation unless you are extremely wealthy and qualify for one of the special tax regimes.

4
Health insurance is - in general - obligatory for residents. Here is some info about the exceptions, in Canton Bern:

https://www.asv.dij.be.ch/de/start/t...gspflicht.html

The assessment will need to be done by your providing comprehensive documentation of the kinds of treatments that are covered, and their upper limits.

5
Welcome to the Forum... and perhaps to Switzerland.

In the hope that you'll get structured replies, I've taken the liberty of numbering your questions.

Yes. You apply for a D visa. But then the authorities decide which permit to issue. You are right, though, that if granted, it would most likely be an L permit.

The above three posts deal with 3. and to some extent 4.

I agree with Runningdeer's reply to this.

6
Sincere appreciation to all for the information and guidance. Are there any guesses/opinions on question 2 above - how much qualifies for "sufficient financial resources"?

7
Please keep in mind that residents permits for third country (non-EU/EFTA) nationals are limited and subject to quotas. Even if you meet all the requirements there is no guarantee that you will be accepted.

8

You/your friend should ask the cantonal migration office that. It probably varies from canton to canton depending on where you want to live.

9
You should, perhaps, contact the Swiss Embassy in Ottawa or the Consulates in Vancouver or Montreal for guidance.

10
We appreciate this input. Hopefully, applying at the beginning of the year when (supposedly) the quota numbers refresh will improve our chances.

11
Thank you for the suggestion. We have, in fact, contacted the consulate in Vancouver. They immediately, as Medea Fleecestealer rightly implies might happen, referred us to the Bern cantonal migration authorities for their input, but have yet to get a concrete estimate from them.

12
The reason for such a threshold is that the Swiss immigration authorities aim to avoid ever granting anyone a permit who would, if things went wrong, then be entitled - on account of having a valid permit - to claim social security benefits.

The reason that the amount (how low one would have to have fallen to claim social security benefits) is not fixed and clear, is that it - like many procedures in Switzerland - differs from Canton to Canton, and sometimes even from municipality to municipality. Because of these differences, the figures given below are very rough approximates but enough, I hope, for you to see whether you're in that range or not. The limit for social security is calculated on the basis of assets owned, monthly needs (which latter, again, can vary depending on where you live), and monthly income.

Assets

One cannot claim any social security benefits at all if one owns more than a few thousand Francs (in assets of any kind). This limit may be about Fr. 3000 or Fr. 5000.

Monthly needs

The following costs are considered legitimate: medical insurance at the basic obligatory level (the premium also varies by geography): about Fr. 300 to Fr. 600 per person rent: about Fr. 1100 for a single person and Fr. 1600 for a couple, and a little more for a family everything else (including food, transport, clothing, cleaning materials and personal hygiene, etc.): about Fr. 900 for a single person, Fr. 1500 for a couple, and more per child

Monthly income

income from all sources within Switzerland and abroad

Income and needs are offset, and if there is a deficit, that's the amount the Social Security will cover.

To have any chance of getting a permit (and as Bowlie said, there's no guarantee, sadly) you will need to demonstrate that you have assets, and better still also an income, which are substantially more than would cover your expenses at that level.

Please be aware that it is very hard to live at the level of income provided by the Social Security. For that reason, I don't recommend your regarding those figures as a guideline for one's explenses here. You might, instead, have a look at these standard budgets, here:

http://www.budgetberatung.ch/Paare.104.0.html

For translations, in addition to "google translate" I also recommend "deepl". Sometimes it helps to use them both, and compare both results. Or come back and ask here on the forum, if a translation isn't clear to you.

13
Two anecdotes, indicative of absolutely nothing:

I know of one non-EU person with a portfolio of low 8 figures who was refused.

I know of another non-EU person with the same low 8 figures who was welcomed in.

The second person paid a firm to smooth the way.

14
Thank you for this valuable information. I think we will qualify, but the worrying part is the delay and uncertainty in the authority's decision, during which time we are hobbled as far as making concrete plans to wrap up affairs in Canada. I don't like uncertainty. Who does?

But thank you, doropfiz, for the obvious time you took to answer and the comprehensive nature of your reply.

15
Eight figures?!? Wow, ! We only intend to stay a year, playing rubber-necking tourists for the most part. And our accommodation is, as I mentioned, at a friend's house near Bern. Any chance those 8 figures included two decimal places (he asked, naively)?

16
You missed the most important part of the comment:

Two anecdotes, indicative of absolutely nothing .

When you seek to enter Switzerland outside of normal permit categories, it might boil down to the interpretation of the bureaucrat overseeing your case. That is, each case is individual.

And each canton might have different ideas as to the price of the entry ticket. In fact, I suspect is does.

I know only a handful of folks who have come here, or tried to come here, based on their wealth. Far too few cases to draw any meaningful conclusions as to process or decision making, other than it seems that in this category the question '"how will Switzerland benefit from allowing you to partake of the pure alpine air?" often weighs in.

---

The friends who have invited you to stay should take the lead on this.

They should start with their Gemeinde and ask what it would take to allow you to stay. If your friends are well connected in their community you might find the path runs smoother.

Alternatively, save yourself and your friends the hassle and come for three months, as a typical tourist. A non-EU tourist can stay for three months, then must leave for three months. A tourist does not have to face residency permission hurdles.

17
Yes, this. Assuming, of course, that at the desired time of travel, your country's citizens are allowed to enter Switzerland at all (depending on the covid measures current at that time).

18
Assuming for the moment that all goes well with the visa, the residence permit and we get to reside in Switzerland for a year, I'd like a little more clarity on the tax regulations and requirements, if someone can comment.

Here is the scenario I'd like to explore:

We arrive in Switzerland on July 1, 2022 and depart June 30, 2023. From consulting, I receive income in the time period January 1, 2022 until June 30, 2022, i.e., prior to residency in Switzerland, but none thereafter. After our arrival and until our departure, we will continue to collect Canadian old age pensions and a small private pension, monthly, throughout 2022 and 2023.

Here are my questions, then:

1) Do I pay taxes on all income earned annually, or just that earned while resident in Switzerland?

2) If the pension income already has income tax deducted at source, am I still obliged pay income tax in Switzerland?

3) Assuming, again, that the income is taxed at source in Canada and I am required to pay tax in Switzerland, do I pay on the gross or net amount?

Any information or follow-up directions on this matter will be greatly appreciated.

19
1) only while resident

2/3) there's a double taxation agreement, so you won't have to pay double tax likely https://www.canada.ca/en/department-...1997-2010.html

20
Thank you so much for this information. Very much appreciated