Early C permit application non-EU

Hi All,

Hope you are staying safe!

I would like to ask for your feedback on my early permit application as I am very confused about what is going on and do not know what to expect next.

Quick background: I and my family have been living in Luzern for 6 years. We submitted our early C permit application this year by mid-June (as we are told to apply before July 1st which is 3 months earlier than our B permit expiry date of October 1st) and started to wait. I am non-EU but my wife and daughter have double citizenship (one from non-EU country and another from one of EU countries). Just in case important, their B permit is linked to mine, and mine is linked to my employer (for which I am working since I arrived in CH).

Today we called Amt Fur Migration as we wonder the status of our early C permit application but we are told that the documents are "gepruft"(?), sent to Bundes(?) and we should wait at least 1-2 months to receive it since it will go from Bundes to Bern/SEM.

My questions are:

1) What does it mean the documents are "gepruft" by Amt Fur Migration?

2) Do you know if it is normal to send the application from Amt Fur Migration to Bundes?

Thank you very much for your responses in advance!

Do you not speak any German? It’s needed for a C permit application. Deepl.com tells me it means vetted which is correct. They’ll check that you meet the cantonal requirements to get a C.

https://www.eda.admin.ch/dam/countri…achweis_EN.pdf

I understood your post differently from Medea.

I think you probably do know what "geprüft" means (inspected, controlled, checked, vetted) in German, but that you were asking about how the procedure works. Perhaps someone who has already done this will be along to explain the steps and time-scale.

Hi Medea, thank you very much your response.

I have B1 level Telc certificate, which I enclosed to my application.

What I meant was I did not understand what exactly Amt Fur Migration means when they say documents gepruft. Does it mean "documents checked (and all good)", or "documents received (and we will see if good)", or something else?

Thank you once again for your reply.

Thank you Doropfiz!

I exactly meant what you wrote above. I really wonder if documents are checked/inspected and all good so far.

My worry is that they meant "we received the documents but not confirmed yet if they are good to go for C".

Probably it means they scanned the documents

Thank you! Do you say they meant "documents are scanned and so far good"?

Do you know the process? I was thinking it is checked by Amt Fur Migration, if ok sent to SEM, and if ok you receive the permit? I really did not understand where they sent the documents for checking?

Hi There,

Is there anyone who can give some insights on the process?

I really did not understand to where Amt Fur Migration sent the documents.

I was always assuming that they will send the application to SEM/Bern...

Thank you for responses in advance!

I understand that the documents go from the MigrationsAmt to Bern.

And it may take a few weeks after expiry of B permit to receive the permit.

Thank you Swisian for your response!

I was thinking the same, but the lady on the phone told it is sent to "Bundes" (or maybe I heard so) and then she said it will be sent to Bern?

I am really very confused...

"Bundes..." means "Federal" as in the Swiss Federal government.

The form is: "Bundesamt für..." and then the name.

Of course the Swiss Federal government is divided into other kinds of sections, too, such as "Departmente" and "Staatssekretariate", although many people say "Bundesamt" or even "Bern", when they just mean "those people up there who take the decisions". This is similar to central EU decisions being said to be taken by "Bruxelles".

Unfortunately, for many people applying for permits, the process is not clear. And takes frustratingly long. However, it is as it is, and there is seldom anything anyone can do to speed it up.

If I were you, I would wait another few months and then phone or write to ask, not "When will it be ready?" but "Do you need any further documents from me?". Sometimes, this can result in someone checking your file and dealing with it... or asking you for more documents, which will have the same effect of moving things along. Make sure you do this in the offical Swiss(Cantonal language.

Good luck!

Thank you very much Doropfiz!

Very useful information.

Quick question: Do you know how long it takes 1) at Kanton level and 2) SEM level?

It says (if I remember correctly) in the Amt Fur Migration website that processing time is 2-3 months but due to Covid-19 I believe this is now around 4-6 months.

On the other hand SEM level does not seem to get impacted in terms of processing time as far as I read/hear.

Hello,

Can you please update us regarding the timing when you get a news from Bern?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Yesterday we called Amt Fur Migraiton and kindly asked for the status update. We are told the application (documents) is still with kanton. It seems like it will take at least couple of months till the application is shipped to Bern. Let's see...