I will be getting my PhD work contract soon. I have also recently (this week) submitted all required documents to EPFL for visa purposes.
Does anyone have experience with getting PhD visa and permit? How long does it usually take? I really hope to start by mid-august (about two months from now) at the latest since I already requested a leave from my current work in my home country.
For the record, I am from a Non-EU country, and will be going to Switzerland with my wife and 4-month daughter.
If you submitted your papers for visa to epfl, they would use it to apply for a work permit on your behalf. Which easily takes 2-3 months (it depends upon the application load a paricular canton will have and in your case it will be canton of vaud).
Note that EPFL will ONLY apply for a work permit on your behalf and they will not apply for visa. YOU have to apply for a visa. So request administator of your department at EPFL to send you a letter of appointment with the help of which you should go to nearest embassy/consulate of Switzerland and apply for visa. It is advisable to apply for your wife's and daughter's visa (dependent) at the same time.
Now once they receive the application for visa from your end, it would be sent to a concerned canton. Canton officials will check if your employer has applied for a work permit for you or not. They will also do some background check on your application and if everything looks okay, you will be granted a one time entry visa with a window of 2 to 3 months to enter Switzerland. You must enter Switzerland within this window of time period. Once you reach here, first thing you need to do it to register yourself at population office within 14 days of your arrival and then you get your residential permit which serves as multiple entry document to Switzerland.
Note that your wife and daughter's visas may arrive a little later even if you applied together. So don't be bothered with that is that happens.
So to answer your question in short, it takes 6-8 weeks for visa to get authorized from the day you apply for it. You can travel to Switzerland as soon as visa arrives. So make sure you talk to department secratary and apply for it sooner.
All the best!
- M