EU on type B marrying non-EU

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
I recently got a job offer starting in January in Geneva, as an EU national I will get a type B permit to work in Switzerland. However, my girlfriend is British (non-EU) and we are looking at potential options for her to move with me.

One of the options would be to get married in Switzerland in March/April, would that give her the right to obtain a type B permit?

From what I could read, she would need to get a type D visa first (National Visa) to get married in Switzerland, as you cannot get married on a Schengen visa. Did I get that right?

Apologies if this has been asked before, I tried searching the forums but there is very little post-Brexit. Thank you in advance for your kind answers.

2
I don't know, but as there are no replies yet, have a bump.

3
Marrying is a big decision.

Could she look for a job first?

4

Yes and yes. She would need to apply for a fiancée visa to allow her to come here to help plan the wedding details. After the marriage is done and registered/recognised by the Swiss authorities she would then get a B family reunification permit.

Another option if marriage isn’t on the cards yet would be what is called a concubine permit. This is for unmarried heterosexual couples. You would need to agree to be financially responsible for her for 5 years and she may or may not be able to work with that type of permit; permission for that seems to depend on the cantonal authorities whether to allow it or not. Also not all cantons offer the concubine permit. I’m not sure if Geneva does, but Vaud canton does issue these so if you decide to live in that canton that type of permit might be possible.

5
Unless you were already planning on getting married, i suggest to apply for a family reunion visa for your partner.

For an unmarried couple, you will need to prove that you are in a stable committed relationship.

That would include:

- Proof that both of you have been living together for more than 2 years

- Proof that both of you have been in a stable relation for more than 2 years (Photos of you together, testimonials from friends and family members, cover letter, etc.)

We did it and it worked for us, however it might be slightly different for you as we are based in Vaud, and these things are approved on a cantonal level.

I cant help with where to send those, as we hired an immigration services company that did helped us out with the process.

Best of luck!

6
Thank you very much, really appreciated! Will look into the concubine permit but it is great to know we have a few options

7
Far from "not all", rather "almost none" do (five total out of 26, as I recall)!

And it's not only for hetero couples.

Tom