Hi All,
I posting this on behalf of a friend. He is Indian with a B work permit and when his wife (Indian too) joined him, she got the same permit (Regroupment Familial with authorization to work). She is looking for jobs in CH, but she heard that her permit allows her to work only in their canton of residence (Valais).
So the questions:
1. Is this the case? anyone with similar experience here?
2. What can she do if she gets an opportunity in another canton (Zurich for example)? does she have to ask her employer to reapply for her work permit?
Cheers!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the reply.. though it is not what he wants to hear
Cheers!
Also in this case if work was found in another canton, I think both cantons have to approve - particularly if the spouse wants to live in the other canton - since part of family reunification these days is that you live together.
A lot of rules regarding immigration in Switzerland appear to be worded vaguely and a lot is left to interpretation. For example: Zurich Labor & Economy's website, under "Work permit unit" section, you'll find:
https://awa.zh.ch/internet/volkswirt...hird-countries
"Family members from third countries with a permanent residence permit or a residence permit (C or B permit) do not require a work permit"
It's unclear (to me) whether this permit needs to be from canton Zurich or any other canton's permit would also do. The only authority would be the cantonal immigration office. In Zurich, they will gladly resolve this query online. Over phone you may end up talking to someone not fully knowledgeable of full legal text: https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/data/se...ngen-aug-d.pdf
Contact form: https://ma.zh.ch/internet/sicherheit...tformular.html
May be but the permit is linked to a Kanton and working in another Kanton requires approval. Also, family reunification requires the couple to live together so one living and working in Geneva (for example) and one in Zurich will most likely not be accepted.
Exactly. There's a lot left to " may be ", " most likely ", and the only authority that can issue a definitive answer is the cantonal migrations department - which hopefully gives an answer based on established laws. There too, an email/written answer is better than a verbal answer.
Secondly, the query is about working in different canton, not living there. The couple can live together but the dependent non-EU spouse can have a job in other canton (or " may be " a remote job), subject to permissions and practicality of travel time.
CH has 20+ cantons, with some half-cantons, so it'd help to know concretely which canton is the potential employer located in, and which ones are practical from Valais. In large companies, a competent HR /mobility department would take care of this.