Getting married abroad questions

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
(I didn't want to hijack the other thread on a similar topic)

Hi folks, several different google searches have not helped me with understanding the requirements.

I have tri citizenship: British, Irish, Australian. I am getting married shortly in the UK to a British citizen.

Once we are married, he will stay living in the UK until the end of the year, at which point he'll be ready to move across to join me here.

Do I need to have the marriage 'recognized' in Switzerland? If so, by whom? Is there anything specific I should be concerned about which may lead the authorities to believe it's not a genuine marriage? I have heard there are tax implications for married people - is this affected by whether he's living here in Switzerland with me? I am taxed at source by my employer - do I just notify my company once I'm married and they'll take care of the tax side of things? Am I required to notify my landlord, even though nothing about my living situation will change? Are you supposed to let your other countries of citizenship know that you're married? When the time comes for him to join me in Switzerland, I believe we need to go through the 'reunification process' to get him a permit, is that correct? As I'm living here as an EU citizen (Irish), once the reunification process is complete and he has a permit, he is allowed to work here, is that correct?

Thanks as always for any advice or info

2
Congratulations, Jess! I don't know all the answers, but I will answer the ones I am familiar with:

Do I need to have the marriage 'recognized' in Switzerland? No, as neither of you are Swiss. In the process of reunification you will hand in your marriage certificate to the migration authorities and they will accept it. They will want it handed in in a particular form, depending on the country (an original, maybe apostilled, definitely issued within six months of reunification application)

If so, by whom? See above.

Is there anything specific I should be concerned about which may lead the authorities to believe it's not a genuine marriage? No.

I have heard there are tax implications for married people - is this affected by whether he's living here in Switzerland with me? Your tax rate might change, but not the amount on which you are taxed if you live here on your own. It is not an unusual situation and your employer and authorities will know how to deal with it.

I am taxed at source by my employer - do I just notify my company once I'm married and they'll take care of the tax side of things? Yes

Am I required to notify my landlord, even though nothing about my living situation will change? No, not before your spouse moves in with you.

Are you supposed to let your other countries of citizenship know that you're married? I suppose it depends on the country. Many European countries want to be notified and need to "recognize" the marriage, but not all. Also, it's difficult to enforce.

When the time comes for him to join me in Switzerland, I believe we need to go through the 'reunification process' to get him a permit, is that correct? Yes.

As I'm living here as an EU citizen (Irish), once the reunification process is complete and he has a permit, he is allowed to work here, is that correct? Absolutely.

3
You are registered with your gemeinde as single, so you should inform them. Also inform your employer for tax.

Start family reunification a while before he wants to move here - it can take 6 months or so in some cases. He should get a B permit and be able to work.

4
You only need to get it recognized if at least one of you is Swiss.

When I married my late wife in the US while on vacation, when we returned to CH I was married, as I was still US at the time, and she wasn't, as she was dual Canadian-Swiss. Took six months to get it done, and they wanted to take away her Swiss citizenship as she hadn't announced before the marriage her intention to remain Swiss. Fortunately, the same thing had happened to the sister of a close friend who had married a German guy in Germany, so he knew what to do, what to write, and to who. Helped that he was studying law at UZH.

Tom

5
Congratulations!! Hope the paperwork goes smoothly!

6
Thank you for the well-wishes and the information, everyone!

This place honestly just makes life so much easier. You guys rock.

7
Just love your beautiful doggie picture!!! Will he be going to the wedding?

Congratulations, and much happiness to you and your future husband!

8
Unfortunately she won't be able to attend! I do love the thought of having her there, but I will be quite busy doing marriage-ey things and I would just worry about her being entertained and cared for.

But to make up for it, we have hired a photographer to do a professional family photo shoot with her

9

Congratulations!!!

About my answers, I did the process 9 years ago so not precisely the most recent info.

  1. Yes, not exactly "recognized"if you already have residence here. But you have to notify a few people/authorities.
  2. As Island Monkey mentioned, it’s important for tax purposes. If you pay via withholding tax, notify employers. Also notify the municipality.
  3. Nothing to worry about.
  4. Yes, tax rate goes up. Income tax rate calculator for TI (calcolatori d’imposta al reddito). Check the differences for single (persona sola) VS married (coniugati) https://www4.ti.ch/index.php?id=124428
  5. Yes, employer is liable for applying the correct tax rate.You just to a quality control to ensure they apply the correct tax rate to withholding tax.
  6. I think no. The reason both partners are in rental contracts is to avoid the one who is not in the contract can be kicked out in case of dispute. So, it’s to protect people effectively living in the apartment. If the person does not live there, no reason.
  7. Yes, at that time is when the marriage certificate needs to be “recognized”. Usually you need a translation to the language of the municipality where you live.
  8. Yes
10
I doubt this makes much difference to you, but concerning your Irish citizenship:

- Your spouse will no longer get Irish citizenship, without residency in Ireland

- Any children born outside Ireland will not have the automatic right to pass on their citizenship to their children

Beyond that the Irish government does not care what you get up to.

11
Presumably this was quite some years ago? I had no issues when I (Swiss) married my (US) husband in the US about a decade, but I also know my grandmother lost her (Swiss) citizenship when she married my (Italian) grandfather. It was retroactively given back to her in the 70's or so.

12
1988.

Tom

13
You really need to start your responses with "When I were a lad..." ;-)

14
OK this fascinates me. Your wife was a dual citizen or anything else unusual?

I know historically, like a century ago, in the UK and elsewhere it was the standard law that a wife would take the nationality of their husband and automatically lose her own. In Switzerland does this remain in place?- how would it work considering merely marrying a citizen does not in most countries usually confer you citizenship?

I'm thinking of filing marriage papers with my Swiss partner and this is quite a shock for me.

15
No, that got changed in the later eighties or early nineties.

16
Don't worry. It's not a thing anymore. And dual citizenship is totally fine too.

17
Yes, according to Swiss law. Always best to check the laws of the other country, too, as there are some which do not permit dual citizenship, or else only under limited circumstances.

18
Lol no kidding. My Swiss husband married me in the US five years ago and there was certainly never a mention of him losing citizenship

19
It was only ever women who lost their citizenship!