Some context first. I was born and raised in Switzerland, which I know it counts for nothing and I came back shortly before Covid started from the UK since I had to say goodbye to my job due to Brexit. I’m struggling quite a lot, especially financially, and if it wasn’t because I’ve got family here I’d have left, but since we had some passings in the family, I don’t want to be too far from what’s left of my family.
My German as well as Swiss German are fluent, but I currently only hold a B permit. I know there are some costs for requesting it including the cost for the letter from the local authorities, but it’s all too high for me.
However, as far as I know, there aren’t any financial advantages to requesting the C permit or I couldn’t find any on Google. It only gives you the permanent residency (which they can remove if they want anyway) and since it’s not an option for me to go to my family or RAV to ask for help as my family has enough on their plate and RAV will just say again why I don’t ask my family for financial help among many other unreasonable questions, I wanted to ask here if you know of any financial benefits to a C permit?
Thanks a lot!
The RAV wouldn’t offer financial help in this context anyway (you have to have worked for a period of time in the past 24 months) however they could give you access to job search resources and give you some advice on your CV, etc.
I take it that you aren’t Swiss, right?
Regarding a C permit, you would do self-declaration tax so perhaps would be able to submit expenses like business travel, etc, but otherwise unless you are a high earner there isn’t a significant benefit.
Thanks for replying! I had a thought that there wasn’t any real benefit from it.
Moreover, even if I were unemployed, which I’ve been in the past, they wouldn’t offer me financial help either, and no, I’m not Swiss.
As far as I know, there are no financial benefits to the C permit. I assume you have an “EU” permit, as you arrived before January 2021; if you were on a third-country citizen permit, I would say that a C permit would be much better than a B.
Keep in mind that on a C, you have to file a tax return. Depending on where you live, this might be more or less beneficial to you than tax at source.
If you want to keep living in Switzerland, eventually you should get a C permit. I don’t know what the deal is with the British citizens who arrived before January 2021, but in the worst case, it’s after 10 years of living here as a normal part of your permit renewal (you will need to provide language certificates). Is it worth it applying for it beforehand? Only you can answer this.
As far as I’ve been told, you can skip the 10 years waiting if you provide the documents:
- Betreibungsregisterauszug
- Bestätigung des Sozialamtes, dass in den letzten 3 Jahren keine sozialhilfe bezogen wurde
- Aktuelle Arbeitsbestätigung
And in your case, since you were raised in Switzerland, they will accept that as proof of language skills.
You can buy a gun.
And no, “they” cannot just take it away. Having a C permit is also a condition if you ever want to apply for naturalization.
Car insurance is cheaper. At least that’s what the insurance sales guy said 
Only if they attended a public/state school; private schooling won’t count.
I believe that is when you become Swiss, not for a permit upgrade.
Thanks, my memory failed. I just remembered insurance was linked to residence status.So, it’s the citizenship that makes people better at driving
Yep, after being handed in the red pass you become a stellar driver. It starts the next day.
Insurance is linked to nationality as well so two drivers with identical permit status and all other criteria could end up paying different amounts by virtue of their nationality.
It counts if the schooling was in the local language so a french speaking private school would count here in Neuchâtel but an English speaking private school wouldn’t.
Yes, sorry… that’s what I’d originally written, editing somehow lost the local language bit!
I’ve met a few people recently in Geneva who’d assumed they’d be exempt from the language tests as they’d spent most of their lives here, but having spent their primary school years in one of the international schools and any any french lessons they’d had was as a foreign language, they were told to reapply once they’d sat the relevant official exams.
Not really a financial benefit but with C permit you can easily postpone paying taxes, effectively turning it into a loan. With B permit you never see this money in your hands as it’s cut off your pay slip at the source.
You beat me to it. I think this is the main advantage if you ask me i.e. can postpone paying taxes, otherwise I couldn’t actually point out what’s more to add: maybe the feeling of being settled or…?
Oh and another one is that you can buy a property (not a holiday house btw) and rent it out, with a B permit you have to live there.
Irrelevant if EU citizen.
You’re right.
@Kai is not an EU citizen. If he were to relinquish or lose his B, he’d be non-EU if he tried to reenter Switzerland.
Good point for other readers of the thread, @greenmount!
Only Swiss nationality will secure permanent residence without conditions. And for that you need a C.