While being unemployed I leave Switzerland to look for a job in EU.
Would I be still entitle to Rav?
If yes - how long, would I have to come to Ch for Rav meetings? Would my foreign job applications be sufficient
Thx in advance 4help
Hello
Best would be to ask you RAV overlord.
You can transfer your benefits for 3 months to another country, you get paid at the Swiss rate.
You can officially transfer your benefits to an EU country for three months. During this time you are paid by RAV through the local unemployment office and you report to the local unemployment office.
You could also just not tell RAV and go but in this case you need to maintain an address in CH as well as come back for interviews.
I've done it so I have some real life experiences.
As others said earlier, you have the right to transfer your unemployment benefits to another EU country, for the period of maximum 3 months.
For this, you need to receive a so-called U2 form from ORP/RAV, which form you need to present at the respective unemployment office in the destination country. You need to register yourself as a job seeker there.
Caisse de chômage from CH will continue to transfer the same amount of unemployment benefits to your Swiss account during this 3 months period, provided you do not find a new job (most people do not even want, as the Swiss unemployment benefits is more than the salary in another EU country), and you comply the process defined by the local unemployment office (go to meetings, etc.) - this latter is reported back to ORP/RAV on a monthly basis by the local authority.
After the three months passed, you have the option to return to CH, if you want, and continue to search for a job over there, or stay in the "new" country, and do not receive the unemployment benefits from CH any longer.
Another note: my health insurance provider told me that during this three months period (even if I am not based in CH any more, I de-registered from the commune, etc.) still I am obliged to maintain my CH based health insurance contract, so take that into account when making financial calculations.
For me it still looked like a good deal.
Before you claim up to 3 months in another EU country, you must have first signed with RAV in Switzerland and have received at least one month's payment from them.
I believe also you are allowed to take a holiday whilst on RAV - this can be in or out of the country. Talk to RAV advisor on the rules, how long.
Thanks a mill guys, You are very helpful!!!
Question @henrikh
You said you deregistered from your commune in CH. Did you register your domicile in the EU country were you were job-seeking in? Were you required by to deregister, or was this optional?
I ask because I'm considering taking advantage of the 3 month option to job seek in Germany. I understand that for those 3 months I still retain Swiss health insurance, and that I would need to register as a jobseeker with the DE unemployment office there. If I don't find a job there, I will return to CH.
So, am I required to degister my domicile here in CH, register my domicile in DE, then, if unsuccessful in my job search, deregister domicile from DE and register domicile again in CH? If anyone has experience in this I'd be grateful, as my online searches yield no clear answers and my RAV case manager has no idea.
If you start this process, you'll receive a form from ORP which you need to fill in.
(In my case the name of this form was "Demande de prestations en cas de recherche d'emploi à l'étranger" as I was in the French speaking part).
There is a question on this form which is exactly dealing with this topic:
"Motifs du départ à l'étranger" - for which you have to options to select:
either "Séjour temporaire aux fins de recherche d'emploi"
or
"Départ définitif (déménagement à l'étranger).
Si cette dernière case est cochée, veuillez joindre à la demande d'exportation une copie du formulaire d'annonce de départ déposé auprès du contrôle des habitants de votre commune dedomicile."
More or less, the firs option means you are temporarily leaving, while the second means you finally leave and in this case you also need to attach the copy of the confirmation letter you received from the commune when you de-registered.
I was also a little bit concerned on which option to select, so I asked the guy in ORP what if I deregister from the commune (I wanted to do this in any case, as I did not want to pay for the rent if I am not there any more), but chose the first option (only temporarily leaving).
He told me I can come back in both cases, regardless which one I selected. The main difference between the two is that if I have not deregistered, I should select the first option, if I had, then the second one. But it's up to you if you want to de-register, it's not mandatory at all.
If you register (yourself as a citizen) in the destination country or not, is a bit irrelevant from this point of view. But I guess you must do so, as you need to have a local address for the unemployment authorities.
Another thing: these matters are not managed by the same advisor at ORP who was assigned to you initially. Once I announced my intention to leave CH, my case was transferred to "Division Juridique des ORP" in Lausanne, and I had to complete the process with them.
How does it work, after the three months have passed, to take the option to return to CH? It's difficult to find information online. Any knowledge much appreciated!
Please see answer to FAQ 9 at this link (German, also available in F and I):
Certainly it's better not to de-register in CH if you plan to return after 3 months.
If you have not de-registered, and want to return after the 3 months had passed, I don't think there is too much hassle.
During the last month of your stay abroad simply inform your counterpart in ORP / RAV (I could communicate with my one in English via emails) that you'd come back soon, so an appointment needs to be set.
He/she'll then administrate your address change (CH address again) in their records, and inform you if there is anything else for you to do.
You return, and start attending the meetings again...
Note that your bank account in CH remains active during the 3 months period you've spent abroad (you keep receiving the money to that one), so no change in that matter, either.
One question, how about leaving Switzerland for example to visit family while on RAV? Do you need to communicate this to your RAV overlord every time you do it? Even on weekends?
During the week it is considered a holiday as you are not available for work and that would need to be coordinated with your RAV advisor.