Good morning all,
This question is rather different from my earlier thread, so hope it's okay I start a new one.
It turns out two companies (one in Bern, and one in Zurich) are willing to try to secure a non-EU Permit B for me. I am currently a PhD student, but have not yet graduated, so I will need to try to secure one of the ±4500 quotas.
My questions are as follows:
1. Would I run into any issues if two companies try to submit at two different cantons?
2. If I want to "work" in Zurich/Bern, and live in SG, would the quota be from Zurich/Bern or from SG?
3. Are there any issues you would forsee?
Thanks in advance!
2 You normally have to live in the Kanton that gives you the permit.
If you want to work and live in different cantons, you will need permissions from both cantons.
Another thing is that it seems you are going to accept both job offers. The SEM will do two work for you. I do not know if this is allowed, but at the very least it does not look good.
What you just said is exactly what I am concerned about because... there's no guarantee that one company can get me a permit, so wouldn't be wiser to diverisfy the risk? I have not received a written offer yet (only verbal), but doesn't the "offer" come after their negotiations with the Canton? Guidance here would be greatly appreciated.
For me (non-EU, B Permit, Basel Stadt), Nope, work contract was signed before the Permit application process. I was working in Canada at that time, and my company in Basel mailed me the contract (DHL or Fedex, I cannot remember) and I have to mail the signed contract back to them. Then my company would start the Permit process (for me, 6 weeks).
You will need a signed work contract by both you and the employer for the application. Submitting two signed agreements to start working for two companies will probably not go down so well.
No, you need to have a signed work contract with your application.
Just spitballing here, if I somehow get these companies to agree to 50% contracts, wouldn't I double my chances?
I understand your worry that if the Permit application failed then you will have to secure a job from scratch and hence would like to be sure you will land a job. The following are some important factors determining your success of Permit application:
-Your profession: is it in shortage in Switzerland?
-Your level of education: the higher, the better (this is because higher level of education tends to be very specialized and hence it helps to convince the immigration office similar talent cannot be found inside CH and EU)
-Normally, big MNC knows how to secure Permit very well
Hope this helps.
I was in this exact situation 3 months ago (I had 2 offers from two different Kantons). Based on my research back then my conclusion was it might cause a problem at the SEM step. Thus, in the end I signed contract with only one and luckily a few days ago my permit was approved.
Sorry for hijacking your post, I could not find how to ask a question on EF yet ☹. Does anyone know when I change my current permit (Permit B: Ausbildung mit Erwerbstatigkeit) to a normal work B-permit, my spouse who currently has dependent B permit would also need to change her permit along with me? We just changed our permits this month. From functional point of view nothing will change regarding her permit – i.e she will still get 1-year dependent b-permit? (Maybe certain number on her permit needs to change?) Many thanks.
@EDIT: finally figured out how to open a new thread. Thus, if you would like to reply you can go to that thread. Thanks
If both company applied for a job of 50%, both would be turned down. As a general rule it has to be minimum 80% for a non-EU to be issued a permit. There are some fields with rules that amend that to a different % (for instance, in my field, it's 70% – those are all listed in the directives for Chapter 4 of the LEI), but in any case, it generally has to be full-time.
I don't think you can have 2 simultaneous applications. Also, all the application stuff is none of yours to deal with. You get offered a job, you accept it, then you wait while the employer applies. Little more you can do.
Concerning living in a different canton, it's possible, but both cantons need to approve it, so you should have a good reason.
From what I know, you can choose either one or another employer. You would need a signed contract with one of them. Then the employer can proceed with permit application.
Had somewhat similar experience, with companies in Geneva and Zurich. Company in Zurich was quicker with the offer, and it is a big Swiss MNC, this was also promising for success in the later future. So, I have chosen the best one and we signed the contract and proceeded with the application.
Basically, you can live in one canton and work in another. This needs an approval, maybe ask first the population office or town hall. They will direct you. What I did is I have my main address in one canton, and have second address in the city of my workplace (also an option). But this means double pay (and this is short-term solution due to permit stuff in my case)
Great! Thank you all for your feedback. I will weigh my options carefully then! Cheers.
Go with the bigger company (or international one, if one of them are more local). Bigger companies are much better in getting permits then smaller ones (also valid for internationals, since they require expats most of the time).
But as others stated, you need to sign the contract before the company applies for the permit for you.
Are you (A) close to finishing your PhD, or (B) are you intending to work while studying, or (C) are you planning to quit your PhD in order to start working?
If A, know that for six months following graduation you are treated in the job market as though you are EU, and a potential employer should have no problems securing a permit for you.
If B, know that you are limited to working 15 hours per week as a student.
If C, I'd advise against this. Not having a PhD will close many, many doors for you in the future and limit your earning potential.
I am almost A, but want to do B. However, if I get a new visa (proper Permit B), how does that prevent me from being a student and doing my PhD? Wouldn't I just be studying "on the side"? I would probably have a 80% contract then (as per suggestions earlier).
Is there something I am unaware of? Thanks!
Do you know if your PhD program would allow this? Where I work (a uni) this would not be permitted. And you can't try to get a full-time job and hide it from the uni, they would need to be notified of your permit change.
Ah - I asked my prof. He is okay with it. The Uni of course would have no issues with it either. Thanks though! I thought there may have been some regulatory issues.
Apologies for reviving this thread again, but is there a place where I can find regulations for minimum % for B permit? I asked HR if I can do 60% in the beginning and she seemed to have no problem with it. However, I trust you over HR to be honest...
Yes, the SEM directives on the LEI, chapter four. It's all the rules regarding permits for gainful activity, it's so large it's its own big document separate from the rest or the LEI directives.
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/fr/home...aetigkeit.html
Available in the national languages but not in English.
The basic rule for % is it has to be full-time, which is 80% minimum, but there are exceptions in some fields. It's not uncommon for HR to not know that. Exactly what happened to us. Offer for 60% to start contract with possible eventual move to 80-100%. Immigration immediately told them no, it has to be 80%...