Good day,
I am in a bit of a tricky situation, and would appreciate any info I can get.
Nationality: Canadian
Education: Bachelor's from Canada, Master's from Germany
Permit B: Ausbildung mit Erwerbstatigkeit
Current employment: 2nd-year PhD 60%
Relevant work experience: ±5 years
One of the large employers in Zurich would like to hire me, and I would like to take the offer. On the side simultaneously, I would continue to do my PhD.
A few questions:
1. Can I use the existing permit to study and work (60%) for another company? Is the permit tied to the university in question?
2. If the company were to apply for a B permit, would it be likely in my case?
3. Is there anything I can/should do to prepare?
Thanks!
1. Normally your study permit is not tied to an employer. To the university yes. You have to stay enrolled, but as long as you're enrolled (and don't go over 6 years I think?), you can keep that permit. Any new employer does need to get an authorisation to hire you however.
2. Totally depends on your profile and the job in question. If it's a specialist or manager position, and you're extremely qualified, and they can prove that they couldn't fill the position with a EU or Swiss applicant, should be fine. They do need to advertise the position though.
It would be easier if you graduated though, as foreigners who graduate from a Swiss university in fields of high economic or scientific interest can be exempted from the order of priority to access the Swiss job market.
I will second that. I don't know about the rest, except to say that getting a new permit for a non-EU person without a PhD in a specialist position is difficult.
Note that you have this 'different' status for 6 months after your graduation but in practice most employers don't know about it (I had this experience) and 6 months goes by in an instant in terms of a job search in a very competitive market.
Hello,
Even though the PhD contract pays 60-80% of weekly hours (42.5) the overall expectation is you're fully focused on the research work. Some professors don't mind you get a bit of experience on the side, other more old-fashioned take it as "treason". I was even "pimped" by my advisor and other professor in a few side projects during my PhD.
So, check with your thesis advisor first. This professor signs the letters supporting the extensions of the B permit. Fair or not, this opinion counts a lot.
In the sense that having a higher degree makes it more likely that you're qualified for eligible jobs, yes. Otherwise that's a bit of a myth. There is nothing in the law or the directives that says you need a specific degree. Totally depends on the field and the specific job. If an employer advertises a manager position with only bachelor's requirement, well that's the requirement. Not every non-EU immigrant in Switzerland has a PhD. There are fields where a PhD doesn't even exist, or only leads to academia. Neither my spouse or I have a PhD (both Master's) but she still got a permit without any trouble once she found a job.
Thanks for the detailed responses peeps! Appreciated it...
One question regarding this - are saying a PhD automatically considers you to be in a field of high economic or scientific interest? What if my PhD was studying Mongolian literature ? (I’m not)
Your question may be hard to answer, but I tend to believe the answer is "No". Of course, being the highest credential, a PhD is highly educated, but one has to consider what type of talent is needed for a country.
In terms of getting a Work Permit, what matters the most is if similar talent cannot be found in Switzerland and the EU and the hiring company has to demonstrate evidence for this.
A PhD degree here is something like a plus, but is not the most important thing for the success. But I tend to believe the government is generally happy to introduce PhD into her country.
I am non-EU, with a PhD degree, have worked in Basel for 2.5 years with a B Permit.
The shortage must be supported by Eurostat monthly figures, not just that they advertised and could not find someone.
It depends.
I got hired with a BSEE on the third try (first failed as I was technically still a student, second time I turned down the offer, third was the charm)
36 years later I'm still here.
Tom
Could you by any chance share a link? I couldn't find anything on Eurostat that indicates which industries are in need...
Edit: Found it. https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu...TableAction.do
Eurostat? Why would Switzerland base their immigration policy on EU numbers?
Highly skilled worker shortages (although I am sure, using Swiss numbers) will have an effect under the new rules to come later this year and announced last March, which will remove the requirement to prove that Swiss or EU applicants were not qualified for those industries with shortages. The normal rules will continue to apply to other fields.
There doesn't need to be an industry-wide shortage just to hire a foreigner at all. I'm not sure what you're basing that statement on (do you have a reference you can provide?), but it's nowhere in the law or in the directives, and arguably it's pretty obvious when reading those that the opposite is true (the directives include specific sub-rules for a wide range of industries that don't have shortages, and also make it clear that cantonal authorities will evaluate applications on a case-by-base basis).
Thanks for sharing. This is excellent news. Although I haven’t seen an update since march ...