Hi there, does anyone know if there is an issue with having a non-EU work permit B but spending >6 months temporarily outside Switzerland in one or several trips?
In case there is an issue, would it be avoided by my returning to Switzerland for a couple of weeks in the middle of the time I will be away (my current permit will expire in the middle of the time so I guess I have to come back to renew it anyway)? I am not sure whether the border system has been integrated together with the local residence system.
My temporal leaving (around 6 months) is mainly for the academic visiting purpose. Thus, my employment status will be kept by my employer institution while I am away. I would assume that I could sublet my flat while keeping my postal address. Shall I de-register myself and re-apply from scratch when I am back? To save the hassle, can I just quietly go without giving notice? To that end, I am even willing to continue paying my health insurance when I am away...
I vaguely remembered hearing horrifying stories about the 6-month limit but cannot find the source anymore. Will go to Kreiburo anyway but still look forward to some insights here. Any inputs will be appreciated!
You can be away for up to 6 months before the permit becomes invalid. However, if it needs to be renewed then that’s going to have to be done and you’ll probably need to be here for that to happen.
DON’T deregister because your employer would then probably have to go through the whole non-EU hiring process again.
Thanks!
So it means that I can leave for up to 6 months without notice as long as I pay taxes and buy insurances etc.? Is this a requirement for one single trip, or I can be outside of Switzerland maximally for 6 months in total within 1 year of residence regardless of the number of trips?
I think technically you can take several trips, and it's 6 months max on one trip.
BUT...there might be tax implications in another country if you're there more than X number of days
AND if you're gone more than you're here, the Swiss authorities might question whether you actually need to be a resident here or if you could live somewhere else.
Thanks for the input. I just went back from Kreisburo and here is some information that people in similar situations may find useful.
The counting of the 6 months limit seems to re-start 6 months after one's previous trip. For example, one could travel for a month in January 2019, come back, and travel again for 6 months from August 2019 to January 2020.
One tricky thing is the renewal of residence permit. One has to show up in person to submit the application and wait for the new permit. A lot of hassles if the permit expires at the middle of the trip. The early renewal that can be done maximally 3 months in advance does not help much in that situation.
I asked the same question at Migrationsamt in 2017 and was told that I was allowed a total of 182 days outside of Switzerland in any 12mth period. It did get a bit tricky continuously recalculating this. I ended up being away for 178 days during one 12mth period, and had to send my OH to the UK for a week on my behalf, because I couldn't risk being out of the country.
Yeah, this is similar to what I was told today. So far I have not found the relevant official document specifying this rule, though.
I was searching online for ages too. It was clear for L permits, but not for B, so I went to my Gemeinde and backed it up by calling into Migrationsamt in Oerlikon when I was in the area one day.
They were a great help in clarifying the matter to me, and it is a bit of a pickle to work out because the 'start' date changes daily. I ended up with it all plotted out on a word doc and working backwards all the time, so if I had a trip coming up, I could see how long I'd been out of the country in the last 10/11 months, and work out how many days I could be away in the next 4-8 weeks.
Thanks! Super helpful! I am doing it now as well.
Does the same apply if I have resigned from current employer and am going home ( non eu) for 5 months - my permit B expires in Feb and I’ll ensure to be back before that to renew it. Would I need to inform the authorities that I’m leaving and if the permit is valid until Feb ? I have a job lined up to start in Jan after my break so would like to avoid the whole process of the new employer having to reapply from scratch instead of me having to simply renew it in Jan before it expires.
I would keep my apartment/ address as well as continue paying medical insurance. The only thing would be that I would not be paying taxes since I won’t be employed in the meantime.
Thanks a lot!