Hey,
Just to preface this, i've searched this site and found a few links however they are all pre-brexit and I know a lot has changed.
I am a sole proprietor/director of a limited company specialising in video editing.
My partner (not married) is potentially getting a job at a university hospital which could last 5 years.
My questions before I pay for some expert advice are:
Option 1) Can I keep my UK based company where it is... move to Switzerland, get a visa and continue working for it from Switzerland?
I read it was fine to do this but again that was pre - 2021.
Option 2) Moving my business to Switzerland, how much would it cost to move a small business to Switzerland? I would dissolve it and open it there. It is a small business.. ie just me with no office and I just work from home.
I'm asking these hoping that someone here has gone through a similar situation.
Pre-brexit I would have qualified as a freelancer and would have been able to get a visa and work for my uk business (I believe?) But this has seemed to change.
My partner would be on 80,000CHF but as we are not Married that accounts for nothing. My business also brings in around 80,000CHF a year.
I really appreciate the help, this is a very sudden change of life and I'm hoping it's viable for us to move. We had a similar opportunity to move to a different country last year but it would have cost me £25,000+ which is not feasible.
Short answer - no.
Longer one. UK nationals are now classed as 3rd country nationals so that means any employer would have to prove that they can’t find a Swiss/EU national who could do the job before they’d be allowed to hire you. The criteria is here
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home…zulassung.html
As for moving your company, you could but it would then have to prove the same thing to be able to hire you. Owning a company here as a non-EU doesn’t give you the right to live/work in Switzerland.
The easiest option - and this will depend on which canton the plan is planned for - would be for your partner to apply for a concubine permit for you. This is a permit for unmarried heterosexual couples. It’s only available in Geneva, Vaud, Neuchatel and Zurich cantons; none of the others have it. As part of the agreement your partner would have to agree to be financially responsible for you for 5 years and if your partner is also non-EU it’s unlikely you’d be allowed to work here.
Thank you for the reply.
Hmmm, ok that is what I had feared. Brexit is unbelievable.
Interesting re: concubine. We would be moving to the Vaud canton, she is not a swiss national. She would be on a Post-Doc 5 year post (with probation after one year) so would that give her residence status? I don't believe you can apply for Concubine permit unless you are a resident.
As much as i'd like to retire early I don't think I could live and not work for 5 years and that's what it seems this concubine permit is?
You’ll have to come as your partner’s dependant, you unfortunately have no rights to move here yourself with your employment situation.
It’s not Brexit. These rules apply to third counties, From Australia to Zimbabwe.
Can you get an Irish passport?
Well it is Brexit that caused the U.K. to fall under 3rd country rules
If she’s doing a post doc that gives her residence status. Can’t live/work/study here without it.
Work-wise nationalities seem to come into it. EU/EU can work, EU/non-EU is iffy - maybe yes, maybe no, but from reports I’ve seen here non-EU/non-EU the dependent is not allowed to work, only reside.
Yeah but could I be a dependant if we are not married. My Partner looked at concubine and it seems she can only apply for it if she is a national or has swiss residence.. we would be moving over together.
And yeah, it's not a brexit only thing, but brexit has meant we are treated differently to the majority of europe for something I didn't vote for
Yes, that’s precisely what the concubine permit is for - unmarried heterosexual couples.
As said if she takes up the position then she will have Swiss residence. Whether you could move together is another question. She would have to prove her finances (employment contract) and also that accommodation here is big enough for both of you. She may need to come first and get things in order and then apply for you to join her later.
The requirements are outlined here:
https://www.vd.ch/themes/population/…s-du-concubin/
When your partner’s employer applies for their permit, they can apply for family reunification/concubine for you. But without being married it’s not sure to be granted.
Unfortunately for you, the majority of the UK did vote for it though.
You don't have too many choices, getting married is the obvious one. As you run your business as a one man show with no need of any infrastructure from what i understand, maybe continue working from UK but if you are here i guess nobody can really see if you working or not and keep a low profile.
See how it goes, get married or move back to the UK after 6 months or a year
Ok thanks for the replies, very helpful.
A lot to think about and inquire.... it's seems working out there for myself is basically out of the question.
I am a university graduate who has been working professionally for 11 years and 3 years in my business which has around 35000 chf capital. If I can prove that I can bring money to the Switzerland economy via taxes and stuff that might sweeten the deal work wise. But if not then I would have to be a dependent for 5 years.
My girlfriend is working in a very specialized field and all the major work opportunities are showing up in different countries, that combined with being a freelancer myself creates very frustrating situations!
A limited liability company needs Chf 20k as start up capital, without being rude, the Swiss won't even register this on the radar, get talking millions and you may, and i repeat, may, have a chance.
Not even a majority of the electorate. It was a majority’s of the people that cast a vote.
And many Brits living in the EFTA/EU were denied a vote.
So by the rules the vote passed, but it wasn’t the will of the majority of the British people.
So as to not divert this thread too far off track, I’ll delete this post if you delete your comment.
Sometime you have to wonder.....
So exactly what bit of magic cause the UK to find itself outside the EU and subject to third country restrictions on its citizens? And the fact that it applied to others in past does not matter diddly squat because it did not apply to UK citizens. And that is the situation they are having to deal with now.
Yeah I will have 35k + savings if I just put them in before. I understand, trust me, I tried to move my business to the Cayman Islands initially
She's really picking all the rich places huh
Again, no. Bringing your company here won’t change the fact that said company would have to prove it can’t find a Swiss/EU national who could do the work. And you would need a Swiss based director of the company as well if you go the GmbH/Sarl route. You’re not allowed to be a one person self-employed business as a non-EU national.
Ok, good to get complete clarification, thanks again. Final question..... and its a doozy. Is there a way to get someone signed 'officially' as a Director but only have to pay a small fee... basically to get around it. Or is that just a hard no. That was the case in the Caymans, I could pay someone Caymanian to act as director but do nothing other than get a little fee from me. I don't want to go down this route if it's illegal, it might just be something thats 'frowned upon' I'm just continuing to go through the options.
Not sure how involved or not they may need to be. I’ve read of some companies here that do that sort of thing I think, but don’t really know much about that. You’d basically be trusting your company/money to a complete stranger.
See if you can find a Swiss payroll company that would be an intermediary between the UK company and you as a Swiss employee. There are plenty of people in Switzerland who are a contrived employee of a Swiss payroll company but work for a non-Swiss company. Whether it being a non-EU company makes any difference or not I don't know.