Partnership Visa - Adding British partner to Non-EU citizen's B Permit

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1

Hi everyone,

I had a look through the posts on partnership visas, but I didn’t find any posts that reflected my situation (please correct me / direct me if I’m wrong).

I am a non-EU citizen that should shift from a short (1year) B permit, to a normal B 5 year permit later this year.

My partner also worked in Switzerland (on L permits) prior to Brexit, but since then, he has been having to go back to the UK to work (and he just spends 90 days within 180 days here in CH).

We are waiting until I get my normal B permit until we get married - can anyone advise me on whether my British partner will then qualify for a partnership visa? And what is the best way to go about it?

Thank you kindly

2

You will have to show you can support them financially and that your accommodation is big enough for both of you.

Application for family reunification in Switzerland

3

Thanks @MedeaFleecestealer - appreciate the link + info.

4

I am coming back to this topic because I’ve just discovered that I will not be granted a 5-year B permit, but because I’m from outside of EFTA, at best I be granted a 2-year B permit (maybe even 1 year).

So I wanted to ask if anyone had experience with applying for family reunification when only on a short-term (1-2years) B permit.

5

A friend did it for years, it’s an expense to keep renewing it every year but otherwise it’s just like any other family reunification request. As long as you fulfil the criteria there’s no issue.

1 Like
6

I was non-EU and for the first 10 years my B was renewed every year. The people in HR mostly handled it other than me having to provide updated photos. The B was upgraded to a C after 10 years and later I became Swiss.

While EU/EFTA Bs can be issued for 5 years, this is not common for others. As long as situation doesn’t change they are routinely renewed.

My B was tied to my employer. That tie ended with my C.

7

@Bowlie and @BelgianMum - thank you both so much for this information. It’s very reassuring to know.

8

No prob at all. I have a B type permit for 1 year (third country) and my wife could apply for family reunification with it. She also has a B permit. The fun part is that my permit is linked to employer while hers is open. The expense is about 100 CHF/year (cost of doing business).

9

I had the same situation as @Bowlie and @Axa. My spouse and child came here on family reunification with me (yearly Bs for 5 years, then applied for an early C, now all of us are Swiss). It should not be an issue at all, apart from having to extend the permits every year and associated planning. Good luck!