Is it possible to rent a home in France too(I can get a resident permit easily i think), and live mostly there , but keep the rented apartment in Switzerland , and live there sometimes .
I am an EU citizen, working in Switzerland with a permit B, and renting a home.
No, permis B is for residents. However under certain conditions people can get G permits which allow residents of neighbouring countries to work in Switzerland.
Thank you for the quick reply
And what if I live mostly in switzerland ( keeping my permit B), and just rent a home in france for occasional visits?
That should be doable, but be careful. The authorities in French Communes around Geneva are always on the lookout for those they think should be paying taxes and social charges to them.
If you want to be mostly in France, but still work in Switzerland …
Even if you are an EU citizen you don't have an unrestricted right to take up residence in another EU state unless you meet the criteria of the EU directive. In the main that is:
- Establish a business in that country
- Take up employment in that country
- Family reunion
- Retirement
So unless you are a French citizen you should check out and make sure you will be able to obtain a residence permit for France.
Sorry , I did not mean residency permit, If I remember correctly, EU citizens can stay in France for up to 1 year?
You still need a residency permit to do that.
Not legally no. You can visit France or another EU as a tourist independent of the Schengen rules, you can visit France or another EU state to seek work for up to 3 months and have that extended for up to 6 months if the authorities believe you are likely to find work. But after that you must go home.
If you are not checked, which is very common, of course you can over stay, but if caught the burden of prove is on you to convince them that you have complied with the rules, not the other way around.
You should also keep in mind that things like Swiss health insurance covers you in the EU as a tourist not if you are there for any other purpose and so on.
Authorities take a very dim view of people breaking these laws so make sure you have everything properly lined up before taking action.
Switch your B permit for a G permit and there is no reason you can’t live in France. I don’t think there would be a problem with you keeping an apartment in Switzerland, for the G permit you would have to be in France at least once a week.
In France it is not a requirement for an EU/EFTA citizen to obtain any sort of residence permit.
In practice, EU/EFTA citizens residing in France are de facto assimilated to French citizens when it comes to rights and obligations.
You don’t have to register, just like you don’t have to register in say Ireland as well. But the directive on free movement applies in every stare state of the EU because it trumps national law. I have been through this twice now with people.
Hmm, I took a look at G permit, but couldn't find any rules about renting a home in Switzerland too if I have it.
Also, will the G permit allow me to apply for a "working visa" or something in France?
And thank you for the answers guys, it is helping a lot!
Well, it works that to qualify for the G you have to have a job here and a residence in a neighbouring country (within the designated border zone areas) that you return to at least once a week. For many living just over the borders they return every day, but for others who have longer distances to travel they would rent a place here and the go back home at the weekends.
I doubt you’d be able to work in France since you’d have a job here to qualify for the G permit. Whether there’s a similar permit type in France which would let you live here and work in France I don’t know.