I am basically Indian (non-EU) and secured a job from a Swiss company. My employer filed the work permit application couple of days back. Canton for application is Lucerne. HR stated that process might take upto 6 weeks.
Would like to hear from anyone of you who have been recently went though the same process and know how much time it might took.
I know there are couple of threads on the same topic but those seems to be old. Wanted to check if any recent changes or improvements in processing time.
Just because a thread is 10 years old it doesn’t mean information it’s not up to date. It’s Switzerland, things don’t change
Well, 6 weeks is a reasonable time for the application from the employer to cantonal authorities to be processed. But, that’s only the first phase of a 3 phase process. There are 2 other phases
phase 1 - employer applies and gets authorization to hire non-EU worker. 6 weeks reasonable, don’t be surprised if longer because summer vacations start on 2 weeks. So, not unusual if the answer arrives by August.
phase 2 - employee applies to Swiss embassy with a contract and the authorization from phase 1. Reasonable time: 2 months. But, it can go up to 6 months.
phase 3 - employee arrives to Switzerland, starts working and applies for residence permit to local municipality. Reasonable time: 2-4 months.
Depends on canton. Some cantons have less demand for their annual allocation of B permits. My employer got one for me (non-EU) in Aargau in spite of applying late in the year (October).
I wouldn't be surprised if it's harder in ZH since there's higher demand. I have no idea about Luzern. Also depends on how good are the arguments of the employer to present OP as someone of "special economic interest".
I've just got an update from an employer that I've got an "Ermächtigung zur Visumserteilung" letter from cantonal authorities and I can get my D visa from my home country. The total process from application submission to the letter of approval took 7 days for me.
One big mystery is still there regarding the type of approved permit.
Is there any way by which I can know if it is a B permit or L permit ? In the approval letter, I could not get this info.
If it’s a B or L permit, it will depend on the current situation on canton Luzern at the time you apply for a permit here. The condition for a B permit is an unlimited time contract (permanent position). If you meet that condition, you may get a B permit.
So, what’s between possible and actually getting it?
For year 2023 there were only 4,500 B permits for non-EU and non-UK citizens, so-called 3rd country nationals. 1,250 of them were assigned by cantons, and 3,250 are in “federal reserves”. When cantonal quotas of B permits are used, cantons can ask for a B permit from the federal reserves. This is where your employer have influence, if they present as a unique and valuable asset for company performance, you’ll get a B permit. If not, there’s a chance you’ll get an L permit for the 1st year. More details of the quota system here: https://www.zh.ch/en/wirtschaft-arbe…tml#-604840900
Finally, this is a map from the fraction of foreign population in Switzerland by canton (in French). Canton Luzern has a relatively low foreign population (~27.6%), which is lower than Zurich (44.9%). Where I live Aargau, it’s 39.3%. This may explain the difference in opinions around here
“Application screening SEM
reviews applications according to admission criteria that apply to the whole of Switzerland. The applicant and employee as well as the cantonal authorities receive the official decision from SEM, which is subject to a fee that is payable by the employer. This official decision does not permit the employee to enter Switzerland yet.”
With the SEM and canton authorization the Embassy/Consulate can issue the visa. All what's left is some background checks.
Reasonable time is 1 week to 1 month (depending on citizenship, and place were it is processed, less in Canada for Canadians, longer for Indians in India). In rare cases it might take longer. But already two months is quite a stretch.
That's just the permit card, not the permit it self. The actual permit gets activated with residency registration. After residency registration one can start to work.
I'd love to agree, but it took 4.5 months for me. I quit my job 1 month after D visa application in Swiss embassy. Thus, I was unemployed for 3 months. I don't blame the procedure, I blame myself for quitting the job before getting the letter requesting to sent my passport to embassy so D visa is glued to it
If you read around the forum, there's other people who also get stuck at the D visa phase for more than 1 month.
I'm also a non-EU, I came to Switzerland in 2021. After submitting all the paperwork following a job offer (three-year contract), it took 5-6 weeks to get an approval from the three government bodies.
I got a B permit straightaway, not an L--but as I understand it, this depends on case-by-case basis. And yes, you need to renew it every year.