Have tried looking online but my situation is seemingly unusual so hopefully someone here may be able to help.
I'm currently living in the UK (I'm British) with my Wife and 2 children and are looking to move to Switzerland (Lucerne/Zurich Area).
My Wife has dual nationality (Swiss and British) Same for both of our children and they all have Swiss passports, thanks to her late grandfarther being Swiss but she has never lived there and have no family or close ties in Switzerland.
Does anyone know what the best route to take to obtain a work visa for myself would be.
Would my wife need to become a resident first (how ever we were to go about that) and then I could apply for the family reunion visa? or is there a possiablity of me being able to obtain a work visa on the sole basis of being married to a Swiss national.
Your wife can just move here and register at the town hall. I know a Lebanese couple - he's mixed Swiss/Lebanese, she's Lebanese. They definitely came here together, but there are definitely complications.
I'm sure it's possible though.
Hopefully someone aware of the legalities will be along in a moment.
Your wife needs to apply for family reunification for you, so that you can move here together, or you can follow her. You/she will have to prove you can support yourself (savings or she has a job)- you will then get a permit and right to work.
If you have been married for 6 years, you of course could apply for citizenship, takes time but would make a move super easy.
The rule for EU/EFTA nationals is that the main permit holder has to show their accommodation is big enough for everyone and that they can financially support them as well. I would guess it’s similar for Swiss nationals; she would need to prove whatever accommodation she rents is big enough and that she has the finances in place to support you and any kids.
You won’t get a permit just based on being married to her; the move has to take place so you can apply for a family reunification permit.
Given that the spouse and the children all have Swiss citizenship, I believe it is a no-brainer and that the spouse has a right for her husband to join her.
"If you are a Swiss citizen
You may bring the following family members to Switzerland:
your spouse or registered partner;
your children and grandchildren under the age of 18 (and even under the age of 21 or dependent if they come from an EU/EFTA country);
your dependent parents and grandparents if they come from an EU/EFTA country (unless you are in education or training)."
As the children are Swiss, that part is irrelevant.
Here is a leaflet from the Canton of Luzern (as that is where you said you were looking to move to), but it is basically the same all over Switzerland (in German only I am afraid):
But basically, it says that you have a right to come here as long as your marriage is legit (i.e. not a marriage of convenience), it is recognized in Switzerland, and you live together. It also explains what you need to do and what papers to submit.
It would be easier to get that sorted out and then apply for a job. As your wife is Swiss, I really don't think it will be that complicated.
Both me and a friend of mine, both British and EU at the time, had Swiss husbands and we both had to provide proof of financials to get our permits. I applied for citizenship just so I could stop jumping through flipping permit hoops (that and Brexit).
To avoid being denied family reunification, you must have large enough accommodation (according to Swiss standards) to house the whole family.
If you are self-employed or unemployed, you must also provide proof of sufficient financial resources to support your family members.
A Swiss citizen moving to Switzerland from abroad will - just the same as a Swiss citizen who already lives here - first have to prove her ability to support her non-EU husband, before he will be allowed to join her.
My husband is Swiss/British, I am Japanese/British, (no kids but two dogs and a cat ) moving to Zurich next month.
Swiss embassy initially told me that we can just go there and apply for a permit and I don't need D visa as I am British (also not required for Japanese). But also told me to check with Zurich migration office.
Zurich migration office said that I need to get a assurance of a residence permit (under Family reunification) before we go there.
- proof of marriage in Switzerland (we are registered in Vaud)
- police check (DSB British, basic one is ok)
- proof of financial resources (total savings, asset etc)
- address in Zurich, (we've got a service apartment for now and this was fine.)
Overall it took us 2 months to do this because of getting the proof of marriage from Vaud took about 2 months, but if we didn't have to request that then it would have been around a week to get the assurance of a residence permit, Zurich office was super quick!