I'm new to the forum and I know this subject has been done a lot but I couldn't find anything which focussed on Geneva permits as I believe the rules are different from Canton to Canton.
My girlfriend and I are moving to Geneva, I will be getting a B permit with my job and my girlfriend will be looking for work but wont have a job when we move. We've been together a long time just haven't tied the old knot yet and would prefer to get married when life is a bit more settled (i.e not moving countries). I will have enough to support us so thats not a problem.
Does anyone have any experience getting a concubinage/non married dependent visa in Geneva similar to the one available in Vaud?
I've looked on the Geneva visa website and it says it is available to "conjoint/e". My swiss french isn't great but this appears to mean wife/partner/spouse.
Also if anyone has experience of this, does anyone know the process? i.e when we need to register at the cantonal office and what we need to tell them etc?
Again apologies for raising old topics but I'm a bit worried that Geneva might be more difficult than Vaud.
Basicallly, you’ll need to prove it’s a long term, committed relationship that the Swiss hope will lead to marriage so lots of holiday photos, rental agreement if you live together at the moment, e-mails, letters, etc, to show how long you’ve been together. You’ll also have to agree to be financially responsible for her for 5 years - whether she’ll be able to work I don’t know. Can’t seem to get a definite answer whether work is allowed or not with one of these concubine permits.
Before my husband and I got married we visited the office of the population in Geneva and asked about our options (where/if we should get married, was there another permit option for me since we preferred to wait for the wedding etc.). We really didn't want to to feel rushed about the marriage--we had no money, and no jobs and were about to make a big move etc. There was a brief mention of the concubine thing and the guy said "no, no, you need a REASON why you aren't married or don't want to/can't get married." Our wanting to wait wasn't considered valid--at least not to this one person we talked to that day. This was about a year and a half ago. We ended up getting married because it really seemed to be the only viable option.
Yeah, it often depends on who’s in the office at the time of the application as well. And it may be they’re being stricter since the vote to curb EU immigration. Could also depend on nationalities. I know someone reported on the forum here a little while ago that Zurich canton said EU/non-EU was okay, but non-EU/non-EU couple wouldn’t get a concubine permit.
The main point is to get the application in at the Swiss embassy in the country you’re living in at the moment asap and if your girlfriend is non-EU then she’ll need to apply for a Type D visa to be able to enter Switzerland for more than 90 days.
I don't have my B permit yet as I'm waiting on it being delivered. I thought that I had to wait until it was approved so that I could add my girlfriend to it?
Also we're both EU citizens so I think she can come to Geneva and be there for 3 months before there's a problem right? Can we not apply for the permit in Geneva?
As an EU national your permit won’t be delivered, you have to apply for it within 14 days of your arrival showing your employment contract to prove that you’re going to be working. Your girlfriend will also have to apply then or rather you apply for her under family reunification.
"Gainful employment of more than 3 months:
Within 14 days of their arrival and before actually taking up work , nationals of EU-27/EFTA states have to register with the local authorities of the commune in which they are residing and apply for a residence permit. A valid ID or passport and a written confirmation of employment (e.g. the contract of employment containing details of the duration of employment and the number of working hours) have to be presented. A residence permit will be issued depending on the duration of employment: a short-term residence permit (type L permit) for employment of up to 364 days or a residence permit (type B permit) for employment of at least one year or for an unlimited period.
The steps necessary for obtaining a residence permit may be taken after arriving in Switzerland."
We were exactly in the same situation as you seem to be in except in a different canton (and not from the UK but full EU passport holders)...
I got my B Permit though work. When she joined me 3 weeks later she went to the local commune office, got a form from for me to sign stating that I would support her and get her health insurance covered (which I did). 2 weeks later (and CHF 25 out of pocket) she got her B Permit... Now this was way out in the countryside so probably not as busy as Geneva but I guess the process is the same...
Oh, they also needed a copy of my work contract which they got :-)
It is because the referendum was already last summer and one year has already gone by. Hard to understand why almost another year has been added to the torture of being in the EU.
It is all May's fault for waiting for so long before triggering article 50. If she had have done it straight after the referendum we could have been out by next summer.
However it is not 31.3.19 - it is either 29.3.19 or 30.3.19 (different sources give different days) if you want to be pernickety about it! It is highly unlikely to be before then but it is possible that the date will be put back.
Thought I might give an update for anybody who views this in the future.
So luckily my company hired a permit company called Sgier + Partner. They went through the permit process with me and helped me fill out the forms for myself and a form for my partner.
The form for my partner was simply a declaration that I would be financially responsible for her (which required guaranteeing that I could afford a certain amount a month for her).
This was sent away and we got the permit b for myself first and then for her shortly after, no problem.
Hers states that she was not currently working but this can be changed I believe.
The whole thing was actually fairly painless apart from the worrying before we received the permit. She has the same length of permit as me.
It's worth noting this was in Geneva, so other cantons may be harder and it was through an agency who were very experienced in the matter
Since she’s an EU national then yes, being able to work is possible. Might not be if she was a non-EU though - bit of a grey area on info here on the forum about this.
It’s essentially just a case of cantonal politics. Federal law (LEtr) doesn’t explicitly provide a right to a concubine permit, so they’re issued under a bizarre interpretation of art. 30 LEtr (don’t ask me which alinéa because I really don’t know haha). Then the work authorisation has to come from the canton (art 40 LEtr) who will or won’t authorise the foreigner to work based on arts. 21 and 40 al. 1 LEtr. This is the case of a non-EU national of course, because EU nationals benefit from ALCP.