My family and I are moving to Basel Stadt with my employer in the coming weeks. I'll be on a B or L permit; we'll know for sure upon arrival. Could someone please let me know the rules about whether or not my wie could be self-employed while on those permits, specifically if she were to consult for US-based companies? Alternatively, I've heard of and seen some websites for Swiss companies that seem to "roll up" independent contractors and act as the local employer, thus seemingly getting around the issue. Does anybody have experience with those? Many thanks!
Hello-
Apologies, I forgot to mention that both my wife and I are US citizens, without dual citizenship (though we believe she has the family paperwork to secure dual Italian citizenship, which is on the near-term plan post-move . . . )
Will depend on what permit you get. If it’s a B (residence) then she’ll be able to work; if it’s an L (short-term residence) then any employer will have to meet certain labour/market conditions to be able to hire her. She would also need professional qualifications, i.e. a university degree. Nor could she be self-employed with an L permit.
" 4.4.1 For-profit activity of family members of a foreigner (Articles 26 and 27OASA)
Art. 26 and 27 OASA provide that the priority (Article 21 LEtr) given to foreign jobseekers already in Switzerland and authorized to work does not apply to the first activity of persons entering Switzerland under the grouping. Family Law (Articles 44 and 45 LEtr). This means that, in particular, holders of a residence permit can not claim priority in respect of persons who have entered Switzerland under the heading of family reunification.
Family members of foreigners who have entered Switzerland under family reunification are not subject to the maximum numbers within the meaning of Art. 19 and 20 OASA.
Only persons entitled to family reunification can invoke the constitutional right to engage in gainful employment (ATF 123 I 212 et seq.). As a result, family members of a Swiss citizen or an established foreigner may, under 46 LEtr and 27 OASA, engage in a lucrative activity without authorization.
On the other hand, family members of a residence permit holder do not enjoy a right to engage in gainful activity. However, given the general objectives of the LEtr (better integration of the foreign population), the legislator decided not to subject the lucrative activity to authorization.
Family members of a holder of a short-term residence permit (Article 26 OASA) do not enjoy the right to exercise a lucrative activity. The exercise of a lucrative activity is subject to authorization. Upon admission, a request from the employer respecting the remuneration and working conditions in use in the locality and branch must have been submitted. In addition, members of the family of a holder of a short-stay permit (Article 26 OASA) must have professional qualifications (personal qualifications, Article 23 LEtr).
The possibility of engaging in a gainful activity for family members is related, according to art. 26 and 27 OASA, for the duration of the authorization of the person who has benefited from family reunification. If the spouse’s residence permit is not renewed, his family members can not claim a right to continue their gainful activity (Article 6 (2) OASA)."
https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/data/se…aug-kap4-f.pdf
Bear in mind that there are more L permits than B’s under the quota system so unless you’re highly qualified/experienced it most likely you’ll start off with an L.
If you haven’t already research your US tax filing obligations here
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/inte…-aliens-abroad
Also note that you’ll probably be restricted in which banks will accept you as clients due to the US’s FATCA law. UBS, Credit Suisse and PostFinance are likely to be your only options and whether they’d accept for anything other than a basic checking account is problematic. So that could be another hurdle to your wife being self-employed.
If your wife gets Italian citizenship, then no problem.
My husband and I are both Australian, and I became self-employed on a non-EU B permit.
Advice above is correct, if you get B, no problem, if you get L, then self-employment is not possible. What she would be allowed however is to create a GmbH (equivalent of an LLC in the US), of which she'd be the owner, and hire herself as the sole employee. It's a bit costly and complicated though, compared to registering as self-employment with an "individual company".
Good news is Basel Stadt nornally doesn't give L instead of B, that is to say, they give L for legitimately short-term contracts, and B for long term, within quotas of course.