Hello everybody. I have got a tricky question related to local registration for my husband, and I couldn't figure out the answer by reading/searching in the posts in the past on the forum.
Here is our situation: I'm going to start my work in Canton Aargau in early Jan, and bothy my husband and I got the D entry visa that is going to expire by early March. I understand that both of is have to register with local Gemeinde within 14 days of arrival, which I have no problem with but it is going to be a bit tricky with my husband. For certain reasons he must work until July in our current place before he moves to Switzerland, and from now till July he only has no more than 2 weeks of vacation time to visit me in Switzerland. I heard that the local registration may take up to 6 weeks and it is not very likely that it will be done in two weeks. So my question is:
1. Is there any fast alternative to get this local registration done given our situation?
2. Or is it possible that my husband can do local registration in person, and then leave Switzerland, and then the residence permit can be mailed to me so that I can mail to him overseas?
3. I'm just going to find some temporary place to live, where I can figure out which Geminde I should register with? And what if the permanent place that did later located slightly different from where I initially live?
Does anyone meet similar situation before? Any advice or idea would be highly appreciated Thanks.
Well I think if your husband is out of Switzerland until July, then his permit may be cancelled in any case...
No, there is no fast alternative. Assuming you get a B permit then it shouldn’t be too difficult. Both of you register with the address you’ll be staying at and make sure both your names are on the mailbox. I assume he’ll be around for the two weeks before leaving so if there’s any further stuff the Swiss need he’ll be here to provide it. After he leaves, any documents will be sent to you/him at that address and you can forward things on to him. With a B permit you can be out of the country for a maximum of 6 months at a time so he hopefully will be able to get back within that period.
If however, you/he get an L permit he can only be out of the country for 3 months so if it gets reported that he’s not in the country then his permit can/will be cancelled.
The other alternative, and probably the way you should have tackled this, is that you come over and get established first. Then nearer the time he wants to make the move, apply for a Type D visa under family reunification again. Another possibility is that you come over first and then he comes over in mid-February for a couple of weeks to do his registration. I’m not sure if that would cause problems though if the authorities expect you to arrive/register together.
It doesn’t matter if you change locations once you’re permit is issued, subject to any restrictions on the permit. Sometimes for example a permit is tied to an employer and then you can’t live in a different canton from the one you work in. You just have to let the migration office know if you’re in the same commune/gemeinde with a different address. If you move to a different commune/gemeinde then you have to de-register from the first one and re-register at the new one - all within 8 days. Any changes are subject to extra fees of course.
Hi Thanks so much for your reply. I remember last time when I raised up a question, you also posted a very useful reply really appreciate it!
Yes, I'm holding B permit and assuming that he will be there in person to initiate the local registration process and be available to provide documents they further need within 2 weeks, and leave after that and I will be able to receive status update from our temporary address in Switzerland until the permit is issued. This case would be perfect for us since he will be definitely back within 6 months, and live with me in Switzerland with me from then onwards. But my question is: would it be possible that he can go out the country without the residence permit is actually issued and I can mail it to him after it is issued?
The concern you raised up about they may require us to register together is a good reminder to me. I was thinking to call canton office or Stadthaus and check all these details out with them, but I'm not sure which one I should call I think I'm going to live temporarily in Wettingen, and will live around Baden permanently afterwards. In this case, should I contact Baden Stadthaus or Aargau Imigration Office?
Also, this might be stupid, but I'm also a bit confused on how the commune/gemeinde is defined: is it a town, a community or a canton? Do you know if there is any place that I can get a list of this and their boundary on a map?
Thank you again for your kind help
Just my 2 rappen here...I think the second half of Medea's advice is best. He needs to apply for the D-visa and reunification when he is actually ready to be a resident. There is nothing wrong with doing it that way, and there is no risk. Think about it for a moment...if he needs the visa to enter the country the first time, how does he plan to re-enter the country after he leaves? What visa would he apply for then, since he has already "used" his visa for reunification? (I am assuming he is non-EU)
As soon as your husband gets a permit, he will have to pay Swiss taxes (inclusing on his foreign incomes) and buy the mandatory Swiss health insurance: 6 * 300.- ~= Fr. 2'000 .-- even if he remains overseas.
Since you are not a CH/EU-15/EFTA citizen, you don't usually need to register at the Gemeindeverwaltung. Registration in your case is done at the Cantonal Office of Migration in Aarau . Based on your address, the migration office will inform the resp. communal govt that you have authorization to live in their Gemeinde...In other words, the AG Migration Office will "register" you at the communal level...
Every time you move to a new address inside the Canton, you need to inform the AG Amt für Migration. You can do this online. Again no need to go to the Gemeindeverwaltung, unless the MIKA instructions tell you to do so.
So it doesn't matter in which Gemeinde of Kanton AG you want to live, you will be subject to the same exact cantonal and Federal rules . The only difference is the communal taxes that are slightly different.
Gemeinde/commune/comune is the smallest territorial subdivision in Switzerland and many other EU countries.
In Switzerland you have:
Bund / Confédération > Kantone/Cantons > Bezirke/Districts > Gemeinden/Communes > Orte*/Localités*
* not a territorial subdivision
Many cantons don't have Bezirke: Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen, Glarus, Geneva just to name a few.
Still not as complicated as in France:
État > Régions > Départements > Arrondissements > Cantons > Communes > Localités* > Lieux-dits*
Good luck and Merry Christmas!
Thank you all very much for your kind advice and reply. I heard from one of my friends who lived in Switzerland before that the folks on English Forum are always very helpful and nice, now this is even more true to me
It is also good to know that he needs to pay tax in Switzerland even if he is working overseas after getting the residence permit. I guess in this case, we may probably just change our plan, so he will move to Switzerland in early Mar and live there from then onwards.
Just a few other questions that I would like to get your advice:
1. Can he do internship in Switzerland as the spouse of B permit holder? The reason I'm asking this is that my husband is very likely to do a graduate school from Sep (this is actually why I'm here for this job), but before that he still wants to have something busy with instead of taking a long break.
2. He also plans to do a graduate school in Zurich starting from Sep 2014, and we have applied for it, and we will know if he can get the admission by Mar. Does he need to apply for a student visa/residence permit, after he gets the residence permit as my husband?
3. Another alternative we have is that, he will not use the D entry visa granted to him as my husband, and let it expire. He will visit me in Mar by applying for a tourist visa, and then move to Switzerland in July either by student visa or I will apply for a D entry visa for him again under family reunion. My question here is that, does letting the current D entry visa expire and not using it affect the later-on student visa application or 2nd time D entry visa application?
I feel our situation is a bit complicated.......
I would say that it would be better for him to move here in March and make use of the visa he already has. As your dependent it should be easier to apply for an internship or to study as he’s already in the country and has his residence permit so no need for any further visas. He will of course still be subject to the non-EU hiring criteria.
I don’t know what Swiss language skills he has, but if little or none he could always use his free time to do a language course.
Good advice on language course My husband speaks German and he actually needs to pass C1 before his school starts. But he has learned it for a couple of years so I wouldn't expect it to be a big problem for him.
Nice to know that he can do intenship with the spouse B permit. I was asking this since I remember seeing somewhere that the internship in Switzerland is actually in particular for students, and since he has not been enrolled to the university yet, I'm concerned that he may not be able to do that.
Now it seems that there are a couple of options to keep him busy with, which is really good news to us Again, thank you very much.
By the way Medea, I have one more question about my own permit. I heard that that there are different types of B permit, but I'm wondering which type I am getting. I haven't got the actual permit yet, but from the approval I received that it seems it is valid for 3 years (equal to my contract period), whereas I saw from the official imigration website that the B permit is usually for 1 year, and should be renewed annually. Just wondering if I need to renew it after 1 year, or it will actually work until my contracts ends?
I think he’d be okay applying for an internship if he’s been studying in another country, but again check this with your cantonal migration office to be sure. Another thought, if money isn’t a problem, is possibly doing some voluntary work. It would let him practice his language skills, keep busy and help others.
As your contract is for 3 years it will be a 1-year B permit renewable every year. Of course, if the quota for non-EU’s has been reached then it will be an L permit, which again is renewable. If you get an L then you would renew it for the second year and then probably get a B for the third year. Sometimes though the L is extended for more than two years.