All, quick question, and it may be blindingly obvious, to answer but the recent press around quotas is somewhat confusing.
I'm a British Citizen and passport holder, working for an Indian company in the UK. I'm being relocated to Switzerland in August. I'm going there permanently, under a contract with the Swiss branch of the company. I have an employment contract and transfer letter.
I don't have a great deal of confidence in the team handling the transfer, and when I asked whether a work permit/residency permit application etc would be required, the response I received was (to paraphrase): No, as a British citizen with a Swiss employment contract with a Swiss branch, I can just head over and register with the local community office within 14 days and begin work thereafter. Apparently I'll be issued with a B Visa.
Does that sound right to the people on the forum? Seems terribly easy....
Would appreciate any guidance.
Thanks
L
Sounds pretty much on the nail
Well, thats pretty much what I did. But nothing is guaranteed.
Yep, that's what happened with me. Remember to take birth certificates, proof of employment (salary), passport, passport photos and er... can't remember what else.
Search it, there's bound to be stuff on the site somewhere.
I think it's 8 days, not 14, but otherwise that sounds right. As an EU citizen, quotas won't be a problem.
It is not a B visa - what you will receive is a B permit. That permit entitles you to live and work in Switzerland, and will probably last for 5 years. As you are a citizen of an EU country, there are no quotas - these only apply to non-EU citizens.
Good luck with the move.
All - thanks for the assistance. Much appreciated!
L
Yep, go to the commune/gemeinde (depending on whether you're in the French or German part) with passports, birth and marriage certs, copy of the job contract/offer letter, couple of passport pics (just get a whole ton of these, you'll need them for everything) and a copy of your rental agreement.
You need to do this within 8 days, like someone else said, but can work from the minute you land in Switzerland, it's all backdated to when you move over. The actual permit can take weeks to come through, but in the meantime the commune can give you a 'lettre d'attestation ' (or whatever in German) which is handy proof of residence for getting mobile phones, rail cards, etc.
The permit is about 100chfs from memory, and the letter will be anything from free to 10chfs depending on the mood of the official on the day.
The whole thing takes a matter of minutes and yes, you'll get a 5yr B permit. Well, we did, anyway, and we're UKers too.
Good luck for the move.
kodokan
I'm also here with an Indian company who were just as vague and generally clueless. Probably the same one Difference is that I wasn't an employee of theirs before; I interviewed in London, stopped being a contractor after 12 years, and turned up Sunday night starting work Monday morning.
You need to go to the council office in whichever place you are, with your British passport and copy of employment contract. They flick through that to ensure it's permanent (or at least valid for more than 12 months), and that's it.
You'll receive the permit, and bill, in the post. You'll probably have to pay something up-front too but that'll be for registering your address. Probably a hotel unless you have something sorted out already.