Hello everyone,
I'm a Non-EU citizen residing in the Netherlands on a permanent residence permit. For a while, I have been tinkering with the idea of moving to Switzerland to work in the IT industry as a principal IT specialist (almost 10 years of experience). The reasons are good salary, low taxes and good quality of life. I have already spoken with few companies that do not have offices in Switzerland, however, they do hire remote IT specialists that work from within the country. So I assume they have a subsidiary, or something registered in order to pay out salaries to those remote employees.
My question is, will this be a problem for the canton to issue a visa? Is one of the requirements for the company to actually be in Switzerland, in terms of having an official and formal office that one could go to?
Thank you in advance.
Welcome to the forum.
Since the onus is on the Swiss employer to make the case for hiring a non-EU national over a Swiss/EU one then I doubt such a plan would be workable. As a non-EU national you cannot apply for a permit allowing you to work here. Here is the info regarding hiring of non-EU nationals.
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home…zulassung.html
Hi Medea Fleecestealer, thank you very much for the response!
Indeed, I know that I won't be able to apply for a permit by myself as a non-EU national. However, why would the company in this case won't be able to do it? Assuming they have some kind of subsidiary, or a registered entity in Switzerland, in order to deal with administrative tasks and payroll, which would make them a "Swiss employer", not?
Thanks again,
C.
Then they still have to show they cannot hire an EU or Swiss person. And unless you have a niche speciality, work for Google, this is rather difficult as there are lots of IT people already working in Switzerland.
Thank you roegner for the clarification.
I’m not saying they can’t, but you need to check whether they do have offices here or not first that could make the application. Don’t assume they do, just because they hire remote workers. You need to find out how they do hire non-EU nationals here if they do so. Could be that all their remote workers here are EU/Swiss nationals.
If you were EU what you intend would be possible. As a non-EU you can only come to Switzerland as a sponsored spouse, a student or through a Swiss employer with the caveats outlined above.
Nothing stops you from setting up a company in Switzerland and channel your clients through there whilst working remotely in the Netherlands which could be beneficial tax-wise if you play it correctly. You will however need at least one signatory to be resident in Switzerland to set up the company.
Thanks for the input Limegrass. No, I do not intend to open a company. I intend to work for an company that mostly has a work-from-home policy in Switzerland, meaning, there is no physical office employees go to work.
On a slightly different note, I'm thinking of kick-starting the new job from Netherlands, while I wait for the whole work-permit process to play out. After my company gets a hopefully positive answer from the canton authorities and a work permit is issued (I do not need a visa to enter Switzerland), then I could move to Switzerland and start working.
Is this possible? Do I have to be in Switzerland, while I wait for the whole work-permit process to finish (and then leave Switzerland if my company's application is rejected)?
Thank you all for the input!
You cannot work here whilst waiting for a permit.
Thank you for the confirmation roegner.
So to conclude, I could initially start working from the Netherlands (depending on the company willingness to allow me that). In Netherlands it's not a big deal to change an employer on my permit. And then, if the application process with the Swiss authorities is successful and I'm granted a work permit, I could move to Switzerland.
Incorrect, you’ll still need a Type D visa to enter Switzerland for more than the 30 day tourist limit.
Thanks for the response Medea Fleecestealer. I beg to differ, I'm a citizen of an European country that is allowed to stay in Switzerland for up to 90 days for touristic reasons.
Nevertheless, I do not plan to move to Switzerland until I have a work permit issued.
You will move for work so that 90 days does not apply. You are not a tourist.
You said you were non-EU so make up your mind.
And as roegner said, you’re not coming here as a tourist, you’re coming here to work so need the Type D visa.
No, I said I'm a non-EU citizen, meaning, I have a citizenship of a country which is not part of the European Union. European Union is not Europe.
Thanks both for the clarifications; I consider the topic closed.