Work permit B or L

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Hi,

This is my first post and hello to everyone. I read other threads and learned lot about swiss work permits. Pease advise on below

Detail: I'm a married non-EU and received a job offer in Bern which is a 6 month contract. I am a IT specialist and work in embedded systems (writing software running in your mobiles, dvd player etc). I'm 31 years with 9 years of experience in my field

Though the employer said 6 months contract but I can convince him for "contract-for-hire".

I'm also looking for a long term residence in switzerland

1. Which work permit is suited for me ? "L" or "B". After reading ealier posts I think "B" is good. But not sure if my employer will apply for "Long term B". I should be able to convince him to apply "Project related B (short term Annual)".

2. What are the disadvantages of short term B over long term B ?

3. Do short term B count towards C ? I read they are valid for 3 years. Is it difficult to extend that after this period ?

4. Does employer need to prove "cannot fill position with swiss or EU national" for short term B ?

5. Can I change jobs and canton easily with short term B ? I read new laws from 01/01/2008 allows for this. What my new employer has to do ?

6. I read I need to make sure my spouse's work permit is Linked to mine. Is my spouse eligible to work in switzerland on her permit ?

7. If employer insists on "L". should I got for it ? How difficult it is to change jobs in L ? Is it easy to convert "L" to "B" (or no such conversion exists). Is my spouse eligible to work if I come on "L" ?

8. And finally when is the best time to apply for quota "B" and "L" with quota ?

Sorry for so may questions. But you answer is VERY IMPORTANT for me to decide if I can peacefully move to switzerland (with no fear of coming back)

Thanks

2
you'l find plenty of answers here or search the forum

Non-EU Permits - a few bullet points.

3
you won't get a B permit on a 6 month contract and you family will not be able to join you except for 3 month tourist visa.

If your contract changes to an unlimited one then you can ask for the B permit, but not until then.

4
Hi

1. Which work permit is suited for me ? "L" or "B". After reading ealier posts I think "B" is good. But not sure if my employer will apply for "Long term B". I should be able to convince him to apply "Project related B (short term Annual)".

IF your contract is gonna be for 6 months then you are gonna get an L permit. Unless and until you have a contract that is more than 2 years, you can get a B Permit. And if I am not wrong, it is the authorities who decide if you should get a L , B or C.

2. What are the disadvantages of short term B over long term B ?

As far as I know, there is nothing called short term B. there is a short term Permit but that is called L. With L you can change jobs, and wont get any support from the Gov if you loose your job.

3. Do short term B count towards C ? I read they are valid for 3 years. Is it difficult to extend that after this period ?

It is like this

-You cant have a L permit for more then 2 years, It has to be atleast B

-You cant have a B permit more than 5 years, it has to be C

-If you are planning to become a citizen here, it will take close to around 12 yrs

4. Does employer need to prove "cannot fill position with swiss or EU national" for short term B ?

There are quite a few things your employer would have to give documents for. But I don’t think that you will need to worry on that part.

5. Can I change jobs and canton easily with short term B ? I read new laws from 01/01/2008 allows for this. What my new employer has to do ?

With L permit u cant change jobs, and there is nothing like short term B. But with B permit you can change jobs.

6. I read I need to make sure my spouse's work permit is Linked to mine. Is my spouse eligible to work in switzerland on her permit ?

There is nothing like your spouse’s work permit is gonna be linked to yours. For her work permit her employer will have to apply separately. You can have a dependant visa processed for her, but that would take its own time which unfortunately is takes more than 6 months. And moreover if your contract is just for 6 months then you cant apply for dependant visa.

7. If employer insists on "L". should I got for it ? How difficult it is to change jobs in L ? Is it easy to convert "L" to "B" (or no such conversion exists). Is my spouse eligible to work if I come on "L" ?

It the the authorities who deceide what permit are u eligible for? The only thing is that your employer can apply for a longer term( more than 2 Years), but for that he would have to give some additional documents.

8. And finally when is the best time to apply for quota "B" and "L" with quota ?

There is nothing like best time. You can apply all the year round. It Is not like US.

I have answered these with the information i have. If anyone disagrees please feel free to correct me.

Regards

D

5
Not true for non-EU.

Not true on both points.

Again, not true for non EU. Employer has to prove the case.

This changed on 01.01.2008. Spouse has the right to work - the permit must still be processed but the conditions are easier.

Again, not true for non-EU. Quotas start 1st January each year.

6
Thanks for your replies. I've now more understanding regarding swiss work permits. Some final questions

1. Is it difficult to get Long term "B" this time of the year (quota) ?

2. My spouse will be eligible for Resident's B and I should be able to get work permit for her without trouble

3. Does short term "B" count towrds "C" (I think NO). Is it difficult to get Long term "B" say after 2 years working on short term "B"

Thanks again for all your help

7
As far as I know what often happens when the quota for Bs run out is that your employer will get you in on a L.

I am unaware of Long term/Short term Bs. Do you mean B for EU Citizens versus nonEU?

8

No, for nonEU only. Short term is project linked "B" and long term "B" has lot more flexibility in terms of changing job/canton.

9
Dear Members,

First of all hi to all in this forum! I am new to this forum. Am a non-EU national currently living in UK. I have got a job offer as R&D Scientist in a big company in Zurich and my employer have applied for a work permit for me. I have read few other forums and came to understand that getting a work permit is very difficult in Switzerland. However my group leader in the company in Switzerland is very confident about the work permit. I would like to know what my chances would be. I am a non-EU national and I have completed PhD in the UK and this job role is that of a R&D Scientist. I have refused a job offer in UK since I am relying on the job offer in Switzerland ( I am supposed to join the company in UK on 21 July, but I would get a reply about the Switzerland work permit only during August). Any suggestions are welcome. Kindly advice me on this.

Regards

Vin

10

Thanks for correcting me. For the first point it was typo, i wanted to say cant but said can. but for the others i was totally unaware..