Most foreign nationals coming to work and live in Switzerland are familiar with how the work permit system works in the country. But there are also some nuances you may not be aware of.
In a nutshell, Switzerland has four main types of work permits:
L Permit (Short-Term): Issued for employment lasting less than one year
B Permit (Residence): Issued for long-term or permanent employment contracts exceeding one year.
C permit: (Permanent Residence)
G Permit (Cross-Border): For commuters living in a foreign border zone and working in Switzerland, returning home daily or weekly.
There are also other permits, like N, F, and S, given to refugees and asylum seekers – which are not subjects of this article.
These are five facts about work and/or residency permits that may surprise you:
There is no such thing as a ‘Swiss’ work permit
Even though the federal government – and concretely, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) – sets eligibility rules, each canton is independently responsible for distributing permits for employment on its territory.
So you may end up with permit from Geneva or Zurich which – depending on your nationality – may or may not entitle you to seek employment in another canton.
Whether or not you can relocate depends on your passport: those from the EU/EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) are free to move to a job in another area, while third-country nationals need special authorisation to do so.
Different rules for different nationalities
While citizens of third countries must meet a myriad of requirements to receive a permit – including proficiency in the regional language – nationals of the EU and EFTA don’t have to follow those rules.
They don’t, for instance, need to pass a language test or prove local language skills to get their initial work and residence permits – unlike their non-EU/EFTA counterparts.
It is true that people from Germany, France, and Italy already know one of the national languages, but many others may not – and still be entitled to a permit.
(The key word here, however, is ‘initial.’ These people must know the local language when applying for a C permit).
Under some circumstances, citizens of third countries are excluded from language requirements as well…
…as long as they are in the ‘right’ profession, position, and company.
This exemption concerns primarily bankers, IT experts, consultants, researchers, and cryptocurrency specialists, as well as foreign CEOs or other top executives in multinational companies for whom fluency in English is sufficient.
You can have your permit downgraded
Under certain circumstances, a C permit – the ‘highest’ in Switzerland – can be downgraded to the lower type of permit, like B.
This can happen if you commit a crime — not just in Switzerland, but also abroad — or threaten Switzerland’s security in any way.
Also, if Swiss authorities discover that you had lied when applying for a C permit, that is considered a valid reason for downgrading as well.
However, your offences don’t have to be of a criminal nature.
You can also see your permit ‘demoted’ if you and/or your immediate family rely on social aid.
READ MORE: Can Switzerland downgrade my C work permit?
You can ‘freeze’ your C permit
No, not by putting it in a freezer.
If you must leave Switzerland for an extended period for work or study (but plan to return afterwards), you can put your C permit ‘on hold’ fur up to four years.
To do so, you must request this suspension from your cantonal authorities in writing, explaining the reasons why you plan to remain abroad for a longer-than-permitted period of time.
If you simply leave for more than six months without ‘freezing’ your permit, then it will expire in due time, and you will have to re-apply for it under the usual admission conditions.
The same ‘freezing’ opportunities don’t extend to ‘lower’ permits, like B, however.
There are two kinds of C permits
If you think a permit is only issued to immigrants, you are only partially right.
Those born in Switzerland of foreign parents must go through the naturalisation process to become citizens.
Until and unless they do, they will live in Switzerland under the C permit.
Therefore, Switzerland has two kinds of C permits – one granted to foreign nationals after 10 years of residency, and the other to Swiss-born foreigners.
For people from many other countries it may appear strange that a person born in Switzerland is living iunder a permit, but that’s the way Swiss system works.
READ MORE: Why does Switzerland have two kinds of C-permit holders?
