Switzerland visa

Switzerland Visas.md

Visa types:

• Short-term Swiss visas – these are visas that permit stays of up to 90 days for purposes such as tourism or short-term business;
  • C permit (Schengen Visa) — 90 days.
• Non-Immigrant visas – these are longer-term temporary visas for purposes such as studying or working on fixed-term contracts, where the holder doesn’t intend to stay in the country beyond a fixed period;
  • L permit — 1yr, non renewable. Tied to specific job/study contract.
  • B permit — 1-5yrs, renewable. Limited number issued every year. Requires to stay in the canton that the permit is linked to. [1] [2]
  • G permit — cross-border / « permis frontalier »[1].
• Immigrant visas – long-term visas for those who want to stay in Switzerland either long-term or permanently, for purposes such as work or retirement.
  • D visa — requires having lived in the country for 5-10 yrs. Usually start on B visa, and then apply for D visa when you meet the reqs.
    • ability to speak and write the national language
    • integration into Swiss society
    • clean criminal record
    • Swiss authorities assessing you as no threat to national security
    • the ability to support yourself without recourse to social welfare
  • Naturalization — requires having lived 10 yrs in the country.

👉 tl;dr — Get B temporary visa. Stay 5 yrs and then get D permanent visa OR[1] stay 10 yrs and then get naturalized.

Official resources:

• Foreign nationals in Switzerland — https://www.ch.ch/en/foreign-nationals-in-switzerland/working-in-switzerland/
• Getting a work visa (fr) — https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/france/fr/home/visa/entree-ch/autorisations-de-travail.html

Misc resources:

• Employment law — https://www.legalexpat.ch/employment-law/overview/