Forum Switzerland

[Bernie78]

Hi! I am a European citizen (UK) living in France and working in Switzerland on the 'Frontalier' system. My wife is a non-EU citizen but has an EU residence card (UK). As far as I have been told she has the same rights as me to live and work in the EU as long as she complies to local rules (eg. in France applying for a carte de sejour) which should be academic to get approved as they technically cannot refuse her by EU law. Am I right?

BUT, what about Switzerland, is there a way she can, under similar laws to the above, get a permit to work in Switzerland as we live in France, but bordering Geneva where there are obviously more work opportunities. What are our options? Who can I speak to regarding this? Many thanks!

[EasyExpat]

In a nutshell, the answer to your question is YES your wife can work.

Switzerland has signed a lot of agreements with the EU (and is part of Schengen) which means that for employed nationals from EU/EFTA states, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons applies leading to a straightforward permit process not subject to quotas.

Any non-Swiss national who works in Switzerland for longer than three months requires a permit.

Workers receive a G permit (Cross-border commuter) if they are EU/EFTA residents (which is the case for your wife) and work in Switzerland. They may stay in Switzerland, but must return abroad at least once a week and register their Swiss residence with the communal authorities (for most of the EU nationals that rule does not apply as they have a full freedom of movement).

As you see the small difference applies between nationals and residents of the EU.

But in you case, the most important is the following:
Family members of EU/EFTA employed nationals are granted an EU/EFTA permit even if they are non-EU/EFTA nationals but live permanently in an EU/EFTA country. The validity of the permit is limited to the duration of the main holder's position. Family members may work, but must notify the cantonal authorities before doing so.

For more information:

The Federal Office for Migration regulates the conditions under which people can enter Switzerland in order to live and work there. You will find more on their website.

You will find the contact details of the various Cantonal Migration Offices on the Swiss Confederation website.

Last but not least: read our guide for expatriates in Geneva, with an article on visa and permits in Switzerland.

[Bernie78]

What a thorough answer, thank you very much! You have saved me hours of frustrating phone calls! Thanks again...

[EasyExpat]

You're welcome, we're here to help
On family reunion you will find the "official" information here (French)

6.2.2 Membres de la famille pourvus d’une autorisation de séjour délivrée par un Etat membre de l’UE ou de l’AELE
Les membres de la famille d’un ressortissant suisse titulaires d’une autorisation de séjour durable délivrée par un Etat membre de l’UE ou de l’AELE avec lequel la Suisse a conclu un accord sur la libre circulation des personnes (ALCP) ont droit à l’octroi d’une autorisation de séjour et à la prolongation de validité (art. 42, al. 2, LEtr).

Although, on the down-side, I have just remembered that the UK is not part of Schengen, so Schengen agreement does not apply, but as this is a member of the EU rules do still apply.

[Bernie78]

Awesome, thanks, I'll update the forum once we've made the application with clear requirements and any hurdles (hopefully with solutions) we may come across for future readers.

[Bernie78]

Better late than never, but here are a few answers:

Absolutely fantastic service on EU citizens rights: http://ec.europa.eu/citizensrights/fron ... dex_en.htm

1. Received my wife's French residence permit issued for 5 years. The local Mairie will provide a list of required documents which are fairly standard. A pain for us were the full birth certificates proving parent details and also ad hoc requirements which seemed to be added every few weeks extending the process to months. We kicked up a fuss, opened a case with the EU commission, see link above, easy as sending an email. Within a week we had the permit.

2. RE working in Swiss (just confirming again) - short answer is yes, my non-EU spouse is allowed to work in Swiss while we live in France.