Swiss Residency (via marriage) without living in CH; is it possible?

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saebi Member

Member since 17 August 2017

saebiMember17 August 2017 07:38:34

Hello Everyone!

I am American and my husband is Swiss and we currently live in South Africa (soon to be Kenya!). Needless to say, we are experiencing many of the complexities (and frustrations) of visas.聽

We have been married for one year, and currently neither of us has residency or citizenship of the other's country (because we are not living in either country). However, this is really complicating things, as everything still remains separate.

I know that, living abroad, I cannot get Swiss citizenship until we have been married 6 (or 7?) years, so my questions is, is there any kind of Swiss residence permit that I can get now and still live abroad? OR, do you have any other suggestions?

Basically, we want to be residents of the same country, to have the same "home" address, to have the same health insurance policies, etc.

Many thanks for the information!
Sarah

Twan Contributor

Member since 10 August 2011

TwanContributor04 September 2017 11:06:43

132

Swiss citizenship while living abroad can be obtained only after having been married to a Swiss for at least 6 years. Additionally, you have to have a "close connection" to Switzerland. This will also hold after the Swiss citizenship law revision has come into force (1 January 2018).

Swiss residenceship can be obtained only when you want to come to Switzerland to live there. Usually, you'll get a temporary limited residence permit at first ("B", for maximum 5 years); after some time you can apply for permanent residency ("C"). Being married to a Swiss may make it easier to get C status (and to get a B status at all). I don't know, however, any possibility to obtain these "B"- or "C"-status without living in Switzerland. Actually, I've never heard about it...

Keep in mind, that visa requirements will not fundamentally change when you have a Swiss resident permit. Visa are usually issued according to your nationality, not residency.

Kgulli Member

Member since 27 August 2017

KgulliMember11 September 2017 06:44:36

I could only obtain B visa once i arrived to switzerland which was fairly easy to get. I have similar situation with you, and that was the only way.before we moved to switzerland, getting shengen visa was the only way to visit switzerland.聽 But you can call swiss embassy and ask. They for sure will reply
Good luck.

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