Any difference in ease of work permit process in Switzerland with British Passport or with ILR?

Hi,

so I hold an Indian passport with ILR since 2011. I have not really had a reason to get a british passport since I've never travelled to Europe.

However, recently I got a PhD at a UK institution and part of this program is that I spend 6 month industrial placement with a company that is co-sponsoring this program in Zurich, Switzerland. They do not know much about the application process but only suggest that I do get a British passport.

I want to completely clear this up because I've read a lot of different information online. My question is: is it actually easier to obtain work permit in Switzerland as a British citizen as opposed to holding ILR with Indian passport? Because I need to know if it is actually worth the stress, time and money to apply for British citizenship and then British passport by December-January.

If the process is the same for a British citizen with British passport, and an Indian passport with ILR, then I wouldn't see any point in getting British passport and rather just tell them this.

Please do give advice.

Thanks!

While the UK is in the EU, you don't need a 'work permit' to work there.

On ILR you do.

Obviously even if you are British and the UK has left the EU, there will be different requirements for British Citizens to work.

skyfire165 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 21, 2019 1:59 pm

Hi,

so I hold an Indian passport with ILR since 2011. I have not really had a reason to get a british passport since I've never travelled to Europe.

However, recently I got a PhD at a UK institution and part of this program is that I spend 6 month industrial placement with a company that is co-sponsoring this program in Zurich, Switzerland. They do not know much about the application process but only suggest that I do get a British passport.

I want to completely clear this up because I've read a lot of different information online. My question is: is it actually easier to obtain work permit in Switzerland as a British citizen as opposed to holding ILR with Indian passport? Because I need to know if it is actually worth the stress, time and money to apply for British citizenship and then British passport by December-January.

If the process is the same for a British citizen with British passport, and an Indian passport with ILR, then I wouldn't see any point in getting British passport and rather just tell them this.

Please do give advice.

Thanks!

Switzerland has bilateral agreements with the EU. EEA nationals basically just have to move, register their residence and apply for a work permit showing their registration and their work contract. If the EEA national only wants to work in Switzerland for three months or less, no work permit is required.

Non EEA nationals need to apply for a visa that is convertible to a work permit before moving and work permits are subject to general economic interests of Switzerland, resident labour market test, all sorts of caps apply and it is also taken into consideration whether and how well you speak any of Switzerland's national languages (German, French, Italian, Romansch).

Is your placement supposed to be after 31. October? If Brexit occurs with no deal, getting a British passport may be a moot point, who knows how Switzerland will react to that. Even with a deal, I am not sure how this would concern Switzerland since they are not part of the EU.

Although... it may still be a lot easier to get a work permit as a British national than with an Indian passport. I remember my employer basically threw out any applications from non-Europeans as it was too much hassle to even try for work authorisation.

So, Switzerland and the UK have signed an agreement regarding citizen's rights but as far as I can see, it only talks about existing rights already acquired = British nationals already living in Switzerland at the time of Brexit.

https://www.eda.admin.ch/dea/en/home/ve ... rexit.html

Found this:

"In case of an orderly Brexit, the UK’s exit from the EU will be followed by a transition period, currently expected to last until 31 December 2020. During that period, all the bilateral agreements that Switzerland has with the EU will continue to apply to the UK, including the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. British citizens arriving in Switzerland during the transition period can move to Switzerland under the terms of that Agreement.

In case of a disorderly Brexit (no-deal scenario), the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons will cease to apply to UK citizens on 31 October 2019. British citizens moving to Switzerland and registering with the authorities for a residence permit after that date will in principle have to comply with the relevant Swiss legislation for third country nationals. As a temporary measure, the Swiss government has decided to introduce a separate quota applying from the day the UK leaves the EU to 31 December 2019, allowing 3,500 British citizens to work in Switzerland. In addition, the Federal Council has approved a Transitional Migration Agreement with the United Kingdom. The agreement provides that after a disorderly Brexit and until 31 December 2020, British nationals would not have to meet all the conditions that third country nationals need to fulfil to obtain access to the Swiss labour market (they could be exempted from the criteria relating to professional qualifications, national preference and economic interest)."

Source:

https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/unit ... 1159653252

These replies here have been very helpful, thank you very much for the information and clearing so much up.

So as it stands, I would much rather prefer to keep the Indian passport with ILR.

However from all the replies, if UK were to continue having freedom of movement to Switzerland (if no deal does not happen), it would be much more easier for British nationals to do a Ph.D. work placement there for 6 months.

But if no deal does happen, and Britain will be considered as a third country national (same level as an Indian passport) then it sounds like there would not be much difference. I would much rather prefer keeping the Indian passport.

same level as an Indian passport

Having lived a decade in Switzerland, I have a tendency to compare this country to South Africa (Pretoria regime) when it comes how they deal with immigration maters.

They used to have a 3-circle policy:

Circle 1: EU + AELE
Circle 2: Eastern Europe, USA, Canada
Circle 3: The rest of the world (Asia, Africa...)

They think in terms of "cultural distance" from Switzerland.

So when it comes to work visas, being in Circle 3 means a no. There are so many rules, tests, limits, blocks... that it's practically impossible for someone from Circle 3 to get work visa in Switzerland.

Today, this system is not as formalized as it used to be. But all laws and procedures are designed with it as foundation.

It means that UK passport, even in case of Brexit, will have much more chances to get you a work permit than an Indian passport and ILR. In case of Brexit, UK will go from Circle 1 to Circle 2 while India is in Circle 3 anyway.