Relocating from Canada to Switzerland

Special conditions are offered to visitors from Canada and the USA to Switzerland for brief stays. To be more precise, if you intend to immigrate to Switzerland from the USA or Canada and remain for less than three months or ninety days, you will not require a visa. Apart from that, standard procedures for visas apply.

When traveling from Canada, our immigration lawyer in Switzerland can assist you with submitting the necessary paperwork for brief visits. With our assistance, you can get a residence permit in Switzerland.

How easy is it to obtain a residency permit in Switzerland? Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or would like the answer to this one. If you decide to move here, our immigration lawyers can assist you understand all the requirements so you can make an informed decision with a high possibility of success.

Permanent residence in Switzerland following a move from Canada
When an individual chooses to relocate permanently from Canada to Switzerland, they must apply for one of the following visas:

The study visa is granted to students enrolled in universities or other educational institutions recognized by Switzerland; the work visa is granted to individuals who have secured employment with a local company. If you are a non-European citizen applying for a work permit, the procedure is more challenging. You have to get a job here before you may go to Switzerland. If you are successful, you will be qualified for a work visa that comes with a temporary residency permit. The B Permit is another name for this in Switzerland.
If a Canadian citizen has family in Switzerland, they can also relocate there with a family reunification visa. Although citizens of the EU and EFTA nations have an easier time reunifying, under certain conditions a spouse or child is usually allowed to move to Switzerland to live with family. If this describes you, you can speak with our experts about the procedures for EU/EFTA and non-EU nationals to obtain a residency permit in Switzerland.
the Youth Mobility Program, which permits employment in Switzerland for Canadian nationals.
We can assist you with the application process for any required visa, including a Swiss golden visa, if you are considering immigration to Switzerland and intend to relocate from Canada.

You can be able to purchase real estate in Switzerland if you have a Swiss C permit. The real estate market is fairly established, making it possible to buy different kinds of houses and apartments in different cantons. For information on how to relocate to Switzerland right away, get in touch with us.

The Youth Mobility Program is designed for Canadians who wish to relocate to Switzerland.
Since the Youth Mobility Program is one of the easiest ways for Canadians to relocate to Switzerland for employment, we will concentrate on it. When deciding to come to Switzerland through this procedure, there are a number of requirements to fulfill, which include:

The candidate must be a citizen of Canada, be between the ages of 18 and 35, have a valid passport, and have a permanent address in Canada at the time of application.
A Canadian citizen must have an offer of employment or an internship before submitting an application for a visa in order to be included into the program. Additionally, the offer needs to be relevant to the applicant’s studies or area of competence. Citizens of Canada may also apply for residency in Switzerland using their work visas.

As long as each visit in Switzerland is for fewer than eighteen months, a Canadian citizen may take part in this program twice. The maximum length of the visa for a single visit is twelve months.

For comprehensive information about moving here from Canada via the Youth Mobility Program, contact our immigration lawyer in Switzerland. We can assist foreign nationals from different nations who wish to relocate to Switzerland. Due to agreements between the two nations and Switzerland, citizens of the United States and Canada may apply for a C Permit for Switzerland after five years of continuous residency. You may trust our immigration lawyers if you want to move here from the United States or Canada.

We can supply you all the information you need if you are a Canadian citizen interested in obtaining Swiss citizenship.

Is citizenship attainable through living in Switzerland?
A new parliamentary law that changed the procedure for applying for Swiss citizenship was passed in June 2014. Significantly, the number of years of residency required was lowered from 12 to 10, with an effective date of January 1, 2018. Switzerland continues to have one of the longer naturalization times when compared to other EU nations, even with this most recent reduction.

A number of other changes were scheduled to be put into effect. For instance, children between the ages of 10 and 18 are the only ones to whom the time spent in Switzerland throughout childhood—which was previously considered to be twice the real duration toward citizenship—as opposed to those between the ages of 10 and 20. Additionally, each refugee or asylum seeker’s stay in Switzerland counts toward six months of citizenship. Candidates must remain in the particular canton in which they are seeking citizenship for a period of time that varies from two to five years, according to cantonal residency rules.

According to the new rule, years of residency that count toward citizenship are only available to residents of Switzerland with a C permit. Temporary permit holders are ineligible to include those years in Switzerland in their application for naturalization. Canadians who relocate to Switzerland have a significant advantage when applying for Swiss citizenship. Canadian residents are entitled to apply for Swiss citizenship after only five years of residency, unlike other residents who normally have to fulfill a regular residency requirement of twelve years. This shortened time frame offers Canadian expats an accelerated path to becoming Swiss citizens by greatly streamlining the naturalization process.

Is it possible for me to retire in Switzerland?
Individuals who are not Swiss citizens may apply for a retirement visa provided they can demonstrate that they are self-sufficient and will not require assistance from the country’s social security system. A retirement visa, which is equivalent to a special permit to enter Switzerland, is granted to retired individuals who satisfy certain requirements based on their country of origin. EU nationals and non-EU nationals must follow various procedures in order to get a retirement visa. If you are not from the EU and intend to move from Canada to Switzerland, please fulfill the requirements below to be eligible for a retirement visa:

You have to be at least fifty-five years old.
You ought to be capable of covering your own costs;
You have to spend the majority of the year in Switzerland;
You have to demonstrate that you have a personal link to Switzerland, such as Swiss ancestry, frequent visits, property ownership, etc.
If you are not from the EU, you must apply at the Swiss office in your home country for both a regular visa and a retirement visa. You will need to register with the local government as soon as you move to Switzerland. The retirement visa is first granted to non-EU nationals for a period of one year, after which it can be renewed for an additional year. If you would like to move from Canada to Switzerland and apply for a retirement visa, our lawyers can assist you with that.

Getting ready to move from Canada to Switzerland with your documents
A person moving to Switzerland from Canada must prepare and file a number of documents with the Swiss embassy or consulate in Canada, depending on the purpose for immigration and the type of visa they are applying for. Among them are:

a current passport; the work contract, if you are coming here on the basis of a labor agreement;
the employment offer, should one want to relocate under the Youth Mobility Program from Canada to Switzerland;
evidence of housing and insurance when relocating for an extended length of time;
When reuniting with relatives, family members must provide proof of residency.
The paperwork related to the relocation reason can be prepared with assistance from our Swiss immigration lawyer. Depending on what Canadians seeking to immigrate to Switzerland need, we can also help with various expat services.

Can a criminal record interfere with my plans to immigrate to Switzerland?
If you have a criminal past, it may affect your ability to immigrate to Switzerland. A comprehensive background check will be conducted by Swiss authorities before granting a visa or residency permit. If you have a criminal history, you should disclose it to the application process and provide all relevant information. Our lawyers can help you show a clean criminal record when you immigrate to Switzerland from Canada.

Requirements for health insurance before entering Switzerland
It’s crucial to remember that although Switzerland has a universal healthcare system, free public healthcare is not offered. Rather, all citizens, foreign nationals or not, are required to obtain and cover the cost of their own private health insurance. Children and dependents are also subject to this duty; they too need to have their own health plans. As a result, it is now the duty of every Swiss citizen to understand the requirements for acquiring health insurance in Switzerland. Our attorneys can provide you with information about the various health insurance plans if you’re thinking about moving from Canada to Switzerland and would like to know more about them.

We offer legal advice to anyone looking for direction in this area. Obtaining Swiss health insurance is crucial if you intend to relocate to the country. However, registration in the Swiss healthcare system is only available to foreign nationals following their arrival in the nation and their completion of the residency permit application process or registration with a local cantonal authority. Proof of the ongoing application and present residency is sufficient to purchase a health insurance policy, even if the Swiss resident permit is not granted right away. It’s best to start looking before traveling to Switzerland because you have to obtain health insurance within 90 days of arrival. Our lawyers are here to help if you require any extra help with the application process for a B permit in Switzerland.

Certain officials and diplomats, cross-border workers, pensioners receiving EU/EFTA pensions, temporary students with international insurance, and retirees in general are exempt from the mandated health insurance obligation. We can provide you with legal guidance if you would like to know more about these exceptions. Contact our Swiss immigration lawyers.

Canada and Switzerland’s economic ties
One of the main reasons many Canadians relocate to Switzerland is because it’s one of the most significant corporate hubs in both Europe and the world. The Swiss government has released the following information about its economic ties with Canada:

As of November 2023, Switzerland’s total imports into the country amounted to 30.1 billion USD, while its exports to Canada totaled 4.4 billion CHF. Canada is Switzerland’s second-biggest economic partner on both American continents.
Please get in touch with us if you need help migrating from Canada to Switzerland. As soon as possible, we can assist you in obtaining a residence permit in Switzerland.