Hi,

I have searched the threads for topic involvings DE EG in Germany and working in Swiss and got quite a useful information. However, I have some questions related to working in Swiss and DE EG status in Germany and if someone with recent experience(because they know the recent rules) can provide some insight that will be really great

I am holding DE EG since June 2010 and I have completed 6 years of stay in Germany while working. I hold indian passport. I have potential job offer(still not confirmed) from Swiss. Can someone tell me if


1. having DE EG from Germany helps in getting work permit in Swiss? I guess with DE EG the person is allowed to temporarily shift/live in othe EU country including Switzerland but the Swiss authority has to grant work permit. Is this true?

2. How do I manage my residence status in Germany? In discussion at forum, someone mentioned about having primary home address at Germany. How often do I have to visit Germany in order to maintain my residence permit.

3. I would like to get German citizenship, will my stay in Swiss counts towards this if I maintain my residence status in Germany?

4. What kind of visa does the spouse get if i get work permit? My wife works in germany from 3.5 years.

5. How difficult is processing of work visa if my wife gets the job after we shift to Swiss.

Awaiting your kind reponse.Thanks!!

Can someone provide some information here?
Thanks

1. having DE EG from Germany helps in getting work permit in Swiss? I guess with DE EG the person is allowed to temporarily shift/live in othe EU country including Switzerland but the Swiss authority has to grant work permit. Is this true?

No. You have to get a seperate workpermit from Swiss authority. The order of priority is Swiss/EU/other nationals

2. How do I manage my residence status in Germany? In discussion at forum, someone mentioned about having primary home address at Germany. How often do I have to visit Germany in order to maintain my residence permit.

You can have primary residence in germany and mention secondary residence in swiss. Check about registration formalities about swiss from swiss websites

3. I would like to get German citizenship, will my stay in Swiss counts towards this if I maintain my residence status in Germany?

No, but if you get prior permission from german authorities before taking residence in swiss, the time spent in Germany would not be lost. Depends on the Einburgerungsamt if they wish to accept this or not

4. What kind of visa does the spouse get if i get work permit? My wife works in germany from 3.5 years.

Check swiss websites for workpermit for spouses.

5. How difficult is processing of work visa if my wife gets the job after we shift to Swiss.

If you hold a workpermit, your spouse is automatically entitled to work

Hi hcg517,

Just think ten times before moving (working) to switzerland. You might regret as time passby-

Ruling party : http://www.svp.ch

Some initiatives they won recently :
http://www.svp.ch/g3.cms/s_page/80750/s_name/volksinitiativen
http://www.ausschaffungsinitiative.ch/index2.html
http://www.minarette.ch/

I see recently that Germany is copying this strategy as well ;)

Regards!

Hi,

I am in a similar boat as my company has lot of projects in Swiss and they are asking me to relocate to Swiss. I am also an holder of NE since 2008 with Indian passport. I did lot of research over the last couple of months and have enquired with my lawyer. I will try to reply each of your question based the information that I collected for my case.

1. having DE EG from Germany helps in getting work permit in Swiss? I guess with DE EG the person is allowed to temporarily shift/live in othe EU country including Switzerland but the Swiss authority has to grant work permit. Is this true?

With DE EG, you still need a work permit from Swiss. DE EG only allows you to come back to Germany within certain period of time (Guess 5 years if its within EU).

2. How do I manage my residence status in Germany? In discussion at forum, someone mentioned about having primary home address at Germany. How often do I have to visit Germany in order to maintain my residence permit.

The only way to do this is to get your company to process your payroll in Germany. This means, your Swiss employer needs to offer you a German contract but work location may be Swiss so that you pay your tax, rente, social contribution in Germany. Just maintaining a residence for the purpose of having one is not correct as I asked the same question to an authority in Foriegn office and her response was the same.

3. I would like to get German citizenship, will my stay in Swiss counts towards this if I maintain my residence status in Germany?

I asked the same question to a very friendly English speaking staff who I know since 2003. She warned me. Leave alone the number of years you spend in Swiss, even you may end up losing the number of years you have already put in Germany. When it comes to citizenship, the authorities may or may not consider the number of years you spent prior to your move to Swiss. At times, they may even consider half the time of your stay in Germany. Raj has given a correct reply on this. But to a friend of mine who went back to India with NE (without DE EG), the authorities have given him in writing that his stay in India will also be considered (just half time though). But in his case, he had a clear commitment in the form of letter from his German employer that he is required to work in India for 3 years and the letter had clear date of return to Germany. He was not even asked to take DE EG.

4. What kind of visa does the spouse get if i get work permit? My wife works in germany from 3.5 years.
Your wife will get a Swiss dependent visa. But I am not sure what will be the impact on her work visa in Germany. Will she quit job in Germany and move to Swiss?

Not sure about your Q5.

I am asking my employer to keep me in German payroll so that I get paid in Germany and I can retain my German house. I will only do a Monday to Friday (or Thursday) kind of job in Swiss. My company has not come back to me on this as this is not a cost effective solution for the company.

Good luck. If you need further info, feel free to write to vebalu@yahoo.com

Cheers !
B
PS: The lady in the foriegn office told me on a personal note that if you are interested in Citizenship, not to apply for DE EG because the authorities may suspect your intention of taking German passport and settling down in other country. This may not be in the rule book but this is just a tip she passed on to me.

@perfect

Thanks for sharing the concern. I am also worried for that aspect.

@vebalu
Thank you very much for your answers. It is good to hear from someone who is also in the same situation as mine.

I will inquire with my prospective company if a german contract is a possibility. But i m certain that they will not give. I have to really weigh if benefit of shifting to swiss is worth the risk of putting german DE EG& then citizenship at risk.

One more question: can one live in EU countries for 5 years and still return to Germany with DE EG? as far as I know the limit is for 1 year. I might be mistaken here because there is specific time limit for which one can stay out side germany and within EU and another limit for time spent out side EU to maintain DE EG.
thanks.

@vebalu

kindly keep me updated as your matter progresses. It is difficult decision to make and would be helpful if you will share your experience.

@hcg517

I just forgot to mention on that tax issue. You'll end up paying two taxes, in case if you live in Germany and work in Switzerland. Your earnings will be eaten up in between. Keep in mind that the salary scales are quite different as living cost is very expensive. Eg : 1.10 EUR chips cost 7.99 Sfr. in Switzerland. Sorry, i'm not trying to scare you. But suggesting to get to know when you deal your salary scale over there.

Not quite sure about two taxes if you live in Germany and work in Switzerland - I think it's only "Quellensteuer" that will be deducted besides german taxes and can be claimed back at the end of the year.