Swiss immigration law

Residence permits, family reunification, expulsion, naturalisation

Version française

The residence of foreign nationals in Switzerland is governed primarily by the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA/LEI), for nationals of third States, and by the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) between Switzerland and the European Union, for EU/EFTA nationals. Swiss citizenship is governed by the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA/LN). Asylum law (AsylA) is a distinct field, not covered on this page.

In the canton of Geneva, the first-line authority is the Cantonal Office for Population and Migration (new tab) (OCPM, in French Office cantonal de la population et des migrations). For many decisions concerning third-country nationals (in particular the initial issue of a permit), an approval from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM (new tab)) in Bern is required. Cantonal decisions may be challenged before the Administrative Court of First Instance (TAPI), then before the Administrative Chamber of the Court of Justice and, in certain cases, the Federal Supreme Court.

Given the importance of the stakes (loss of right of residence, family separation, ban on entry), it is recommended to consult a lawyer without delay, ideally before filing a complex application or upon notification of an unfavourable decision.

The main permits

• L permit (short-term): for limited stays, generally up to 12 months (renewable once). Tied to a specific purpose (temporary employment, secondment, short studies).
• B permit (residence permit): renewable title. Issued for long-term stays: employment contract, family reunification, studies, retirement (under conditions). It is generally valid for 5 years for EU/EFTA nationals (one year, renewable, for students). For third-country nationals, the first permit is in principle valid for one year and may then be extended for two years at a time.
• C permit (settlement permit): title of unlimited duration. As a rule, it is granted after 10 years of residence, provided the person is well integrated. This period is 5 years for nationals of the following States, under a settlement agreement or administrative practice: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vatican City. Others, including nationals of the States that joined the EU from 2004 onwards, may obtain it early after 5 years if they are well integrated and have a good command of the national language spoken locally (art. 34 para. 4 FNIA). The C permit provides significant stability and facilitates day-to-day life (housing, employment, banking).
• G permit (cross-border commuter): for persons living abroad who work in Switzerland and return home at least once a week. EU/EFTA nationals may live in any EU/EFTA State and work anywhere in Switzerland. Third-country nationals must hold a permanent right of residence in a neighbouring State, have lived in the neighbouring border zone for at least six months and work in the Swiss border zone (art. 25 FNIA).
• Ci, F, S, N permits: special titles (family members of international officials, provisional admission, temporary protection, asylum seeker). They are subject to their own regimes, distinct from the present overview.

How to obtain a permit: main routes

• Employment: for an EU/EFTA national, an employment contract generally opens the right to a B permit (or L for short missions). For a third-country national, the authorisation is subject to quotas, an examination of the economic interest and the priority of resident workers: the procedure is significantly more restrictive and the employer plays a central role.
• Family reunification: see the Family reunification chapter for the conditions and deadlines that apply to spouses and children.
• Studies: a B permit for studies may be issued to a person admitted by an educational institution, provided they have suitable accommodation and the necessary financial means, as well as the required level of education and personal qualifications (art. 27 para. 1 FNIA). A study stay is temporary: to remain in Switzerland after the training, the general admission requirements must be met, e.g. for employment (art. 27 para. 3 FNIA); graduates of a Swiss higher education institution have six months to look for a job (art. 21 para. 3 FNIA). The conditions are more flexible for EU/EFTA nationals.
• Retirement, residence without gainful activity: for a third-country national, possible from the age of 55, provided the person has the necessary financial means and particular personal ties with Switzerland, e.g. previous stays or close relatives in Switzerland (art. 28 FNIA and 25 OASA); no gainful activity is then permitted. An EU/EFTA national without gainful activity only needs sufficient financial means and health insurance, with no age requirement.
• Hardship case: exceptionally, the authority may issue a B permit in case of an extremely serious personal situation (length of stay, integration, family situation, consequences of return). Careful argumentation is essential.

Permit renewal

The renewal application must in principle be filed before the expiry of the permit. If filed in time, you remain in compliance during the review, even if the new card has not yet been issued: a provisional certificate may be obtained from the OCPM (new tab). Renewal is not automatic: it presupposes that the conditions for granting the permit are still met (e.g. employment, resources, integration, no prolonged dependence on social welfare).

Who can be reunited?

• Spouse and minor children of a Swiss citizen, a holder of a C permit or a B permit: reunification generally possible, under conditions.
• Spouse and minor children of an L permit holder: reunification more restrictive, given the temporary nature of the stay.
• Registered partnership: treated as marriage for family reunification purposes.
• Ascendants (parents, parents-in-law): as a rule, reserved for EU/EFTA nationals whose maintenance is guaranteed. For third-country nationals, family reunification of parents is in principle not possible.
• Cohabiting partners: no right of family reunification as such. A hardship permit may be considered in case of a long-lasting relationship combined with other particular circumstances.

Usual conditions

• Suitable accommodation: housing of a size adapted to the family.
• Sufficient financial resources: to provide for the family’s needs without recourse to social welfare.
• Effective shared life: the family community must be real and lasting; sham marriages are sanctioned.
• Integration: compliance with the legal order, language skills as expected depending on the case.

Deadlines to observe

The family reunification application must be filed within strict deadlines from the time the family member already in Switzerland obtained his or her permit, or from birth/marriage:

• 5 years for the spouse and children under 12;
• 12 months for children aged 12 or over.

Outside these deadlines, reunification is admitted only on major family grounds (e.g. death of the parent remaining abroad, demonstrated inability to provide care), interpreted restrictively. Acting early is therefore preferable.

Dissolution of the union and continued residence

In case of separation or divorce, the foreign spouse may, in some circumstances, retain the permit on his or her own account: if cohabitation in Switzerland lasted at least 3 years and integration is successful, or in case of major personal reasons (e.g. domestic violence suffered by the spouse or a child, forced marriage, seriously compromised social reintegration in the country of origin). Since 1 January 2025, art. 50 FNIA extends this right to the family of a B or L permit holder or of a provisionally admitted person, and lists the evidence of violence that the authorities must take into account (e.g. recognition as a victim by a victim support centre, medical or police reports, criminal complaints, protective measures). This sensitive analysis must be anticipated: it is useful to address it before separation where possible.

Appeal deadline: 30 days

The appeal deadline is generally 30 days from the notification of the decision. The appeal must be filed in writing, with reasons, signed, and accompanied by the contested decision and the relevant documents. A missed deadline is fatal: the decision becomes final and enforceable. It is therefore essential to act without delay upon receiving the decision.

Authorities in Geneva

• 1^st instance: Administrative Court of First Instance (new tab) (TAPI) – the appeal against the OCPM decision is brought before the TAPI within 30 days.
• 2^nd instance: Administrative Chamber of the Court of Justice (new tab) – an appeal may be lodged against the TAPI judgment within 30 days.
• Last instance: Federal Supreme Court (new tab) – an appeal in public-law matters may be filed within 30 days, but only where federal or international law confers a right to the permit (e.g. spouse of a Swiss citizen or of a C permit holder, art. 8 ECHR); otherwise (e.g. hardship cases), only a subsidiary constitutional appeal, on very limited grounds, is available (art. 83 let. c no. 2 and 113 FSCA).

Suspensive effect

An appeal in principle has automatic suspensive effect: while the procedure is pending, the contested decision cannot be enforced. If your permit has been revoked or not renewed, you may therefore, in principle, remain in Switzerland until the end of the procedure. This effect may, however, be withdrawn in some cases (e.g. public security at stake). If withdrawn, restitution can be requested on an urgent basis: action must then be taken within hours or days.

The situation is different for a first application: a person who entered Switzerland for a temporary stay (e.g. as a tourist) must in principle await the decision abroad, unless the OCPM allows them to stay because the admission requirements are clearly met (art. 17 FNIA). An appeal against a refusal does not give them the right to remain in Switzerland: only interim measures, granted restrictively, can allow this.

Frequently useful arguments

• Weighing of interests: length of stay, integration, professional situation, conduct, ties with Switzerland against the public interest in removal.
• Family life protected by art. 8 ECHR (new tab): respect for the right to family life precludes, in some cases, removal.
• Principle of proportionality: the measure taken by the authority must be necessary, suitable and proportionate to the purpose pursued.
• Error in the establishment of the facts: documents not taken into account, inaccurate facts, incomplete hearing.

Mandatory expulsion

The Criminal Code provides a catalogue of offences for which the judge must, in principle, order expulsion (notably: murder, grievous bodily harm, rape and other offences against sexual integrity, robbery, aggravated drug trafficking, certain serious social-insurance fraud, human trafficking). The duration is set between 5 and 15 years. If a person already subject to an expulsion order commits a new catalogue offence, the new expulsion is for 20 years, or even for life if that offence was committed while the first expulsion was still in effect (art. 66b SCC).

Non-mandatory expulsion

Outside the catalogue, the criminal judge may also order non-mandatory expulsion for any felony or misdemeanour for which a penalty, even a monetary one, or a measure under art. 59 to 61 or 64 SCC has been imposed (art. 66a^bis SCC). The duration ranges from 3 to 15 years. The decision is based on a proportionality assessment.

The hardship clause

The judge may refrain, exceptionally, from ordering expulsion when expulsion would place the foreign national in a serious personal situation and provided that the public interests in expulsion do not outweigh the private interest in remaining in Switzerland. Factors taken into account include:

• the length of stay in Switzerland (a foreign national born or raised in Switzerland enjoys particular protection);
• the family situation (couple’s life, children in Switzerland, link with custody and support);
• integration (employment, training, language, conduct);
• ties with the country of origin (language, family, possibility of reintegration);
• the consequences of return (medical, security).

The hardship clause is applied restrictively. Careful argumentation, supported by documents (certificates, medical certificates, evidence of integration, family situation, expert evidence on the conditions upon return), is essential: it is prepared during the investigation, not on the day of trial.

Interaction with the residence permit

Criminal expulsion entails the loss of the permit by operation of law: as soon as a mandatory expulsion becomes final, or as soon as a non-mandatory expulsion is enforced (art. 61 para. 1 let. e and f FNIA). It comes with an entry ban on Switzerland for the duration ordered. Where the criminal judge decides not to order expulsion, the OCPM may not revoke the permit solely on the basis of the offences so judged (art. 62 para. 2 and 63 para. 3 FNIA); it may, however, take other grounds into account, such as other convictions or dependence on social assistance.

Ordinary naturalisation

Main conditions:

• C permit (settlement permit) at the time of the application;
• 10 years of regular residence in Switzerland, including 3 years during the 5 years preceding the application. The years spent in Switzerland between the ages of 8 and 18 count double, but actual residence must have lasted at least 6 years (art. 9 para. 2 of the Swiss Citizenship Act);
• Successful integration: compliance with the legal order and constitutional values, participation in economic life or in education, encouragement and support for the family’s integration;
• Familiarity with Swiss living conditions (customs, geography, institutions);
• Language skills: as a rule, B1 oral and A2 written in a national language;
• no threat to public security, no prolonged dependence on social welfare during the last 3 years (unless reimbursed).

In addition to these federal conditions, requirements set by the canton (generally 2 to 5 years of residence in the canton) and the commune apply. In Geneva, the OCPM (new tab) (Service naturalisations) handles the file at cantonal level.

Facilitated naturalisation

This faster route is mainly aimed at:

• the foreign spouse of a Swiss citizen: as a rule, marriage of at least 3 years and 5 years of total residence in Switzerland, including 12 months immediately before the application; or, if domiciled abroad, 6 years of marriage with a Swiss national, with close ties to Switzerland;
• children of a Swiss parent who does not (or no longer) hold Swiss citizenship, under certain conditions;
• young foreign nationals of the 3^rd generation (with at least one grandparent born in Switzerland or who acquired a right of residence there), born in Switzerland and holding a C permit, under strict conditions (in particular 5 years of compulsory schooling in Switzerland, both for them and for one of their parents); the application must be filed before their 25^th birthday (art. 24a of the Swiss Citizenship Act).

The procedure is mainly federal (the SEM decides), with the canton and commune being consulted. Integration, compliance with the legal order and language requirements remain strict.

Procedure and timeframe

The overall timeframe for ordinary naturalisation is generally 1 to 3 years (variable depending on the canton, commune and complexity of the case). The applicant must in principle attend an interview and, in some communes, take a test (language, civics). A communal commission may interview the candidate.

Swiss citizenship is not a right: the authority enjoys a margin of appreciation. A refusal must, however, be reasoned and based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria. In Geneva, an appeal lies within 30 days directly to the Administrative Chamber of the Court of Justice (art. 5 para. 5 LDCG); for facilitated naturalisation, to the Federal Administrative Court and then the Federal Supreme Court. For ordinary naturalisation, only a subsidiary constitutional appeal is available to the Federal Supreme Court (art. 83 let. b and 113 FSCA).

Useful links

• Cantonal Office for Population and Migration (OCPM) – Geneva – permit applications and cantonal naturalisationWEB
• State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) – federal authority for migration and citizenshipWEB
• Administrative Court of First Instance (TAPI) – appeals against OCPM decisionsWEB
• Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA/LEI) – full text on FedlexWEB
• Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA/LN) – full text on FedlexWEB

M^e Jean-Philippe Anthonioz is available by appointment only.

If you would like further advice, please contact the secretariat of the firm by phone to arrange an appointment for a consultation at a flat rate. You can also reach the firm using the contact details below. You can also book an online appointment (new tab).

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