I did the same move a couple of years ago.

Given that your residence will not change, you do not need to update your B permit. Also, you pay taxes in the place where you live, therefore also to this extent nothing will change. Your employer will know your address and you will be taxed at source accordingly.

I was under the impression that I required a work permit as opposed to a resident permit before I could begin working, and that there would be forms which the employer in Lausanne would be required to complete.

At the time I asked the Office Cantonal de la Population, both in Lausanne and Geneva for this info. As long as your employer knows where you live, you have no other formalities to undertake. Usually when they say work permit they mean residence permit, they are the same thing.

A B permit is a work permit, you won't have to change/get anything additional

Thank you both... what I find confusing is that it states clearly on the permit the following:

Autorisation de séjour valable pour toute la suisse jusqu'au 22.04.2013

& 

But de séjour: sans activite lucrative

Am I misunderstanding something? If it is indeed a valid work permit, how would I proceed when I need to renew?

I appreciate your patience...

There is no such thing as a "work permit". You do not request authorization from a country to "work" there but to live there hence it's called a residence permit. Some B permits are restricted to the canton that issued it, but it looks that it's not your case. A few months before yor current permit expires you will receive a form to extend it. If say two months before the date you haven't received the form, be proactive and give them a call. That's it.

The Swiss administration has extensive information in English about  the type of permits....

http://www.bfm.admin.ch/bfm/en/home/themen/aufenthalt/eu_efta/ausweis_b_eu_efta.html

http://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/bfm/en/home/themen/fza_schweiz-eu-efta/eu-efta_buerger_schweiz.html

Geneve - links in French - you need to request the prolongation of your permit 2 months before it expires. Links with the relevant formula. I assume your HR will also be able to help you, should you have any difficulty in filling in a form in French.

http://www.ge.ch/sec/

http://www.ge.ch/etrangers-confederes/fr/sejour/welcome.asp?rubrique=renouvellement-titre-sejour-ue-aele

http://www.ge.ch/etrangers-confederes/fr/doc/ue4-1-formulaire-ue.pdf

PS. google: permit B, Swiss and you find loads of information on-line....

That "sans activite lucrative" may be a problem. You want to clarify that with he Office de la Population.

When you first got your permit, were you working?

ie did you complete the application and have to hand in a copy of your work contract?

If yes... and as a EU CE B permit holder and if your previous employer paid your taxes at source ...then you have full work and residential mobility rights within Switzerland.

If NO, and this is your first job, (ie you are a trailing spouse and were issued a permit based on your wife/partners job) you will need to go to the office de population and have your permit changed from pure residential to allow you to work.

its a formality... thats all.

as for renewal... you will be sent a letter by the OdP and you complete it... after 5 years continual residence and work and as a UK citizen its very likely you will automatically be issued with a C permit.

In any case the 5 year B permit for your nationality gives you pretty much the same rights as a Swiss citizen in terms of property purchase allowance (should you wish) and decision as to where you live.(canton, commune etc) and mobility rights for work.

Yeah - I wonder how this happened. 

They are not supposed to put such a restriction into his B permit if he arrived to work here officially....

Thanks all... in response to Charlie's question, this would be my first job in Switzerland (ie I'm a trailing spouse)... 

I wasn't working at the time my permit was issued.

I received my permit in December last year, having first applied in June last year.

ahh ok ...Your firm will (should) help with the permit conversion... you'll need the offer of employment and contract copy... take these to the OdP and fill out the forms.

Once you have the permission to work (ie NO "sans activite lucrative" on your permit ) you can start.

The length of time it took to issue the original  permit doesnt mean anything except beaurocratic backlog... dont sweat it. There are entitlement rules...its formailites.

Your company will probably have to proove however that youre better for that position and someone with a current right to work... but its their headache, not yours.

than someone with current right to work.... not "and"..apologies

Thanks, Charlie... That makes alot more sense... 

hi Michael,

i live in Lausanne and I work in geneva.

I would like to suggest you to think about the possibility to move in Lausanne for living. Lausanne is less expensive than Geneva (e.g. cheaper flat, etc)... why not? :-) i can confirm that lausanne is a very nice city !

have a good evening... cheers mattia