Hi,



I feel for you. we had exactly the same problem. Every lawyer we spoke to said I should leave the country on their demand, so I did, which created 10 times more trouble. Afterwards the OCP people said "well, it's your problem, why did you leave the country?"

Advice: whatever you do, don't leave the country, even if they have officially asked you to do so. apply from here and try to get in touch with the person at OCP who is treating your file.



And good luck!



[quote]Hello,



I'm American and recently got married (08.08.08) to a Swiss citizen. Instead of having a nice honeymoon we spent the day in the visa office. They informed us that the local government (who preformed the ceremony) should have made me return to the US and get an . Because I didn't have the visa they will not allow me to obtain a B permit and I must return to the U.S. and apply for a . I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is any way to get around this. We have been told different things by every person we speak to at the government offices. If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it. This isn't how we expected to spend our honeymoon that's for sure.[/quote]
Druid, Aug 21, 2008 @ 14:59

The permit process seemed to take about 5-6 months to get approval to (marry and) live in CH. 

I did not see a way around their bureaucracy.  Maybe talk to someone about the family reunification law and whether it applies to you so you can stay and apply in CH?

Otherwise tourist visas only last for 3 months...maybe things move faster if you are applying within CH?
lilys, Aug 25, 2008 @ 19:20

from my experience, if you fill out the paperwork and send it in then wait it will probably be ok. as an american you dont need a visa. they dont stamp american passports so they would never know if you came or left to begin with. 3 months is the supposed to be the limit but it doesnt mean you have to go back to the US to restart it, go to france for the weekend (not sure if you have to stay away for a certain amount of nights). or just say you went to france, who would know? after you send in your application the permit people will eventually start sending you letters asking for this or that or whatever. it will take like 6 months but its really doubtful they are going to make any effort to make you leave since you married a swiss. your only real problem would be if you wanted to work in the meantime, which you couldnt legally.



also from my experience its better to never go and talk to them, they will all give you their own (usually wrong) version of how things are to be done. do it all by mail. even if you fill out the paperwork wrong or forget something, they will just mail you asking for whatever it is missing. but if they put it in writing you can be more assured what they write is actually the legal correct way. nobody is going to hunt you down to kick you out.



if you need to speed it up because you want to work though or are having more problems with it I can recommed a good permit lawyer, but he's not cheap, so i'd just recommend trying it yourself.



also, congratulations!

floydmarks, Aug 25, 2008 @ 21:58

Thanks everyone for your replies. After many phone calls and going to the office several times we finally found someone who knew what he was talking about. It seems with just a minimal amount of paperwork I will have my permit and I don't need to return to the U.S. for it. So if anyone else finds themselves in this situation my advice would be to return to the office everyday of you have to until you find someone that will answer your questions and actually give you the correct paperwork. :)
Brit_1565, Aug 28, 2008 @ 11:17

Hi I am also in quite a similar situation, so can you please help!

1) If you have a contact of a good permit lawyer, please write back!

2) If you can give me the name of the exact person I should go and talk at the OCP, I would be REALLY REALLY grateful?

Thanks alot!
sameamon, Oct 17, 2008 @ 15:48

Don't go back whatever you do. Just keep talking to people at the Office of B permits. We finally got someone on the 5th try that helped us. If you are married to a swiss citizen you have the legal right to a B permit no matter what they may tell you.
Brit_1565, Oct 20, 2008 @ 21:51

I believe the stamp in your passport is your visa right? So no need to go all the way back. Just get the cheapest easyjet flight within europe and get the stamp and you fly back. Wont get you a permit but atleast some time to obtain one.
ThomasNL, Oct 20, 2008 @ 22:07