Hello all,

My question: has anyone successfully applied for a Student Visa (Visa D), inside Geneva, from a tourist visa or regroupement familial?

To explain my case:

I am a non-EU married to a non-EU. 

Long story short, I came to Switzerland (where I lived before), on a tourist visa. My wife has a B permit pour formation.

Shortly before my tourist visa expired, I applied for a regroupement familial, early June. The authorities said it can take 4 to 6 months, because I applied directly from Geneva, so for them, it is not a priority.

So right now, my permit is only the attestation that I have applied for the RF

Meanwhile, I have been accepted in a PhD, and I could work in Geneva or in the another canton. However, this other canton has said that, because I still don't have a permit, only an attestation, they will deny my permis de sejour request. I would need to go back to my country to ask for a Visa D.

I am thinking on asking Geneva if I can apply from inside. However, I am afraid they might say no or it might take a while and I could lose the Phd. 

This is why I am interesting in learning if someone has been in a similar situation