It’s one of the most frequently asked questions in the group. You’ve been here for a while, you’ve got a job, you’ve got a flat, and you want your partner, your children, or both, to come and live with you. The short answer: it depends on your type of residence permit, your nationality, the canton, and whether you meet a series of non-negotiable conditions. Let’s start with the most common scenarios.
If you are an EU or EFTA citizen – which is the case for the vast majority of Spaniards in Switzerland – you can bring your spouse and children under the age of 21 on a B permit, provided you have a flat large enough to accommodate them and are not receiving social security benefits. In practice, ‘large enough’ means roughly one room per person: for a couple with two children, you need at least three rooms. The canton may interpret this with some flexibility, but this is the benchmark used. If you hold a C permit, the right to family reunification is more extensive and is recognised automatically.
There is a time limit that many people are unaware of until it is too late: if you wish to bring over children aged 12 or over, you have just one year from the date you were granted your first residence permit in Switzerland to apply for family reunification. For children under 12, this time limit is five years. Once that time has passed, the application may be rejected by the cantonal authorities. It is not a process that can be put off indefinitely whilst waiting for your situation to stabilise. There are families who have missed this window of opportunity because nobody informed them in time.
If your partner does not speak the language of the region where you live to at least a basic level of listening comprehension (level A1 according to the Common European Framework), they will need to provide proof that they are enrolled on a language course. Without this documentation, the process becomes more complicated. The documents required include a marriage certificate or equivalent recognised by Switzerland, proof of parentage for any children, valid identity documents, and, where applicable, an entry visa. All of this is applied for at the cantonal migration office, which varies depending on the canton. The process takes time, so the sooner you start, the better.