B permit or C permit: what is the difference?

A B permit lets you live in Switzerland for a specific purpose and has to be renewed. A C permit is permanent settlement: no renewal test, no tie to a canton or employer, and it is the step before citizenship. Most people start on a B and apply for a C once they have lived here long enough and can show they are integrated.

In short

• B permit: temporary residence for a purpose such as work, family or study. Valid for 1 year (third-country nationals) or 5 years (EU/EFTA with a contract of a year or more), renewed only if the conditions still hold.
• C permit: settlement with no end date. The card is replaced every 5 years, but the right to stay continues.
• When you can apply for a C: as a rule after 5 years of lawful, uninterrupted residence for EU/EFTA nationals and 10 years for third-country nationals, with an early route after 5 years for well-integrated applicants.
• The switch is not automatic. You apply to your cantonal migration office, with proof of language skills and integration.
• Only the C permit leads to ordinary naturalisation.

The B permit: residence for a purpose

The B permit is a temporary residence permit issued by the cantonal migration office (Art. 33 FNIA). It is tied to the reason you came: a job, joining family, or studying. In practice many people renew it for years before they move to a C.

How you get one depends on your passport:

• EU/EFTA nationals have a right to a B permit under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) if they have an employment contract of at least one year, or enough money to live on if they do not work.
• Third-country nationals need an admission decision (Art. 18, 19 and 21 FNIA). The employer usually has to show that no suitable worker from Switzerland or the EU/EFTA was available, and the Federal Council's annual quotas apply.
• Family members can receive a B permit through family reunification (Art. 42 to 47 FNIA), which comes with deadlines and a suitable-housing requirement.

What a B permit allows, and where it binds you

• Work: allowed. Third-country nationals are usually tied to the employer and canton on the permit, so a job change can need a new permit. EU/EFTA nationals can change jobs freely.
• Canton: the permit belongs to one canton. Moving to another canton means applying there (Art. 37 FNIA).
• Social assistance: you can receive it, but for third-country nationals it can block renewal and is a ground for revocation (Art. 62 FNIA).
• Renewal: never automatic. The canton checks that the original conditions still apply (Art. 33 FNIA). Processing times and document lists differ from canton to canton.

The C permit: settling for good

The C permit is the settlement permit. After Swiss citizenship, it is the most secure status a foreign national can hold (Art. 34 FNIA; Art. 60 and 62 OASA).

Who can get it

• EU/EFTA nationals: as a rule after five years of uninterrupted, lawful residence on a B permit. Nationals of some states may wait longer.
• Third-country nationals: as a rule after ten years. Time on an L or B permit counts; time on an F permit does not (Art. 34 para. 2 FNIA). Nationals of some states qualify after five years under settlement agreements.
• Everyone must show successful integration (Art. 58a FNIA): a national language (ordinary C: oral level A2, written level A1, Art. 60 para. 2 OASA; early C: oral level B1, written level A1, Art. 62 para. 1bis OASA), respect for public safety and order, respect for the values of the Federal Constitution, and taking part in economic life or education.

What changes when you hold a C

Day to day, you are close to a Swiss citizen. You cannot vote at federal level and you have no military or civilian service obligation, but:

• you can work for any employer, in any profession and any canton;
• you can move canton by registering with your new municipality, with no new permit;
• you can become self-employed without a separate permit;
• family reunification follows Art. 43 FNIA, which is more generous than for B holders;
• you meet the permit requirement for ordinary naturalisation (Art. 9, 11 and 12 SCA).

The C permit can still be lost. It is revoked only on serious grounds, such as serious offences or lasting, substantial dependence on social assistance (Art. 63 FNIA; Art. 62 FNIA covers the formal warning). It also expires if you actually live abroad for six months, unless you applied for an extension beforehand (Art. 61 FNIA).

Side by side

Moving from B to C

You have to apply; the C permit is never granted automatically. Most people apply a few months before they reach the required years.

1. Check the clock. Count your years of lawful, uninterrupted residence: five or ten depending on your nationality.
2. Check integration. Make sure you meet the Art. 58a FNIA criteria, above all the language level.
3. Gather documents. Usually a language certificate (for example fide), a debt-enforcement register extract, a criminal-records extract, and proof of work or financial independence. Your canton publishes its own list.
4. Apply to the cantonal migration office. Processing times vary.
5. Receive the decision. If it is positive, you get the biometric C permit card.

Early C permit. Third-country nationals can receive the C permit after five years instead of ten if they show successful integration (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA, detailed in Art. 62 para. 1bis OASA). The authority decides case by case.

Two practical points

• Long stays abroad. A C permit expires after six months actually spent abroad unless you asked for an extension first (Art. 61 FNIA). On a B permit, a long absence can put your renewal at risk.
• Health insurance after a move. Whatever your permit, you must take out Swiss health insurance within three months of arriving; cover applies back to your arrival date. Premiums and the official calculator are on priminfo.admin.ch.

For more detail, see the C settlement permit, family reunification and changing canton.