Relocating from UK to Switzerland

Hi All,

New to this forum (and forums generally) and after a bit of advice. Hopefully this is the right place to post

Looking to relocate from the UK to Switzerland (or Southern Germany).

33 years old, no dependants, have a masters degree and currently work as an Architect in the UK. Completed my B1 in German last year at the Goethe Institute.

Having done some research online looks like as an English national getting working visa can be little tricky post Brexit (is that right).

Would be good to continue working in the design/ architecture/ draftsman side of things but open minded and realistic when it comes to to my language ability and relocating. Open to taking any jobs initially to get established and and earn some money. What are the prospects of getting a job before relocating ? or am i best off renting a room and moving out there then trying to get some initial employment lined up ? Also how difficult might it be to get a working visa ? Especially if i'm not using my qualifications/ working in my industry is it going to be a bit of an uphill battle if i'm just working any old job.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Tombo

Hi Tombo, I don't have an answer to your question, but you may wish to be aware that the English Forum Switzerland is currently bifurcated, some folks are here on this forum, and some are found here: https://swissforum.co.uk/

There's a large group of people on both forums, but the other is more active.

You might wish to ask over there as well.

Not going to be easy because any Swiss employer has to prove they can't find a Swiss/EU national to do the job; you can't apply for a permit yourself being a non-EU national. Here is more info on what employers and you need to have. There's no way you would get a job outside your field of expertise and maybe getting one in it will be difficult.

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/nicht-eu_efta-angehoerige/grundlagen_zur_arbeitsmarktzulassung.html

I wouldn't advise moving here before you have confirmation that your Swiss permit has been approved by the authorities. Keep job hunting from abroad.

Thanks Medea, that was unfortunately the feeling i was getting from my research but wanted to get a little more insight