A nasty surprise

Since I've been back in New York, I've been busily looking into moving-related issues - getting quotes, figuring out how to sublet my apartment, etc. Until today, when it occured to me to double-check Swiss residence requirements. And boy, was a nasty surprise waiting for me.

I'd assumed that Switzerland's requirements for residence permits would be similar to Germany's: show that you can support yourself, and you're good to stay (though not necessarily to work). Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong. To get a residency permit, one should:

1. Be at least 60 years old and very, very wealthy. (I'm guessing on the private banking level, not merely "mass affluent.") Or
   
2. Marry a Swiss national or someone else with a Class-C permanent residence permit. Then one is courteously exempted from the foreigner quota restrictions, though one can still be denied permission to live. Or
   
3. Get a job, apply for a Class-B temporary residence permit from one's home country, and pray. Or
   
4. Invest lots of money into a Swiss business, or into starting up a Swiss business.
   

Damn. Not married, not old, and not feeling very entrepreneurial. I guess I have to land a job. This could take a while. As the website of the Swiss embassy in Washington states:

"The very restrictive immigration policy of the Swiss Government has made it extremely difficult to obtain residence permits for employment. As a rule, only individuals who have been offered jobs which cannot be filled by Swiss nationals have a chance of obtaining residence permits." (emphasis added)

They might as well have said, "Americans, don't bother." Even better, it's recently gotten even more difficult to get a job, because due to a treaty with the EU, that bit about "Swiss nationals" has been changed to "Swiss or EU nationals." What's more, it takes 6-8 weeks to process an application once it's submitted. And did I mention that each canton has a quota for foreign residents?

It could be a long, long time before I get to move in with Swissy Pie.

WAHHHHH.

Now what?

I could go there without a job, but I can only live there for 3 months at a time, 6 months out of the year, with at least 1 month in between exits and re-entries. After the first month of each visit, I have to register with the police. This sucks, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

Tomorrow I'll call the Swiss consulate to make sure I understand this all correctly. And then I guess I'll start applying as fast as my little fingers can type.