SRC Family Reunification Service

Family reunification in Switzerland

In Switzerland, people without Swiss citizenship or who are not EU/EFTA nationals, are called third-party nationals. In the case of third-party nationals, family reunification is only possible for the following people:

• underage children
• spouse
• registered partner

For underage children, it is important for the application for family reunification to be submitted before their 18th birthday. Other family members can only be brought to Switzerland under the family reunification rules under extremely exceptional circumstances, such as if they are very dependent on you.

You can find more information about family reunification for third-party nationals at

ch.ch.
Under normal circumstances, once a person has completed the asylum procedure in Switzerland, it is the legal advice centre of the canton of residence that is responsible for providing advice on family reunification. The Swiss Refugee Council (SFH) maintains a

list of legal advice centres.

An advice centre for special cases

The SRC provides advice about family reunification in special and complex cases. We can help in the following circumstances:

• Reverse family reunification (children who would like to bring their parents to Switzerland)
• Family reunification involving siblings
• Family reunification involving persons who do not fall within the strict definition of ‘immediate family’ but for whom there is a special dependent relationship.
• Subsequent family reunification (after the time limit has passed)
• Family reunification involving ‘working poor’
• Family reunification involving particular social benefit circumstances

Cases in which the SRC cannot provide support

There are various circumstances in which the SRC family reunification service cannot provide advice or support:

• Travel costs
• Lawyer’s fees
• Family reunification for persons without legal residential status (sans-papiers)
• Persons under the Dublin system or currently undergoing the asylum procedure
• Family reunification by people who have never undergone an asylum procedure, e.g. people with an EU/EFTA residence permit.