Losing a B or C permit

The cantonal migration office can revoke a B or L permit under Art. 62 FNIA, and a C permit under Art. 63 FNIA, but only on grounds set by law, such as a long prison sentence, false statements or dependence on social assistance. Even then, revocation is never automatic: the office must weigh your situation and act proportionately (Art. 96 FNIA). If you receive a revocation ruling, you have 30 days from receipt to appeal, and that deadline cannot be extended.

In short

• Revocation is not the same as non-renewal, removal or criminal expulsion. Each has its own legal basis and procedure.
• B and L permits can be revoked for false statements, a long custodial sentence, serious breaches of public order, breach of a condition, or social assistance (Art. 62 para. 1 FNIA).
• C permits are better protected: social assistance must be permanent and significant (Art. 63 para. 1 let. c FNIA), and a C permit can also be downgraded to a B permit (Art. 63 para. 2 FNIA).
• Proportionality decides: the office must weigh the seriousness of the ground against your length of stay, family, integration and chances of return.
• Appeal within 30 days of receiving the ruling. Get a lawyer immediately and apply for free legal aid if you cannot pay.

Four different things

The Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20) distinguishes:

• Non-renewal of a B permit: the permit runs out and is not renewed. No revocation ground is needed, but the normal conditions for the permit must still be met.
• Revocation of a B or C permit (Art. 62 and 63 FNIA): the office actively cancels a valid permit on a legal ground.
• Removal (Art. 64 ff. FNIA): an order to leave Switzerland. It usually follows a revocation or an unlawful stay.
• Criminal expulsion (Art. 66a and 66abis of the Swiss Criminal Code, SCC, SR 311.0): a penalty ordered by a criminal court after a conviction, which the cantonal migration office and the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) only enforce.

This page covers revocation under Art. 62 and 63 FNIA, and criminal expulsion only where they overlap.

Revoking a B or L permit: Art. 62 FNIA

The office may revoke, but does not have to. It must use its discretion proportionately (Art. 96 FNIA). The grounds in Art. 62 para. 1 FNIA are:

• let. a: you made false statements or hid important facts in the permit procedure;
• let. b: you received a long custodial sentence, or a criminal measure under Art. 59-61 or 64 SCC was ordered;
• let. c: you seriously violated or endangered public security and order in Switzerland or abroad, or endangered internal or external security;
• let. d: you did not comply with a condition attached to your permit;
• let. e: you, or someone you must support, depend on social assistance;
• let. g: you did not comply with an integration agreement (Art. 58b FNIA) without good reason.

In practice, social assistance (let. e) and criminal convictions (let. b) come up most often. False statements (let. a) usually concern things said in the original procedure, such as marital status, previous convictions or where you really live. Security grounds (let. c) arise from information from security authorities such as fedpol or the Federal Intelligence Service, and are applied strictly.

Under Art. 62 para. 2 FNIA, a permit may not be revoked solely because of an offence for which a criminal court already imposed a penalty or measure but decided against expulsion.

The old protection after 15 years of uninterrupted residence (former Art. 63 para. 2 FNIA) was repealed with effect from 01.01.2019 and no longer applies to procedures opened after that date. The text is on Fedlex: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2007/758/de#art_62.

Revoking a C permit: Art. 63 FNIA

The C permit is better protected. The grounds in Art. 63 para. 1 FNIA are:

• let. a: false statements or a long custodial sentence or criminal measure, as in Art. 62 para. 1 let. a or b FNIA;
• let. b: you seriously violated or endangered public security and order, or endangered internal or external security;
• let. c: you, or someone you must support, depend on social assistance permanently and to a significant extent;
• let. d: you obtained naturalisation fraudulently, or it was annulled with final effect under Art. 36 of the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0).

Under Art. 63 para. 2 FNIA, a C permit can be revoked and replaced by a B permit if you do not meet the integration criteria of Art. 58a FNIA. Under Art. 63 para. 3 FNIA, it cannot be revoked solely because of an offence for which the criminal court decided against expulsion. The text is on Fedlex: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2007/758/de#art_63.

The key differences from a B permit: social assistance must be permanent and significant, not just current, and breaching a condition (Art. 62 para. 1 let. d FNIA) is not on its own a ground for revoking a C permit. The Federal Supreme Court also gives C holders extra protection through proportionality (Art. 96 FNIA) and the right to private and family life (Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, ECHR, SR 0.101).

Proportionality: Art. 96 FNIA

The authority must weigh the public interest against your personal situation and integration. A revocation ground never leads to revocation automatically. The Federal Supreme Court typically weighs:

• how serious the ground is (length of sentence, amount and duration of social assistance, gravity of the security breach);
• how long you have been in Switzerland;
• your family and personal situation, especially under Art. 8 ECHR;
• your integration: language, work, social ties, conduct;
• whether you can realistically return to your country of origin;
• your conduct since, for example rehabilitation after a conviction.

The Federal Supreme Court's decisions are published at https://www.bger.ch. See also the C settlement permit.

Social assistance as a ground

Social assistance is one of the most common grounds.

• B permit (Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA): receiving social assistance in principle meets the ground, but not every case leads to revocation. The office considers how long, how much, why, and whether you can become self-sufficient.
• C permit (Art. 63 para. 1 let. c FNIA): dependence must be permanent and significant. Temporary help is not enough.

Practice varies between cantons and sometimes between municipalities; the practice of your cantonal migration office and the case law decide. For debts and debt enforcement, see debt enforcement and the right of residence.

Not everything counts as social assistance. Supplementary benefits to old-age and disability insurance (OASI/IV), disability pensions, unemployment benefits and health insurance premium reductions do not count and do not lead to revocation.

Criminal convictions as a ground

A long custodial sentence is a ground for revoking a B permit (Art. 62 para. 1 let. b FNIA) and, through Art. 63 para. 1 let. a FNIA, a C permit. The Federal Supreme Court treats a sentence of more than one year as long, whether suspended, partly suspended or not. Several shorter sentences may in principle not be added together. Criminal measures under Art. 59-61 or 64 SCC (inpatient therapy, indefinite incarceration) count regardless of sentence length.

Criminal expulsion (Art. 66a SCC)

Since 01.10.2016, criminal courts can also expel foreign nationals. This is a criminal sanction, not a decision of the migration office.

• Mandatory expulsion (Art. 66a SCC): for listed offences, such as murder, intentional homicide, serious bodily harm, aggravated robbery, serious sexual offences, aggravated social insurance or social assistance fraud, aggravated money laundering and some drug offences, the court orders expulsion for 5 to 15 years, whatever the sentence.
• Hardship clause (Art. 66a para. 2 SCC): the court may exceptionally refrain if expulsion would cause serious personal hardship and the public interest does not outweigh your interest in staying.
• Non-mandatory expulsion (Art. 66abis SCC): for other offences, the court may order expulsion for 3 to 15 years.

If you face criminal proceedings, you need a criminal defence lawyer, ideally working with an immigration lawyer.

How the procedure works

1. Notice of investigation. The office learns of a possible ground, for example from a criminal judgment, a social assistance report from the municipality or its own inquiries, and opens a procedure.
2. Your statement. You have the right to be heard and can comment on the facts and the planned measure, usually within 14 to 30 days. This is crucial: a missing or weak statement can make a later appeal much harder.
3. Ruling. If the office confirms the ground, it issues a ruling with the revocation, a removal order and departure deadline, possibly an entry ban (Art. 67 FNIA, a separate SEM procedure), and instructions on appeal (30 days from receipt).
4. Cantonal appeal to the cantonal administrative court or appeals commission, within 30 days of receipt. The deadline cannot be extended. If you miss it, the ruling becomes final. The appeal usually has suspensive effect, though this can be refused.
5. Federal Administrative Court in some cases, especially against SEM rulings on entry bans (Federal Administrative Court Act, SR 173.32, with the Administrative Procedure Act, APA, SR 172.021). Deadline: 30 days.
6. Federal Supreme Court against last-instance cantonal decisions or Federal Administrative Court decisions, under narrow conditions (Federal Supreme Court Act, FSCA, SR 173.110). In many discretionary immigration cases the appeal in public-law matters is excluded (Art. 83 let. c FSCA), leaving only the subsidiary constitutional appeal (Art. 113 ff. FSCA). If you have a legal right to the permit, the ordinary appeal is usually available. Deadline: 30 days.

Which court is competent depends on which authority issued the ruling and whether you have a legal right to the permit.

Typical durations: notice to ruling 3 to 12 months (often longer for social assistance cases); cantonal appeal 6 to 18 months; Federal Administrative Court 12 to 24 months; Federal Supreme Court 4 to 12 months.

During appeals, removal is usually suspended, but the permit still counts as revoked, which leaves you in an uncertain position. You can in principle keep working if your original permit allowed it and suspensive effect has not been withdrawn; cantons handle this differently.

Removal and obstacles to it

Revocation cancels the permit; removal is the order to leave. Removal usually follows revocation but can also happen without a prior permit, for example after an unlawful stay. The cantonal migration office and cantonal police enforce it, with the SEM and the Federal Police in special cases.

A removal cannot be enforced (Art. 83-88 FNIA) if it is:

• not reasonable, for example because of concrete danger, your medical situation or the general situation in your country;
• not permissible, for example under the ban on returning someone to torture (Art. 3 ECHR) or refoulement (Art. 33 of the Geneva Refugee Convention, GRC, SR 0.142.30);
• not possible, for example because your country refuses readmission or there are no travel documents.

If an obstacle is established, the SEM grants provisional admission. See provisional admission (F permit).

Refugees with a B permit

Recognised refugees first receive a B permit. Refugee status can be withdrawn (Art. 63 of the Asylum Act, AsylA, SR 142.31) under Art. 1 section C no. 1-6 GRC, for example if you voluntarily place yourself under your home country's protection again or the reasons for persecution no longer exist. This is a separate step from revoking the permit. Only after refugee status is withdrawn (or if it was never recognised) does the office consider revoking the permit under Art. 62 FNIA. The ban on refoulement (Art. 33 GRC) still prevents removal to a country where you risk persecution. See recognised refugees in Switzerland.

Ending an F permit

Provisional admission (F permit) can end if the obstacles to removal disappear (for example the situation in your country changes), if a ground under Art. 84 FNIA or the provisional admission rules (Art. 83 ff. FNIA) applies, or if you voluntarily return home or get a passport from your home country in a way that questions your need for protection.

Entry bans: Art. 67 FNIA

A revocation may be combined with an entry ban, which the SEM (not the canton) imposes.

• Duration: limited in time; longer for serious threats to public security and order, and unlimited in especially serious cases (Art. 67 FNIA).
• Schengen-wide: the ban can be entered in the Schengen Information System (SIS), barring entry to all Schengen states.
• After the ban ends, you must apply for a new permit under the normal rules (Art. 18 ff. FNIA for third-country nationals, or the AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681, for EU/EFTA nationals).
• Early lifting: the SEM can lift a ban early if circumstances change (Art. 67 para. 5 FNIA).
• Short visits: in hardship cases, such as visiting your children or a relative's medical emergency, the SEM may suspend the ban once. You must apply in advance; there is no right to it.

Hardship application after revocation

Once a revocation is final, you can still apply for a new permit as a serious personal hardship case (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA). The bar is high and the earlier revocation counts. It is most relevant where facts have changed significantly (a new medical situation, proven rehabilitation over time), for children who grew up here, and for victims of human trafficking (Art. 30 para. 1 let. e FNIA). See the hardship provision under Art. 30 FNIA.

Appealing: practical points

• Deadline: 30 days from receipt of the registered ruling, not from its date. It cannot be extended. If you are away or do not collect your post, you may miss it.
• Form: a written, dated, signed appeal with requests and reasons, under cantonal procedural law or, federally, the APA (SR 172.021).
• Free legal aid: if you cannot afford the costs, you can ask for exemption from costs and a free lawyer (Art. 65 APA or the cantonal equivalent), as long as the appeal is not hopeless.
• Suspensive effect: removal usually cannot be enforced during the appeal. If suspensive effect is withdrawn (Art. 55 APA), apply separately to restore it.
• Reasons: you must engage properly with the ruling, especially its proportionality assessment (Art. 96 FNIA). Formulaic appeals usually fail.

A lawyer registered in the cantonal bar register is strongly recommended: the proportionality assessment is complex, the deadlines are strict and the consequences of a final removal cannot be undone.

If you have just received a ruling

1. Note the date you received it. The 30 days start then.
2. Contact an immigration lawyer registered in the cantonal bar register. If you cannot pay, apply for free legal aid.
3. Get support:
   • 143, Die Dargebotene Hand: 24 hours, several languages, free and anonymous.
   • Caritas Switzerland: advice centres in every canton, several languages.
   • HEKS: legal and social advice for migrants.
   • Swiss Refugee Council (OSAR): asylum and refugee cases, through regional legal advice centres.
4. Keep everything: all letters, envelopes with postmarks, and earlier rulings.

See also your permit is about to expire.

Related pages

• The B residence permit
• FNIA and OASA terminology glossary