For those who want to live and work in the Switzerland, a residence permit is mandatory. Short stays up to 3 months and also stays of non-employed persons up to 3 months, are valid as free of approval. Under certain circumstances, mostly depending on the country of origin of the concerning person, a registration at the cantonal job market authority is needed.
Essentially one distinguishes between the residency L (short < 1 year), B (up to 5 years, renewable) and the residence permit C (unlimited).
The criteria for the photo in the identity card depends on the kind of the residence permit. For a biometric residence permit a biometric passport photo is needed, whereas a traditional Swiss passport photo (35 mm x 45 mm) is sufficient for a non-biometric residence permit which may not be older than one year. Best of all, one orientates himself at the Federal photograph sample and templates table for biometric passport photos – in this case one can be sure.
