Behind every move to Geneva there is a letter: B, C, G, L, sometimes Ci. These categories are not mere administrative labels; they determine how long you may stay, your right to work, your family's mobility and, often, how your income will be taxed. For an international family arriving in the canton, understanding which permit matches its situation prevents a great deal of confusion. What follows is an overview of the main authorisations, with the official source for each point. Our role is not to advise on the substance of immigration law, but to coordinate the formalities with the authorities and, where needed, with the family's lawyers.
The foundation: EU/EFTA or third country
The first dividing line is not the letter of the permit but nationality. Nationals of EU member states benefit from the AFMP, and those of EFTA states from equivalent rules under the EFTA Convention, which ease access to residence and employment. Third-country nationals fall primarily under the FNIA and its ordinances, a more tightly framed regime. This distinction governs almost everything else: the conditions for granting a permit, labour-market priorities and the documents to assemble. The legal framework can be consulted on fedlex.admin.ch — FNIA and fedlex.admin.ch — AFMP.
The B permit: the residence authorisation
The B permit is the residence authorisation in the strict sense. It is issued for a fixed, renewable term and is the most common title for someone coming to live and work in Geneva over time. For EU/EFTA nationals it generally follows from an employment contract of sufficient duration or from independent means; for third-country nationals it sits within a more selective framework. The B permit fixes the canton of residence and presupposes an effective address. Its exact scope and conditions appear on sem.admin.ch — Living and working in Switzerland.
The C permit: settlement
The C permit, or settlement authorisation, marks a further stage. It is of indefinite duration and no longer carries the conditions attached to temporary residence; it is obtained after a regular, uninterrupted stay whose length depends on nationality and the applicable agreements, together with the integration criteria set by the FNIA. In tax terms the distinction is notable: C-permit holders are in principle taxed under the ordinary procedure, by tax return, rather than at source as B or G holders generally are. This shift is worth anticipating, as it changes the family's filing mechanics. The official conditions are set out by ch.ch — Residence permits.
The G permit: the cross-border worker
The G permit concerns the cross-border (frontier) worker: a person who carries out gainful activity in Geneva while residing in an EU/EFTA state and returning to their foreign home at least once a week (the frontier-zone notion survives only for third-country nationals). In Geneva, where the economic area extends well beyond the cantonal border, this category is very common. A G-permit holder is as a rule taxed at source on Geneva employment income; the precise arrangements and applicable conventions rest with the authorities and may vary by place of residence. The OCPM page points to the cantonal steps.
The L permit: short-term residence
The L permit is the short-term authorisation. It covers time-limited stays, typically tied to an assignment, a short contract or a specific project, and its validity tracks the activity that justifies it. It does not offer the same prospects as a B permit in terms of stability and renewal, and its expiry must be watched closely. For a family whose member arrives for a temporary assignment, it is often the starting title, with the question of a possible conversion to be prepared in advance.
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The Ci permit and special situations
The Ci permit addresses a specific situation: family members of international civil servants and of persons enjoying privileges and immunities, who are especially present in International Geneva. It allows, under conditions, gainful activity by a spouse or child. Other situations — family reunification, studies, hardship cases — follow their own rules. Each points to a precise legal basis that must be checked case by case rather than by analogy.
The employer and the procedure
For taking up employment, the employer plays a central part: depending on nationality and permit type, it is often the employer who initiates or supports the application to the competent authorities, before the OCPM issues or confirms the title (in Geneva, applications to take up employment by third-country nationals first go through the Cantonal Office for Labour Inspection and Relations (OCIRT), with federal approval from the SEM). Deadlines, required documents and the sequence of steps depend on the situation. The cantonal entry point remains the Cantonal Population and Migration Office (OCPM), which processes applications and issues the permits.
Taxation at source, in brief
A common thread links several of these categories: taxation at source. B and G permit holders generally have tax deducted directly from their salary by the employer, except notably where the spouse is a Swiss national or holds a C permit, whereas C permit holders are ordinarily taxed by tax return. Correction mechanisms and subsequent ordinary assessment exist depending on thresholds and circumstances. We cite no figures here: the scales and conditions rest with the official texts and change over time.
Our role: coordinate, not advise on the law
Ridger does not provide legal advice on immigration law and guarantees no outcome of any procedure; we coordinate permit and relocation formalities with the competent authorities and, where the situation requires it, with the family's lawyers. In practice this means keeping the timeline, assembling documents in the right order, liaising between the employer, the OCPM and counsel, and giving the family a single point of contact who follows the whole. It is the logic of a family office applied to the administrative foundations of your presence in Geneva. Let's discuss your move.
The categories and rules described are amended regularly: the linked official page prevails, and we verified them on 2026-09-20.