Certified Translation › Residence permit
Residence permit translation for a Swiss permit B, L or C is €59 per document, prepared by a qualified German translator for the cantonal migration office. Your diplomas, transcripts, police-clearance certificate and civil-status records are certified-translated ready to submit under the FNIA (AIG). Degree recognition runs via swissuniversities/SERI — this guide shows which documents each step needs. Fixed price includes certification and shipping.
Qualified translators · names transliterated to ISO 9 · residence permit B under the FNIA · set price · reply usually within 60 minutes, Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00 CET
In short
Anyone applying for a Swiss residence permit (permit B, L or C) for qualified employment needs certified translations of their qualification documents (certificate, diploma, transcript), a police-clearance certificate and their civil-status records. Important: the translation makes the qualification ready to submit, but it does not replace recognition via swissuniversities/SERI.
The legal basis is the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) — for third-country nationals, in particular the personal requirements for qualified employment (Art. 23 FNIA), quotas (Art. 20) and priority (Art. 21); for EU/EFTA citizens, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons applies. The SEM and the cantonal migration office maintain the current requirements; we translate exactly the set that is required.
Process & deadlines
The FNIA provides for several permits: residence permit B (permit B) for longer-term employment, short-stay permit L (permit L) for fixed-term assignments and — after several years — settlement permit C (permit C). Quotas and priority apply to third-country nationals; the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons applies to EU/EFTA citizens.
The foreign qualification is assessed by swissuniversities / Swiss ENIC and, if needed, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). For regulated professions (medicine, nursing, law) a separate cantonal professional recognition is required.
For residence permit B, the cantonal migration office checks pay and working conditions customary for the location, profession and sector (Art. 22 FNIA), as well as the quota (Art. 20) and priority (Art. 21). For EU/EFTA citizens, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons applies.
This is when certificates, the police-clearance certificate and civil-status records are needed — certified-translated and, depending on the country of origin, with an apostille or legalisation.
The application is usually filed by the employer with the cantonal migration office; once the SEM has given its approval, the Swiss representation abroad issues the entry visa (national D visa).
After entering Switzerland, you register with the local residents' registration office; the cantonal migration office issues the foreign-national identity card. Complete, correctly translated documents prevent requests for further evidence.
Accompanying family members join in parallel (family reunification); the recognised documents remain decisive for renewal and later settlement.
Which documents?
This checklist is the core of the permit file. Each row links to further guidance — on recognition, apostilles and name transfer. The principle: foreign-language documents are certified-translated; recognition of the qualification runs separately, via swissuniversities/SERI.
| Document (guidance) | What it's for in the process | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate / diploma / transcript | Qualification evidence for the residence permit (qualified employment) | Assessed via swissuniversities/SERI; translating the qualification is not the same as recognising it |
| Licence to practise / regulated professions | Professional recognition, e.g. for doctors, nursing, engineering | separate recognition procedure in addition to the translation |
| Police-clearance certificate | Evidence of a clean record for the visa and residence permit | from the country of origin; often with an apostille/legalisation |
| Birth certificate | Proof of identity, family reunification | names checked against the passport spelling |
| Marriage certificate | Spouse joining in parallel with the employment-based move | with an apostille, depending on the country |
| Passport / ID card | Identity and the authoritative spelling of the name | reference for the transliteration of the name |
The certified translation is the foundation; recognition of the qualification is a separate process. We translate your certificates to a standard authorities accept, and flag where swissuniversities/SERI or a professional recognition procedure also applies — so you avoid unnecessary detours.
Apostille & certification
For public documents from the country of origin — birth certificate, police-clearance certificate, sometimes higher-education certificates — the Swiss representation abroad or the receiving authority may require an apostille or legalisation, depending on the country.
Important: termbase does not issue apostilles. For foreign documents, it is issued by the competent authority in the country of issue. For Swiss documents intended for use abroad, the apostille is issued by the state chancellery (Staatskanzlei) of the canton in which the document was issued; for documents from federal authorities, the Federal Chancellery is responsible. We then translate the document and the apostille together, as a certified translation.
A translated diploma is not yet a recognised diploma.
That's why we translate to a standard authorities accept, and show where swissuniversities, SERI or a professional recognition procedure also applies.
Case studies
Profession and country of origin determine the residence pathway, recognition and whether an apostille is needed.
Residence permit B
Regulated profession
Vocational training
Expert insight
Employment-based immigration rarely fails on the running text — it fails on recognition being confused with translation, a missing apostille, or a name that doesn't match. The most common causes of rejection — and how a qualified translator avoids them.
| Pitfall | Why it's critical | How termbase solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Translation confused with recognition | Translating alone does not recognise the qualification — the authority will request the assessment afterwards. | We translate to a standard authorities accept and flag where swissuniversities/SERI or a professional recognition procedure also applies. |
| Regulated profession underestimated | For medicine, nursing or law, translation alone is not enough — the cantonal professional recognition or licence to practise is still missing. | We flag regulated professions and point to the additional recognition procedure. |
| Apostille missing | Without proof of authenticity, the Swiss representation abroad will not accept the document. | We check in advance whether the country of origin requires an apostille, and translate the document and the apostille together. |
| Name on the certificate ≠ passport | If the transliteration differs from the passport, doubts arise about the applicant's identity. | Transliteration to ISO standard, checked against the passport, with any deviations explained in the certification note. |
| Grades/titles carried over 1:1 | Foreign grades and degree titles are misleading without context. | Foreign grades and degree titles are left in the original with an explanatory equivalent; the assessment is left to SERI. |
How it works
You upload clearly legible scans of your certificates, police-clearance certificate and civil-status records, and tell us the passport spelling of the names. We review the set, check names and qualification titles, and quote a binding fixed price. Once you approve it, a qualified translator translates true to form and layout.
You receive the translations in advance as a PDF, followed by the certified originals by post. On request, we flag in advance where swissuniversities/SERI, a professional recognition procedure or an apostille also applies.
Quote & price
A Swiss residence permit usually requires several documents together. We charge standard documents as a flat fee per document, and longer certificates and transcripts per standard line — calculated as a set with a volume discount.
| Certified translation by a qualified translator | ✓included |
| Certification note, stamp & signature | ✓included |
| Advance PDF for review | ✓included |
| Postal delivery of the certified originals | ✓included |
| Volume discount for multiple documents | ✓possible |
Standard documents at a flat fixed price, longer documents from CHF 1.20 / standard line; we confirm the exact amount after a brief review — plus VAT. How the price is calculated →
FAQ
Sources
All legal statements on this page are backed by primary sources. Pay and quota requirements are updated on an ongoing basis; the cantonal migration office and the SEM decide the individual case.
The cantonal office wanted my South African documents authenticated at home first: Switzerland does not over-certify foreign papers, and no canton certifies anything issued outside it. termbase said that before I sent anything, so the authentication went on the originals and the translation came afterwards, in the notarially certified form the office expects.
Sipho Ndlovu · mechanical engineer, Durban (South Africa) · permit file → cantonal migration office
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