Swiss-Brazilian couple needs some help to stay together!

Olá Camila, boa tarde.

As you may already know, under the Schengen Area Agreement you are allowed to enter Switzerland as a tourist for 90 days using just your Brazilian Passport. That stay can not be extended. Following the 90 days you must then leave and be out of the country for 90 days before you can return for a further 90 days. I'm not certain but I think that you can't just go to another Schengen Area country for that time, so that's something you will need to check with the Swiss Consulate, before you leave Brazil. Another thing to remember is that as a tourist you will not be permitted to work while there, so you'll either need to have some considerable savings or your boyfriend will need to support you during your stay. I don't know if you would be living with his parents in Fribourg, but that would certainly reduce your costs.

For a stay longer than 90 days you will need some kind of temporary visa, such as a student visa or work visa, which indeed may be difficult to obtain. If you plan on learning French anyway, perhaps you should check if there are any universities that offer French courses for foreigners, generally these will qualify for student visas.

If you are going to be staying with (or near) your boyfriend's family at least you will have a social circle that will be there to help in emergencies, but don't forget to maintain regular contact with your family back here in Brazil, since they are the only ones you will really be able to count on if something bad happens.

Good luck with your future plans. If you need anything in the way of information or advice please feel free to send me a private message and I will help you if I can. By the way, I'm fluent in Portuguese if you would prefer to write in your own language as opposed to English in a private message.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team