This file describes the cantonal implementation of federal migration law in the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. It is not an individual-case advice text and contains no individual application of the law. SIP explains the law; SIP represents no one and provides no individual legal advice within the meaning of the Federal Act on the Freedom of Movement for Lawyers (Lawyers Act, LLCA, SR 935.61).

1. Overview — the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in the migration-law context

Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) is one of the two Appenzell half-cantons in north-eastern Switzerland; its capital is Herisau. The canton is small in both population and area and belongs to the eastern-Swiss linguistic and economic region. Current population and foreign-resident-share figures are to be obtained from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) or via the cantonal website www.ar.ch; the foreign-resident share is, in order of magnitude, around roughly one sixth of the resident population (descriptive classification; what is authoritative is the current FSO statistic).

Economically, the canton is shaped by hilly topography, a historical textile tradition and pronounced local rootedness; it has an SME structure with a comparatively small migrant population in absolute terms. The language of procedure before the cantonal authorities is German (standard German as the written language; eastern-Swiss linguistic region).

The cantonal office competent for the law on foreign nationals is the cantonal migration authority (located, in the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, within the field of social or internal affairs). For matters of citizenship and civil status, the Amt für Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand is competent. The exact designation, the allocation of responsibilities and the current contact details are to be obtained via the cantonal website www.ar.ch and the SEM directory of cantonal migration authorities.

Competent authorities — authoritative reference sources Cantonal website: https://www.ar.ch Citizenship / civil status: https://www.ar.ch/verwaltung/departement-volkswirtschaft-und-inneres/amt-fuer-buergerrecht-und-zivilstand/ SEM directory of authorities: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/sem/kontakt/kantonale_behoerden.html Address, telephone, e-mail as well as counter and opening hours are to be checked there in their current status.

2. Legal bases — federal law and cantonal implementing law

Swiss migration law is, in its basic structure, federal law; implementation lies with the cantons. In the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden the same federal-law bases apply as in all other cantons. Authoritative in particular are:

  • FNIA — Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (SR 142.20): substantive permit conditions, namely Art. 18 FNIA (gainful employment), Art. 27 FNIA (education and continuing education), Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA (derogations from the admission requirements / hardship case), Art. 33 FNIA (B residence permit), Art. 34 para. 2 FNIA and Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA (C settlement permit, including early granting), Art. 37 FNIA (change of canton), Art. 42–47 FNIA (family reunification), Art. 50 FNIA (dissolution of the family unit), Art. 58a FNIA and Art. 58b FNIA (integration criteria and integration agreement), Art. 62 FNIA and Art. 63 FNIA (revocation of permits) as well as Art. 99 FNIA (SEM approval procedure).
  • OASA — Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (SR 142.201): implementing provisions, namely Art. 31 OASA, Art. 60a OASA and Art. 77d OASA (language competence and recognised language proof) as well as Art. 85 OASA and Art. 86 OASA (approval procedure).
  • AFMP — Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons Switzerland–EU (SR 0.142.112.681) together with the Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons (OFMP) — for EU/EFTA nationals.
  • AsylA — Asylum Act (SR 142.31): the Confederation's asylum procedure, namely Art. 27 AsylA (cantonal allocation) and Art. 102f AsylA (and following) (legal representation in the accelerated procedure).
  • SCA — Swiss Citizenship Act (SR 141.0): naturalisation, namely Art. 9 SCA (residence requirements), Art. 11 SCA (substantive conditions) and Art. 12 SCA (integration criteria).
  • CitO — Citizenship Ordinance (SR 141.01): implementing provisions of the SCA, namely the language proof under Art. 6 (SR 141.01). The language proof is thus regulated in the ordinance (CitO); it is not to be equated with the conditions of the act (SCA, SR 141.0).
  • DFTA — Federal Act on Direct Federal Tax (SR 642.11) and THA — Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes of the Cantons and Communes (SR 642.14): framework for taxation; the withholding tax on earned income is a tax levied by the canton within the harmonised framework (see section 9).
  • LLCA — Federal Act on the Freedom of Movement for Lawyers (Lawyers Act, SR 935.61): governs the legal profession and thus the boundary between general legal information and individual legal advice/representation.
  • VSA — Victim Support Act (SR 312.5): for victim support.

The cantonal implementing legislation for the FNIA, the cantonal citizenship act and cantonal administrative-justice law govern competence, fees and procedure at cantonal level. The precise enactments and their respective current version are to be consulted via the cantonal compilation of laws of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden; cantonal enactment numbers are deliberately not reproduced in this file. For deeper detail: the FNIA/OASA terminology glossary, the AFMP/OFMP glossary and the Asylum Act glossary.

3. Competent authority — contact and accessibility

The cantonal migration authority handles initial applications, renewals, family-reunification applications, changes of canton and settlement procedures at cantonal level. Since the designation, address, accessibility and online offering of small administrative units are subject to change, the contact details are not printed here as fixed values but referenced via the official sources:

  • Cantonal website (entry point Migration / Social Affairs): https://www.ar.ch
  • Citizenship and civil status: https://www.ar.ch/verwaltung/departement-volkswirtschaft-und-inneres/amt-fuer-buergerrecht-und-zivilstand/
  • SEM directory of cantonal migration authorities (authoritative point of contact for the current authority address): https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/sem/kontakt/kantonale_behoerden.html
  • Online portal / e-government services, counter and opening hours, access: to be checked via the cantonal website; whether and to what extent an electronic application portal is offered is shown there.

For matters of citizenship (ordinary naturalisation at cantonal level) and civil status, the Amt für Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand is competent (see section 7).

All information is volatile. Before each use, the current status is to be checked via www.ar.ch and the SEM directory of authorities (www.sem.admin.ch).

4. Processing time — cantonal reference values

The following reference values are descriptive points of reference and not a binding promise. The actual duration depends on the completeness of the documents, on follow-up queries and on any SEM approval procedure. There is no entitlement to a particular processing time.

ProcedureReference value (descriptive)Note
Basic processingaround 4 weeks (point of reference)to be confirmed with the migration office
First B applicationtends to be longer than basic processingdepends on the individual case
B renewaltends to be shorter than basic processingdepends on the individual case
C settlement / family reunificationdepends on the individual casedepends on completeness and the approval procedure

Where the application requires the approval of the SEM within the meaning of Art. 99 FNIA — the approval procedure is governed by Art. 85 OASA and Art. 86 OASA —, the duration of the federal approval procedure is added on top of the cantonal processing time; it is not part of the reference values stated above.

Note on data quality: the time figures above are not officially published reference values but orienting points of reference. Before publication they are to be confirmed or replaced by the competent cantonal office. None of these figures establishes an entitlement to a particular processing time.

5. Language proof

The cantonal official language and thus the language authoritative for the language proof is German (standard German as the written language). Swiss-German dialect is not required for the proof and is not examined by the fide system.

  • Family reunification from a third state (B): as a rule, proof of German at level A1 oral under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is required, based on Art. 58a para. 1 let. c FNIA in conjunction with Art. 77d OASA and the relevant SEM directives. The specific cantonal handling is to be enquired about with the competent office.
  • Early C settlement permit under Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA (early granting in the case of successful integration) in conjunction with Art. 60a OASA and Art. 77d OASA: the higher level laid down by federal law is required, regularly B1 oral and A2 written in German. For EU/EFTA nationals, the same federal language standard applies within the scope of the early granting of the C permit.
  • fide certificate: the fide certificate in the German language is accepted as officially recognised proof, as are the equivalent diplomas named in Art. 77d OASA (for example the Goethe-Zertifikat, telc Deutsch, the ÖSD certificate). For deeper detail: the language proof (A1 / A2 / B1 fide).

The cantonal variation moves within the limits of federal law. A systematically stricter or more lenient interpretation is here neither asserted nor evaluated.

6. Standard permit practice B / L / C

The granting and renewal of the B residence permit (Art. 33 FNIA), the L short-term permit and the C settlement permit (Art. 34 FNIA) follow, in the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the federal-law standard under the FNIA and OASA as well as the SEM directives (for deeper detail, the FNIA/OASA terminology glossary).

  • B residence permit: for persons in gainful employment under Art. 18 FNIA (third state, subject to the quotas and to approval under Art. 99 FNIA), for education and continuing education under Art. 27 FNIA, and for EU/EFTA nationals under the AFMP and the OFMP.
  • L short-term permit: for temporary gainful employment and short stays in accordance with the OASA.
  • C settlement permit: ordinarily under Art. 34 para. 2 FNIA (as a rule after ten years, shortened for certain nationals) and early under Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA (after five years in the case of successful integration and sufficient language proof, Art. 60a OASA).

According to current knowledge, cantonal practice exhibits no autonomous special doctrine as against the FNIA/OASA/SEM standard. A descriptive finding for small administrative units is the high importance of individual case handling given a low case volume; from this neither particular strictness nor particular leniency can be inferred.

Anti-scope: SIP makes no statement as to whether a permit is "easier" or "harder" to obtain in the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden than in another canton, and gives no recommendation on the choice of a canton for taking up residence. Such comparative value judgements and strategy recommendations would be individual application of the law within the meaning of the Lawyers Act (LLCA, SR 935.61) and are reserved exclusively for registered lawyers.

7. Naturalisation

Ordinary naturalisation is structured in three tiers: it requires communal citizenship (communal level), cantonal citizenship (cantonal level) and the federal naturalisation authorisation of the SEM (federal level). Authoritative are the SCA (Swiss Citizenship Act, SR 141.0) and the CitO (Citizenship Ordinance, SR 141.01), supplemented by the cantonal citizenship act and the communal citizenship regulations (for deeper detail, the paths to naturalisation in Switzerland). The cantonal and communal enactments are to be checked via the cantonal compilation of laws.

  • Federal residence requirement: the federal minimum period of residence is governed by Art. 9 SCA; the cantonal and communal residence periods follow from cantonal or communal citizenship law and may differ from one another.
  • Language proof for naturalisation: the federal minimum standard requires B1 oral and A2 written in the cantonal official language, here German. This language standard is regulated in the Citizenship Ordinance (CitO), namely in Art. 6 (SR 141.01) — that is, in the ordinance, not in the act.
  • Integration criteria: the substantive conditions follow from Art. 11 SCA and the integration criteria (successful integration, familiarity with the conditions of life, no endangering of internal or external security) from Art. 12 SCA.
  • Communal level: in individual communes of the canton there is a communal tradition of participation by those entitled to vote or to attend the assembly in the naturalisation decision; the specific arrangement varies by commune and is to be clarified with the respective commune. The communal hearing is bound by the federal-law prohibitions of discrimination.

For the cantonal level, the Amt für Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand is competent. For deeper detail: the paths to naturalisation in Switzerland.

Anti-scope: SIP gives no recommendation as to in which commune or in which canton a naturalisation procedure would be more favourable ("commune shopping"). Such recommendations would be individual application of the law within the meaning of the Lawyers Act (LLCA, SR 935.61).

8. Asylum in the canton

The Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) is federal law and is applied by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in the federal asylum centres (FAC) (for deeper detail, the Asylum Act glossary). The Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden lies in the Eastern Switzerland asylum region; the competent FAC location and the exact regional structure are shown via www.sem.admin.ch.

The cantonal allocation of asylum seekers takes place according to the SEM's distribution key (Art. 27 AsylA); after allocation, the canton assumes accommodation and the payment of emergency aid. The legal-protection advisory service active in the accelerated procedure is run by an organisation mandated by the SEM; the current mandate holder for the Eastern Switzerland asylum region and the ongoing mandate period are to be checked via www.sem.admin.ch. Free legal representation in the first phases of the procedure is provided for under federal law in Art. 102f AsylA (and following).

For deeper detail: the N permit in the pending asylum procedure, the provisional admission (F permit) and the protection status S.

9. Taxes and withholding tax — migration-law context

Anti-scope: SIP is not tax advice and gives no recommendation on the choice of a tax-optimal place of residence. The following notes are contextualised exclusively in migration-law terms.

  • Withholding tax: for persons with a residence permit without settlement (typically holders of a B permit), income tax on earned income is as a rule levied at source by the employer. This withholding taxation of earned income is a tax levied by the canton within the framework of federal tax harmonisation (THA, SR 642.14); it is not to be confused with the federal tax on movable assets governed primarily in the DFTA. Authoritative for tariffs, thresholds and procedure is the cantonal tax administration.
  • Subsequent ordinary assessment (SOA): from a gross annual income laid down in harmonised law, the person taxed at source switches to subsequent ordinary assessment; the threshold authoritative for this is usually stated at around CHF 120,000. The exact threshold, its application and the procedure are implemented by the cantonal tax administration and are to be verified there. This figure is an orienting order of magnitude, not a value conclusively confirmed for the canton.
  • Migration-law relevance of tax debts: unpaid taxes or a debt-enforcement action do not on their own and not automatically lead to the revocation of a permit. The grounds for revocation under Art. 62 FNIA and Art. 63 FNIA are tied to security- and order-related circumstances. Substantial and culpable indebtedness may, however, become indirectly relevant via the assessment of integration (Art. 58a FNIA) and observance of public security and order; the appraisal is always made on a case-by-case basis by the competent authority.

For individual tax questions, a tax adviser should be consulted.

10. Economy and largest communes

The following information is descriptive and serves practice understanding; it is not a recommendation on the choice of this canton.

  • Economic profile: Appenzell Ausserrhoden has an SME structure with a historical textile tradition and pronounced local rootedness. Hilly topography, rural character, a comparatively small migrant population in absolute terms and an administration with a personally characterised mode of operation.
  • Largest communes: the capital is Herisau; other populous communes are as a rule Teufen, Speicher and Heiden. The current order by number of inhabitants is to be checked via the FSO or cantonal communal statistics.
  • Housing costs: local rent levels are to be obtained via current market and statistical sources (FSO rent-price statistics, cantonal or communal information); a reference value printed in this file would quickly become outdated and is therefore not reproduced as a fixed value.

These economic profiles are an aid to classifying cantonal practice and not a location argument.

11. Anti-scope statement for the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

  • No strategy advice on the choice of canton: SIP gives no recommendation as to whether taking up residence in the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden is, in migration-law terms, "better" or "worse" than in another canton.
  • No comparative value judgements: SIP refrains from statements such as "Canton X is stricter" or "here the permit is easier". Such statements would be empirically unsupported and legally delicate.
  • No individual case strategy: SIP develops no hardship-case argumentation (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA), no family-reunification strategy (Art. 42–47 FNIA), no strategy in the case of dissolution of the family unit (Art. 50 FNIA) and no appeal strategy.
  • No appeal templates or deadline calculators: SIP provides no legal-remedy templates and no deadline calculations.
  • No tax advice and no positioning advice vis-à-vis authorities.
  • No individual application of the law: anyone who needs legal advice in a specific situation should consult a lawyer entered in the cantonal bar register. The boundary between general legal information and individual representation follows from the Lawyers Act (LLCA, SR 935.61).

12. Cross-references