The Geneva PACS before marriage
The Geneva PACS before marriage
"I read a fairly old section of yours on the internet about the Geneva PACS. My girlfriend is Ukrainian and has been living in Kiev since her residence permit expired. After months of long-distance relations, we're thinking of living together. Could you tell me about the rights and obligations associated with a PACS in Geneva? Do you know whether it allows family reunification and, if so, whether we can get married?
Alexandre, Geneva
The column you have consulted dates back some twelve years, i.e. before the entry into force of the federal law on registered partnerships (LPart), which applies only to people of the same sex. This law was adopted to give same-sex couples who formally apply for it most of the rights and obligations conferred on married couples, since the institution of marriage is not open to them.
On the other hand, Switzerland still does not have a PACS based on the French model, which constitutes a significant alternative to marriage for heterosexual couples in terms of rights and obligations. At cantonal level, the Geneva registered partnership continues to exist, providing only facilities in terms of the partners' relations with the courts or the cantonal administration, but in no way concerning the residence or establishment of the foreign spouse.
Registering your partnership with your girlfriend in Geneva, simply by making a declaration before a civil registrar in the district where you live, will not exempt you from the formalities that she must undertake to be authorised to reside in Switzerland. This "Geneva PACS" will only have an impact on those aspects of daily life that are regulated by the canton, for example in the areas of housing, health, civil service status, education and social assistance, as well as in the context of any administrative proceedings, where you will be able to enjoy the same rights as married couples. Any other rights and obligations you may wish to contract with each other will depend on a simple agreement between you, as in a common-law relationship.
It goes without saying that you can terminate this status at any time if you decide to get married; apart from this case, where it is automatically dissolved, the Geneva partnership can be terminated by an individual or joint declaration, always before the civil registrar.
