Facts
The appellant, a Ghanaian, married a Swiss national on 14 October 2005 and was granted a residence permit as a result. After her husband moved to Brazil without a fixed return date, the appellant's residence permit was not extended, as the marital community had existed for less than three years. The appellant appealed to the Federal Court to overturn the decision of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich and extend her residence permit.
The appellant and her husband had married on 14 October 2005 and had moved in together on 1 December 2005. The lower court had established that the marital community had ended on 15 October 2008. The appellant claimed that she met the requirements for an extension of her residence permit under Art. 50 para. 1 lit. a AuG, as the marital community had lasted at least three years and she had been successfully integrated.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the appellant met the requirements for an extension of her residence permit under Art. 50 para. 1 lit. a AuG. The lower court had established that the marital community had ended on 15 October 2008 and that the appellant did not meet the requirements for an extension of her residence permit, as the marital community had existed for less than three years.
However, the Federal Court concluded that the appellant met the requirements for an extension of her residence permit, as the marital community had lasted from 14 October 2005 to 15 October 2008, i.e. three years. The fact that the appellant and her husband had not lived together for six weeks after their marriage was not relevant, as this was justified due to the precarious housing situation in the Zurich area and their intensive search for a…