B-permit renewal (student stay in Canton Vaud)
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Companion to Permit & commune registration. Orientation only, not immigration advice. Confirm every step with your commune’s Contrôle des habitants / Office de la population and, when needed, Service de la population (SPOP).
What this page is for
How to renew / prolong a student B residence permit while studying at EPFL and living in Canton Vaud: who you apply with, what official pages name as timing and documents, and where EU/EFTA vs third-country paths differ on those pages. First registration is on Permit & commune. Travel while waiting for a (new) card is on Travel without permit. Leaving Switzerland or changing address is on Leaving / deregister. Staying long term: Becoming Swiss in Vaud explains which permit years count toward naturalisation.
Who renews where (official chain)
- You stay responsible for a valid authorisation (communes and EPFL both stress this). EPFL is not part of the official renewal procedure.
- Before expiry, an Avis de fin de validité (expiry notice) is sent to your commune of domicile and/or to you. Canton welcome pages say federal authorities send it; Lausanne and several Vaud communes describe a convocation with that avis, typically about six weeks before expiry.
- You file the renewal at your commune of residence. The commune forwards the file to SPOP (Service de la population), which examines and decides.
- After SPOP decides to issue or renew, it may invite you to the Centre de biométrie (Lausanne / Flon) to record biometric data before the new card is produced and mailed.
Sources: vaud-bienvenue.ch, Titres de séjour · État de Vaud, Nouveau titre de séjour / biométrie · EPFL, Residence permit · Ville de Lausanne, Renouvellement permis B UE/AELE · Ville de Lausanne, Renouvellement permis B État Tiers
Timing relative to expiry
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| EPFL | Student permit generally issued for one year. After one year, authorities send a letter explaining how to request the extension if needed. |
| SEM (EU/EFTA students) | Students get a permit for the duration of studies or for one year, with yearly renewals while conditions are met. SEM FAQ: apply for an extension 14 days before it expires. |
| État de Vaud (EU/EFTA studies) | Authorisation issued for the duration of studies; issued for one year and renewable. |
| Lausanne (B UE/AELE and B État Tiers) | Renew before expiry, but not earlier than 3 months before. In principle you receive a convocation + avis about 6 weeks before expiry. |
| Example Vaud commune (Chavannes-des-Bois) | About six weeks before expiry of B/C/Ci/L/S, postal avis; each foreign national remains responsible for validity. |
Do not wait for the letter if your card is close to expiry and nothing has arrived: contact your commune. Follow the dates and checklist on your own avis, not a neighbour’s or a worker’s package.
Sources: EPFL residence-permit page above · SEM FAQ, Free Movement (students / non-gainful activity) · SEM factsheet, Residing without gainful activity (PDF) · État de Vaud, Séjour pour études UE/AELE · Lausanne B renewal pages above · Chavannes-des-Bois, Renouvellement / prolongation de permis
EU/EFTA vs third-country (only where official pages distinguish)
EU/EFTA students
- SEM: B for students is typically one year, with yearly renewals until studies are completed if conditions (admission to a recognised institution, sufficient means, adequate health/accident insurance) still hold. SEM FAQ: apply for extension 14 days before expiry.
- Vaud (studies page): stay for studies under ALCP Annex I art. 24; authorisation for the duration of studies, issued for one year and renewable. Initial document themes include arrival form, ID, study attestation with planned duration, durable financial proof (or guarantor form), etc.
- Lausanne B UE/AELE renewal page names: completed/dated/signed avis B UE/AELE, colour copy of passport or national ID, copy of your 3 latest payslips or any document proving financial means, plus social-assistance fee-waiver attestation if that applies. Online via QR on the convocation, contact form, or post.
Third-country students
- vaud-bienvenue.ch: third-country B generally one year, and “may be renewed for 2 years” (general B wording, not student-specific). At the end of a completed or interrupted formation, a temporary study authorisation is not renewed.
- État de Vaud (études États tiers): initial conditions under LEI art. 27 / OASA arts. 23–24 (school confirmation, financial means, suitable accommodation, commitment to leave after the planned formation). In principle one formation or further training lasting at most eight years; derogations only if duly justified. SPOP rules entry and stay. The page’s document list is written mainly for first authorisation (study request form, enrolment, financial proof, etc.).
- Lausanne B État Tiers renewal page names: completed/dated/signed avis B OASA, colour passport/ID copy, 3 latest payslips or any document proving financial means, form 1350 if employer / company name changed since the permit was issued, social-assistance fee-waiver attestation if applicable. Same timing and online/post options as the UE/AELE page.
- Biometrics: third-country holders already use plastic cards; Vaud states they go to the biometric centre when the title is established or renewed when SPOP invites them. EU/EFTA credit-card format also goes through commune filing then possible biometric invitation; biometric data are valid 5 years (distinct from the permit’s own end date).
Student reading tip: Lausanne’s “3 payslips / employer change / form 1350” lines are written for people in employment. For a study B, use the avis checklist and “any document proving financial means”; EPFL says proof of means may be asked again at renewal. Bring a recent EPFL enrolment / attestation (IS-Academia) when your letter or commune asks for study proof.
Sources: SEM FAQ + factsheet above · vaud-bienvenue.ch, Titres de séjour · État de Vaud, Séjour pour études (États tiers) · Lausanne B pages above · État de Vaud, biométrie · État de Vaud, FAQ cartes UE-AELE
Documents typically named on official renewal pages
Always follow your avis / convocation. Patterns that appear repeatedly:
- Completed, dated, signed Avis de fin de validité (UE/AELE or OASA version as sent)
- Valid passport or (EU/EFTA) national ID, often a colour copy for online/post filing
- Current permit card (communes that still see you in person ask for it)
- Proof of financial means (Lausanne: 3 latest payslips or other proof; EPFL: means proof may be required again; Vaud study pages and EPFL first-file lists also stress enrolment and means)
- Recent enrolment / study attestation when studies are the purpose of stay (EPFL / Vaud study pages; confirm on your letter)
- Swiss civil-status document if a civil-status event took place in Switzerland (named on some commune lists)
- Payment of the commune / cantonal fee when asked (Lausanne: pay when filing if you had a convocation; amount not printed on the Lausanne B pages checked)
Example published commune fee table (Chavannes-des-Bois, not EPFL campus communes): B UE/AELE CHF 70 adult / 35 child; B third-country CHF 102 adult and child. That page also lists an employer stamp on the third-country B avis (worker-oriented). Treat as that commune’s published list, not a Vaud-wide student tariff.
Ecublens (students page, move within Vaud): if a stay-permit prolongation must be filed when arriving from another Vaud commune, published amounts include CHF 90 (UE/AELE) or CHF 122 (third country) instead of the lower “arrival only” fee. That is a move + prolongation line, not a full annual-renewal checklist.
To verify for your own commune (Ecublens, Renens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Saint-Sulpice, Epalinges, etc.): the exact annual B-renewal CHF amount and whether filing is counter-only, online, or post. Live commune pages checked for this kit publish arrival student fees (and for Ecublens, move + prolongation when arriving from another Vaud commune), not a standalone annual-renewal tariff for students who already live there. Open your commune’s Contrôle des habitants page or call the number on your avis.
Sources: Lausanne B pages · Chavannes-des-Bois renewal page · Ecublens, Étudiants · Chavannes-près-Renens, Étudiants · Saint-Sulpice, Office de la population · Renens, Annonce d’arrivée · EPFL residence-permit page · Vaud study pages above
After you file: waiting, travel, biometrics
- Processing delay: vaud-bienvenue.ch states the new permit is not always issued immediately because of volume. Cantonal migration authorities do not call your stay into question while the request is being processed.
- Travel before the new card arrives: if you must leave Switzerland without the renewed card, ask SPOP in advance for a Visa de retour (return visa). Same trap family as first arrival: a commune attestation is not a travel document. Details and dated return-visa fees: Travel without permit.
- Biometrics: wait for SPOP’s invitation; do not book the Flon centre early. Bring the invitation, passport/ID, and old permit (it may be punched). Card is generally mailed registered to your domicile (FAQ: often within about 15 days after the biometric visit). You have three months after the biometric invitation to book (FAQ).
- Keep your address current so the avis and the new card can reach you. Address / departure rules: Leaving / deregister.
End of studies (do not renew on autopilot)
- vaud-bienvenue.ch: when a formation ends or is interrupted, the temporary study authorisation is not renewed.
- EPFL: in the last month of your stay, inform the Residents’ registration office of your upcoming departure and contact the population office about whether you can leave. See Leaving / deregister.
- Job-search stay after graduation (where it exists) is a different track from renewing a student B. Pointers: Working while studying.
Job search, ORP registration and unemployment insurance after you graduate: see Staying in Switzerland after graduation.
Quick checklist
Still unclear (To verify)
- Exact annual CHF renewal fees for EPFL-area communes other than the Ecublens “move + prolongation” lines and the Chavannes-des-Bois published B table. Lausanne B pages (5 Oct 2026) do not print a CHF amount. Renens / Chavannes-près-Renens / Saint-Sulpice / Epalinges publish arrival student fees only (not a renewal tariff on those pages). What the law fixes: Vaud charges the federal maximum fees (BLV 142.11.1 art. 5). For a non-EU/EFTA national these are CHF 75 to extend a B permit (CHF 95 for a renewal), CHF 22 for a new biometric card and CHF 20 when biometric data are taken again; for EU/EFTA nationals the whole B procedure is capped at CHF 65 (Oem-LEI art. 8). Which lines apply to you, and any commune fee on top, appear on your invoice.
- Whether your commune still requires in-person appearance for student B renewal (Lausanne: online/post; Chavannes-des-Bois: each household member at the counter; Saint-Sulpice names “convocation et prolongation” as an office task without an online B-renewal path on the page).
- Exact student annexes on your avis (enrolment wording, bank/scholarship evidence, photo) beyond the generic Lausanne / EPFL lists.
- Whether a third-country student B in Vaud is ever renewed for two years in practice (vaud-bienvenue / welcome brochure: general third-country B “one year, may be renewed for 2 years”) or almost always one year (EPFL / SEM student wording: yearly).
- Renens / Chavannes-près-Renens / Epalinges: no standalone student-B renewal checklist on the commune pages (use avis + commune counter / office).
Unofficial student project. Always re-check your avis, your commune, and SPOP before you file or travel.