More Pinoys Consider Switzerland as Second Home

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A growing number of Filipinos consider Switzerland, one of the richest countries in Europe, as their second home.

Jorgie Bien Stockmann has been traveling to Switzerland for many years as a tourist. The first time she applied for a tourist visa to Switzerland, she was denied but this did not stop her from pursuing her dream to visit one of Europe’s top tourist destinations.

The second time she applied, the Switzerland Embassy in the Philippines gave her a tourist visa that allowed her to visit her relatives in Zurich for a few months.

Visiting Switzerland is just part of her big dream to look for opportunities here.

But she didn’t expect that after more than three years of flying in and out of Switzerland as a tourist, she is now a permanent resident here.

Last November, she tied the knot with her Swiss boyfriend.

She admitted that although she considers Switzerland her second home, she still misses the Philippines.

“Sometimes I miss Filipino foods. On weekends if we have time, my friends and I go out together,” she said.

“I’m lucky that my Swiss husband is not strict. I can always go out with my friends anytime,” she added.

Like any other overseas Filipino worker, she and her Filipino friends overcome homesickness by going out together during their free days.

Jogie is just one of the estimated 10,000 Filipinos now living in Switzerland.

According to Lyn Rutz, a Filipino community network coordinator in Bern, many Filipinas here are married to Swiss nationals.

“I could say many Filipinas here are married to Swiss. You know some Swiss men are very conservative. Sometimes they prefer their wives staying at home,” she said.

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