On November 27, 2024, the Federal Council decided to keep unchanged the quotas for workers from third (non-EU) countries and for service providers from the member countries of the European Union (EU) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The special quota for workers from the United Kingdom is also renewed.
The partial revision to this effect of the Ordinance on the Admission, Stay and Exercise of a Gainful Activity (OASA) will enter into force on January 1, 2025.
Key Figures
- Next year, 8,500 skilled workers from third countries can be recruited again: 4,500 will benefit from a residence permit (B permit) and 4,000 from a short-term residence permit (L permit).
- The ceilings valid for service providers from EU or EFTA countries whose mission duration in Switzerland exceeds 90 or 120 days per year will also remain unchanged. In 2025, 3,000 L authorizations and 500 B authorizations will be available for this category of workers. As before, they will be granted quarterly to the cantons.
- The agreement on the free movement of persons no longer applies between Switzerland and the United Kingdom since January 1, 2021. British nationals are now considered to be nationals of third countries and are subject, as a transitional solution, to specific quotas.
- According to the Federal Council’s decision, up to 3,500 British workers will be able to be recruited again in 2025: 2,100 under a B permit and 1,400 under an L permit. In the medium term, however, the Federal Council intends to integrate this special quota into the ordinary quota.
The agreement of October 11, 2024, between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the United States of America on the exchange of trainees and young professionals requires a new material amendment to the Ordinance on the Admission, Residence and Exercise of a Gainful Activity (OASA). The maximum number of authorizations per year that Switzerland will be able to issue – 300 for 2025 – will now be entered in the OASA and fixed in a legally binding manner. These authorizations are issued for stays of limited duration for training and further education purposes. They are not part of the quotas fixed for the ordinary admission of third-country nationals to the labour market.
At the end of October 2024, the authorizations issued by the cantons to companies in Switzerland corresponded to almost 63% of the available quotas for workers from third countries (L and B permits) and almost 44% of those for service providers from the EU or EFTA (L and B permits). The quotas available for workers from the United Kingdom have been little used (18% at the end of October 2024 for L and B permits).
Background
Labour immigration to Switzerland from third countries is subject to restrictions. Authorizations are issued according to the needs of companies and taking into account the economic interests of the country, priority being given first to workers in Switzerland, then to those from EU or EFTA Member States.