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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Can a third-country national resident in the EU work in Switzerland?

Switzerland has strict rules about who is allowed to work in the country, but sometimes these regulations can be confusing to foreigners.

Published: 12 April 2023 15:58 CEST
Updated: 16 April 2023 09:04 CEST
Can a third-country national resident in the EU work in Switzerland?
When it comes to employment, Switzerland and the EU have a special agreement. Photo: François WALSCHAERTS / AFP

If you are a foreign national living in Switzerland, you probably know who has and doesn’t have the right to be employed here.

As a general rule, Swiss employers are allowed to hire two groups of foreign workers without much administrative or bureaucratic hassles: citizens of European Union states, as well as those from EFTA countries — that is, from Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

These workers have an almost unlimited access to Switzerland’s employment market.

In fact, they don’t even need a permit if they work here for up to three months.

For a longer period, they must apply for — and usually get without much ado — a permit from the Swiss commune where they live.

Depending on the kind of employment contract they have, they will receive either a B or L permit.

READ ALSO: Residence permits: How EU and EFTA citizens can live, work and stay in Switzerland

What about people from outside the EU / EFTA?

Rules and procedures are more complicated for people from outside the EU, often known as ‘third-country nationals’.

Unlike people from the EU / EFTA states, who have a nearly limitless access to Switzerland’s labour market, those from outside Europe have more hurdles to overcome in terms of work permits.

The reason is that permits for this group of foreigners are subject to quotas and strict rules.

According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), “admission of third-state nationals to the Swiss labour market is only granted if it is in the interests of Switzerland and the Swiss economy as a whole”.

This means that permits / visas will be granted only to highly skilled specialists who can’t be recruited from among Swiss or EU / EFTA workforce.

What happens if a third-country national lives in an EU or EFTA state? Can they be employed in Switzerland under the same rules?

The mere fact of living within the European Union, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, doesn’t give these people the right to work and reside in Switzerland on the same basis as their EU / EFTA counterparts.

They are still subject to quotas and the above-mentioned rules.

This right is reserved only for ‘citizens’ or ‘nationals’ of EU / EFTA countries, not everyone who happens to live there, according to SEM.

This is the case even if you have a residence permit for an EU / EFTA state — such a permit doesn’t extend to Switzerland.

What are the exceptions?

There are, however, two exceptions to this rule.

One is if a third-country national also has a citizenship from the EU / EFTA ; in other words, if a UK person is also a national of France, or a US citizen gets a Norwegian passport, then these people are no longer considered by Switzerland as third-country citizens, but rather as part of the big EU / EFTA family.

Another exemption would be a cross-border commuter (G permit holder) who is third country national, but holds a permanent residence permit in France, Germany, Italy, or Austria, and has been living in the border region of that country for at least six months.

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For members

WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

The pitfalls of Switzerland’s social security system you need to avoid

In most cases, Switzerland’s social benefits system functions well. But there are also some loopholes you should know about.

Published: 24 April 2024 13:37 CEST
The pitfalls of Switzerland's social security system you need to avoid

The Swiss social security system has several branches: old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance; health and accident insurance; unemployment benefits, and family allowances.

This is a pretty comprehensive package, which covers everyone who pays into the scheme for a wide variety of ‘what ifs’.

As the government explains it, “people living and working in Switzerland benefit from a tightly woven network of social insurance schemes designed to safeguard them against risks that would otherwise overwhelm them financially.” 

But while most residents of Switzerland are able to benefit, at least to some extent, from this system, others don’t.

What is happening?

If someone becomes ill or has an accident, Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance and / or accident insurance will cover the costs.

However, a prolonged absence from work can become costly.

That is especially the case of people employed by companies that don’t have a collective labour agreement (CLA), a contract negotiated between Switzerland’s trade unions and employers or employer organisations that covers a wide range of workers’ rights. 

READ ALSO: What is a Swiss collective bargaining agreement — and how could it benefit you?

It is estimated that roughly half of Switzerland’s workforce of about 5 million people are not covered by a CLA.

If you just happen to work for a company without a CLA, your employer is not required to pay your salary if your illness is long.

You will receive money for a minimum of three weeks – longer, depending on seniority — but certainly not for the long-haul.

You may think that once your wages stop, the disability insurance (DI) will kick in.

But that’s not the case.

The reason is that DI can be paid only after a year after the wages stop. In practice, however, it sometimes takes several years of investigations and verifications to make sure the person is actually eligible to collect these benefits, rather than just pretending to be sick. 

In the meantime, these people have to use their savings to live on.

What about ‘daily allowance insurance’?

Many companies (especially those covered by a CLA) take out this insurance, so they can pay wages to their sick employees for longer periods of time.

However, this insurance is optional for employers without a CLA is place.

As a result, small companies forego it because it is too much of a financial burden for them.

And people who are self-employed face a problem in this area as well: insurance carriers can (and often do) refuse to cover people they deem to be ‘too risky’ in terms of their age or health status.

Critics are calling the two situations —the length of time it takes for the disability insurance to kick in and gaps in the daily allowance insurance—”perhaps the biggest failures of the social security system.”

Is anything being done to remedy this situation?

Given numerous complaints about the unfairness of the current system, the Social Security and Public Health Commission of the Council of States (CSSS-E) will look into the “consequences of shortcomings and numerous dysfunctions in long-term illness insurance.”

But not everyone in Switzerland sees a problem in the current situation.

According to the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA), for instance, “making daily sickness allowance insurance compulsory for employers would not have the desired effect. Due to false incentives, it would only exacerbate the upward trend in costs and premiums.”

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