While citizens of the EU and EFTA states (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have an almost unlimited access to Switzerland’s labour market, those coming from third countries face more restrictions. 
 
To be able to work in Switzerland, people from outside the EU / EFTA must be highly qualified specialists or other skilled professionals.

According to State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), “this means that you should have a degree from a university or an institution of higher education, as well as a number of years of professional work experience.”

Another hurdle to overcome before a third-country candidate can be hired, is that no Swiss or EU / EFTA national can be found for a given position.

Annual quotas

Each year, the Federal Council releases a set number of permits (also called ‘quotas’), allowing non-EU / EFTA nationals to work in Switzerland during the year.

Quotas for 2024 are the same as they have been for the past several years: 12,000 in all.

They consist of B and L permits, depending on the kind of employment individual foreigners are eligible for.

Out of the total number, 3,500 permits are set aside specifically for UK nationals, who are eligible for separate quotas as part of a transitional post-Brexit arrangement: 2,100 B and 1,400 L permits are  just for them.

The remaining 8,500 permits are meant for other third-country workers.

Third-country quotas are set by each canton, depending on its economic needs.

The federal government then determines the total number of permits it will make available to each canton.

READ ALSO : Who do Switzerland’s 12,000 work permits for non-EU citizens go to?

Given the shortage of qualified workers in Switzerland, a natural assumption would be that all of 12,000 non EU / EFTA permits would be snapped up / attributed.

However, this is not the case.

Recent SEM data indicates that in 2023, there was a quota ‘shortfall’ — in other words, only a part of available third-country permits had been issued. 

Of the total of 12,000 permits, 7,480 were distributed among cantons for their non-EU / EFTA workforce — 848 (out of 3,500) were issued to UK nationals and 6,632 (out of 8,500) to people from other third countries. 

In fact, “this maximum number had not been fully utilised since 2017,” SEM’s spokesperson Samuel Wyss told The Local.

‘Demand-driven system’

One reason, according to Wyss, is that “the admission of third-country nationals depends on the needs of the economy and employers.”

Therefore, “the system for admitting third-country nationals to the Swiss labour market is demand-driven… The majority of Switzerland’s labour and skilled worker requirements are covered by domestic workers and those from EU/EFTA states.”

Additionally, a number of applicants don’t meet the eligibility criteria for the permit — ranging from the candidates’ professional qualifications to insufficient contribution they would make to Switzerland’s “overall economic interest.”

“If one or more of these requirements are not met, the permit will not be granted, even if there are still quotas available within the annual maximum numbers,” Wyss pointed out.

READ ALSO: How UK citizens can obtain a Swiss work permit set aside for British