A longstanding treaty between Bern and Brussels gives people from the EU an almost unlimited access to Switzerland’s labour market, as does another international agreement, with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), that allows citizens of Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein to live and work in Switzerland as well.

Workers from those countries are needed to fill the shortages in Switzerland’s labour market and keep boosting the country’s economy.

However, some Swiss politicians continue to voice opposition to the number of foreigners allowed to work and live in Switzerland. They propose sometime radical measures aimed at limiting the numbers.

So what’s on the table and do these proposals have a chance of succeeding?

The latest party to speak out and offer a radical anti-immigration measure was the centre-right Liberal Radical Party (PLR).

As part of the negotiations with the European Union that are currently underway, Thierry Burkart, PLR’s president, has spoken in favour of an immigration tax for Swiss companies that hire foreigners.

The idea is that Swiss employers who recruit from abroad should contribute financially to the economic costs of immigration.

“With this tax, it would be up to companies to weigh up advantages and disadvantages of hiring foreign workers,” he said.

This proposed immigration tax was put forward by the Federal Council as a compromise measure following a push by the populist SVP party to make immigration more expensive and less appealing.

In July 2024 the council announced it was studying the feasibility of imposing an ‘entry fee’ for workers coming to the country from non-EU countries.

READ ALSO: What is Switzerland’s proposed immigration tax on non-EU workers?

The council’s proposal was designed to head off another one, brought up by the populist and right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), calling on the government to impose a ‘residence tax’ on all foreigners, including those from the European Union and EFTA nations.

SVP deputy Andrea Caroni argued that foreigners who come to Switzerland take advantage of the country’s excellent infrastructure and other benefits, and should therefore pay for it. 

This is based on an earlier proposal, by Swiss economist Reiner Eichenberger, who estimated that “based on the costs to Switzerland and the benefits to immigrants, residence taxes of 5,000 francs annually are justifiable.”

Under the SVP proposal, part of the revenue from this tax would be used to offset the costs generated by immigration, such as the scarcity of housing and overuse of Switzerland’s infrastructure. 

‘No’ to population growth

The residence tax idea is an offshoot of the SVP’s popular initiative, ‘No to Switzerland of 10 million people’, which seeks to stop the influx of foreigners when the permanent resident population exceeds 9.5 million (it currently exceeds 9 million). 

It could have major repercussions if it passes for example, Bern would have to terminate the agreement on the free movement of people with the EU.

Another frequently used tactic by that the hard-right SVP is using pressure the government to curb immigration is to link the arrival of foreigners to higher crime rate.

“Switzerland is becoming less and less safe, due to the importation of crime that benefits from the lax migration policy and lax border controls,” the SVP said, vowing to launch even more anti-foreigner initiatives in the future.

Do any of these ideas have a chance of succeeding?

The PLR’s proposal to tax companies hiring foreign workers remains just that at this point — a proposal, so it is difficult to judge what, if anything, will become of it.

As for the proposed ‘residence tax’ for foreigners not surprisingly, many in Switzerland are opposed to the idea.

Opponents criticise the fact that the suggested tax focuses only on the costs of immigration, while ignoring the usefulness of immigrants for the Swiss economy, including the contribution they make towards financing the country’s infrastructure and welfare system through the taxes they pay. 

There are fears that if implemented, such a move would further exacerbate the existing labour shortage, as it would discourage foreigners from coming to Switzerland and Swiss employers from hiring them.

So the opposition and worries over labour market shortages mean it is unlikely to succeed.

The future of the SVP’s  ‘No to Switzerland of 10 million people’ popular vote is not clear at this point either.

The date for the referendum has not yet been set, but even when it does happen, much depends on whether or not the voters will listen to the arguments put forth by the SVP, or those of the government and economists, who say that curbing immigration “would likely result in an unprecedented economic vulnerability” in Switzerland.

In the SVP’s most recent initiative, on September 27th, 2020, 61.7 percent of voters rejected its proposal to curb immigration from the EU. 

That was, however, four years ago, before the population surged to 9 million and the prospect of further growth was on the radar.

READ ALSO: What Switzerland’s new vote to limit immigration could mean 

And there is more

One particular anti-immigrant move that has been tabeled in Switzerland is not against foreigners coming to the country, but those already here.

And, ironically, this targetted group are not really ‘foreigners’ but dual nationals who, for all intents and purposes, are Swiss citizens and they are a significant group – MPs in the Swiss parliament.

About 10 percent of Switzerland’s MPs have a second passport in addition to the Swiss one; most from an European Union nation, but also from Turkey, Colombia, and Australia. Some were born abroad, which means they became Swiss through naturalisation.

However, some in the parliament have been trying to outlaw bi-nationality in their ranks.

One deputy from the SVP even filed a motion to make dual citizens ineligible to run for either the National Council or the Council of States — the two chambers that form the parliament. 

The reason for this move was because these legislators “don’t represent Switzerland’s best interests.”

Banning dual citizenship from the parliament, however, is not feasible.

According to Rainer J. Schweizer, professor of constitutional law, implementing this  proposal would be problematic from a legal point of view.

He said a constitutional amendment would be needed to forbid dual citizens from running for national offices.

This could only be decided through a referendum.

And even then, the matter would not be resolved because the ban would conflict with the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The exclusion of dual citizens from the parliament would not be accepted because it would violate freedom of expression and the law against discrimination”, he said.

READ ALSO: Swiss politician’s call to ban dual citizens from becoming MPs sparks anger