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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Can foreigners choose where to live in Switzerland or does it depend on your permit?

If you are about to move to Switzerland, or are already here but want to change your address, there are some things you should know.

Can foreigners choose where to live in Switzerland or does it depend on your permit?
Depending on your origin and work permit, you can't just pack up and move. Photo by Brina Blum on Unsplash

The first thing you should know about Switzerland (if you don’t already) is that this country has many rules — both written and unwritten ones.

Some of them relate to where foreign nationals can and cannot live—an important piece of information if you are looking for a place to settle in.

In a nutshell, your residence options depend on your nationality and the kind of work permit your hold.

EU / EFTA

If you have a passport from an European Union state, or else Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein (which, along with Switzerland, are part of EFTA), then your choice of domicile is wide open.

Due to the Free Movement of Persons Agreement (AFMP) between Bern and Brussels,  nationals of EU / EFTA get an almost unlimited access to Switzerland, as well as sweeping rights overall, which include being able to change jobs and move from one canton to another. 

In other words, if you a citizen of the 27 countries within the EU and three within the EFTA, then you can settle anywhere you want in Switzerland, provided you have a residence permit from the Swiss commune in which you are living, or moving to.

READ ALSO: Just how freely can EU citizens move to (and within) Switzerland?

However, this freedom to settle wherever you want within Switzerland is more restricted for citizens of third nations — that is, those from outside the EU / EFTA.

Less rights, more limits

People from third countries have far fewer privileges—not only in terms of being allowed to work in Switzerland in the first place, but also regarding the canton where they can choose to settle.

You may have heard good things about a specific location in Switzerland, but unfortunately you can’t just live anywhere you want, unless, of course, you are very wealthy

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.

If you fall under this category and are permitted to work in Switzerland, you must, in principle, live in the canton where your employer is located  and can’t freely move within Switzerland. This is because your permit is not automatically transferred to, and valid in, another canton (there are, however, some exemptions to this rule, explained below).

You can, however, move from one municipality to another, as long as you remain within the same canton.

What happens if you must change jobs?

While you can’t just pack up and move to another canton if your permit is tied to a specific job and a specific location, there are some situations when you may be allowed to do so —but you must obtain an official permission first.

The rules differ according to the kind of permit you have.

According to SEM, holders of a short-term L  permit “may be allowed to change jobs if they cannot continue to work for their current employer or if they cannot reasonably be expected to do so.”

“However, they must remain within the same sector as well as the same profession, and the change of job will be permitted only if it has not been necessitated by the employee’s own behaviour.” 

Those with a B permit, can, generally speaking, change their employers without the need for authorisations, unless the residence permit is linked to a specific job.

However, relocations will not be permitted if a person is unemployed or there are grounds for revocation of their permits.

Another scenario under which non-EU / EFTA nationals could be granted the right to move is if their company relocates to another canton, or wants to send the employee to a subsidiary in another canton.

In both these cases, a transfer is generally allowed, as long as the new permit is granted by the canton in question.

And there is one more exception

The exemptions cited above concern third-country nationals who are employed in Switzerland under a B or L permit.

If, however, you are a non-EU / EFTA national who has a permanent residence status (that is, the coveted C permit), then you can move freely from one canton to another, and settle anywhere you want.
 
 

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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Switzerland sees record high immigration from European countries

Switzerland has seen record immigration from European countries and a new report reveals a correlation with the country's low unemployment rate.

Switzerland sees record high immigration from European countries

Lots of data indicates that Switzerland needs foreign workers to fill job vacancies.

Now a report from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) confirms the importance that employees from the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have had for Switzerland’s labour market and economy in general. 

That is why “demand for foreign labour was strong in Switzerland in 2023,” SECO said in its annual report published on Monday, which assessed the impact that the Free Movement of Persons agreement (FMPA) has had on the country’s employment.

In 2023, 68,000 people from EU and EFTA countries came to work in Switzerland, according to SECO, driven by “employment growth that has significantly exceeded the EU average.”

Why does Switzerland need EU / EFTA workers?

Simply put, they are needed for the country’s economy to function optimally.

As SECO pointed out, while the number of pensioners is growing (due mostly to Switzerland’s exceptionally high life expectancy), “Swiss working-age population has experienced only slow growth over the past 20 years.”

“The country’s economic growth is not possible without immigration,” said Simon Wey, chief economist at the Swiss Employers’ Union. “We need foreign labour if we want to maintain our level of prosperity.”  

READ ALSO: How EU immigrant workers have become ‘essential’ for Switzerland 

In what sectors is the need for these workers the highest?

“A large number of people from the EU coming to work in Switzerland are highly qualified and are employed in demanding activities in high-growth branches of the service sector, such as the branch of special, scientific and technical activities, that of information and communication or the health sector;” SECO’s report said.

But the Swiss economy also recruits EU nationals as low-skilled labour, particularly in the hotel and catering industry, as well as construction and industry.

Why are only people from the EU / EFTA states recruited?

The reason is that, unlike nationals of third countries, people from the EU / EFTA have an almost unlimited access to the Swiss employment market, thanks precisely to the FMPA. 

Also, those coming from the neighbour countries (as most of Switzerland’s foreign labour force does), have the required language skills to easily integrate into the workforce in language-appropriate Swiss regions.
 

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