By 1 April 2020, employers 'obligation to cover their employees' cost for accommodation, meals and travel while on assignments in Switzerland will be lower due to new changes to the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA).

Current status:

By law, employers were required to cover all costs for accommodation, meals and travel for employees assigned to Switzerland, regardless of the assignment’s duration.

Changes as of 1 April:

Employers will have to cover the cost of accommodation, meals and travel for the first 12 months only.

This means a significant saving for employers in case of assignments in Switzerland – for example: in many cantons the lump sum to cover accommodation, meals and travel is approximately CHF 3.000 per month. For a four-year assignment, employers can now save up to CHF 108.000 compared to before the change.

We recommend to review the policies and respective assignment costs for assignees. We are clarifying details with the relevant authorities and will provide further updates as soon as possible.

Please reach out to our key contacts below if you would like to know more about this topic.

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Key contacts

 

David Wigersma - Partner, Global Employer Services

David has 17 years of experience in the area of international corporate and individual taxation planning. He specialises in addressing the complex compliance needs of a cross-border workforce with varied elements of compensation.

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Timo Heck - Senior Manager, Immigration

Timo is an Immigration Senior Manager at Deloitte in Switzerland. He advises both domestic and international, listed and private companies on all aspects of Swiss immigration and has deep experience in implementing client-tailored complex immigration processes as well as advising on best-practices to accommodate the specific needs of his clients.

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Julia Stutzer - Senior Manager, Immigration

Julia is an Immigration Senior Manager at Deloitte in Switzerland. She has been supporting both global companies as well as medium and small sized enterprises with their immigration needs for more than 10 years. Julia puts her focus on immigration advisory services, advising clients on best practice and coordinating complex interdisciplinary requests with the tax and social security teams.

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