As of 22^nd of January 2024, the Zurich labour market authorities (AWA) will replace their previous online portal e-Workpermits to submit work permit applications with their new platform called eArbeitsbewilligungen. The updated platform aims to make the work permit submission process more efficient and user-friendly.

Deloitte was one of the test users during the trial phase in 2023. In this blog, we will delve into the key changes of the platform and provide an overview of it.

Starting on the 22^nd of January 2024, online applications will need to be submitted via the https://workpermit.services.zh.ch platform. Applications and data provided on the previous portal (www.ewp.zh.ch) will not be migrated to eArbeitsbewilligungen. However, AWA Zurich will continue to process pending applications on the previous platform.

We have tested the new platform over the past 8 months and shared feedback and improvement suggestions with AWA Zurich.

The key changes include:

• Users located outside of Switzerland must indicate a domicile or representative in Switzerland.
• Each employer/provider will have to set up their own profile with one main admin contact person. Additional users will need to be individually added to the profile.
• All user profiles can access all applications submitted under the same profile.
• Decisions and the associated invoices will be available and shared directly in the platform in digital format. The same will no longer be sent via post mail.
• The supporting documents must be uploaded to the new platform as separate PDFs. Bundling the application to one document is not appreciated.
• The application status will be visible at any time and status changes are communicated.

We see the main benefits of the new portal to be the following:

• The decisions, as well as invoices, are being provided digitally This is more environmentally friendly and more efficient from a process perspective.
• The application status is visible at any time, reducing the need to ask the labour market authorities for updates.
• The platform enables larger teams within the same profile to manage the pending applications and is easy to use.
• Future integration to federal platforms such as EasyGov will be possible.

On the other hand, the following challenges should be considered:

• Organizations from outside of Switzerland need a representative in country.
• The individual labour market authorities case worker is no longer visible.
• As with the previous platform, application packages must be completed with the initial submission. Uploading additional documents requires manual interaction with the case worker.

The new work permit submission platform clearly signals that the authorities are continuing their digitalization journey. While we say goodbye to eWorkpermits, we embrace eArbeitsbewilligungen as Zurich's future work permit submission platform.

If you have not yet created a new account for your organization, now would be a good time to start. Deloitte could help and guide you in this regard. Alternatively, you can also find more information here.

If you would like to discuss this topic further, please reach out to our key contacts below.

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