Swiss Immigration Update: A review of 2024 and preview of upcoming changes in 2025 - Tax and Legal blog

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As we enter 2025, we would like to reflect on the past 12 months, summarise the developments, look ahead to the new year, and elaborate on expected changes from an immigration perspective.

Switzerland is known for its reliable and consistent immigration processes and rules. The past 12 months have been no exception, with limited changes to the immigration landscape throughout the year. We anticipate few changes to happen in 2025.

A review of 2024

Facilitation of work permit application process for Non-EU/EFTA nationals

In 2023 several simplifications of the work permit application process for non-EU/EFTA nationals were introduced. One significant change was waiving the three-stage approval process for most locally hired non-EU/EFTA nationals (excluding applications for non-EU/EFTA graduates of Swiss universities or self-employed non-EU/EFTA nationals).

Two years after this change was implemented, we see its impact in practice: in most cantons, these applications no longer require approval from the federal migration office, leading to shorter processing times and cost savings for Swiss employers.

Extension of S-Status

The S-protection status was introduced with the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. This status enables refugees from Ukraine to obtain residence in Switzerland within a short period and without undergoing the usual asylum process. Initially announced for a fixed duration of 12 months, it underwent several extensions due to the ongoing war. In September 2024, the government announced that the status will remain in place until at least March 2026.

Entry-visa exemptions for nationals of Kosovo and Serbia 

Following an EU decision allowing nationals of Kosovo holding a biometric passport and Serbian nationals holding a passport issued by the “Serbian Coordination Direction” to travel to the Schengen Area for short-term stays without a visa, the Federal Council decided that entry to Switzerland without a visa would also be allowed. For nationals of Kosovo, the changes took effect on 1 January 2024; for Serbian nationals, the changes became effective on 13 October 2024.

The visa exemption applies to short-term stays of up to 90 days not linked to employment. For employment in Switzerland, a visa will still be required, and the candidate must meet the requirements according to the Swiss Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration.

New Stagiaire Agreement with the US

Switzerland and the US signed a new agreement on the exchange of trainees and young professionals. This agreement will make it easier for young professionals of US or Swiss nationality to receive training in Switzerland or the US. The new agreement aims to simplify visa processing and apply to a broader range of people to attract more young professionals to use the exchange opportunity. It became effective on 30 November 2024, replacing the previous contract from 1980.

The very first stagiaire agreement was concluded in 1936 between Switzerland and Belgium. Since then, almost 40,000 Swiss trainees have been able to work temporarily abroad and almost 60,000 foreign trainees have been able to do so in Switzerland.

Work permit quotas 

Switzerland has a quota system in place, with different quota numbers for non-EU/EFTA nationals, EU/EFTA national service providers, and UK nationals.

The current data released by the Swiss government shows that the work permit quotas for the year 2024 were not exhausted. At the end of November, the Federal Council announced that the number of work permit quotas for 2025 will remain the same. The volumes are:

  • Quotas for Non-EU/EFTA Nationals: 8,500 quotas will be available for specialists from Non-EU/EFTA countries. There will be 4,500 long-term B permits and 4,000 short-term L permits.
  • Quotas for EU/ EFTA Nationals Service Providers: Approved are 3,500 quotas in total, 3,000 L permits and 500 B permits.
  • Quotas for UK Nationals: Although from an immigration process perspective, UK nationals fall under the non-EU/EFTA nationals category, they receive their own work permit quota allocation. It is anticipated that these quotas will be integrated into the overall quotas for non-EU nationals in the near future. For 2025, the Swiss Federal Council again approved 3,500 quotas for specialists from the UK: 2,100 long-term B permits and 1,400 short-term L permits.

Upcoming changes for 2025

Lifting of Quotas for Croatian nationals

As a result of the high numbers of Croatian national workers who entered the Swiss labour market in 2022, the Swiss Federal Council decided to invoke the safeguard clause for Croatia and reintroduce quotas starting 1 January 2023. During the past two years, the number of short-term and long-term permits was limited to 2,257 per year.

The safeguard clause may only be applied for a maximum of two consecutive years, so it must be lifted from 1 January 2025. This means Swiss employers seeking to hire Croatian nationals in 2025 will no longer have to secure a work permit approval before the start date.

Switzerland can invoke the safeguard clause once more for the year 2026 in case the number of Croatian nationals moving to Switzerland exceeds a certain threshold again in 2025. This is due to the transitional period of ten years applicable to Croatian nationals, which lasts until 31 December 2026.

Limitation of S protection status 

In December 2024, the Swiss Parliament decided to limit the eligibility criteria for the S permit. Therefore, only refugees from areas occupied by Russia or affected by fighting shall be eligible for the S permit. Refugees from Ukrainian regions that are not affected by fighting and are considered safe shall no longer be able to obtain the S protection status.

The Federal Council, together with the Federal Migration Office, will have to define how and when these changes shall be implemented in practice. Refugees already holding an S permit shall not be affected by these changes and shall remain under the protection status S until at least March 2026.

Occupation Notification Requirements – Updated List

Employers in Switzerland are required to advertise vacancies for occupations where the unemployment rate exceeds 5%. The job advertisement for the impacted roles will be posted exclusively on the website of the regional unemployment agencies during the first five days. Only after these five days can employers post the job ad on other platforms.

The government recently updated the list of occupations impacted by the job notification requirement. Jobs subject to the job notification requirement are primarily in construction or gastronomy. However, as of 1 January 2025, the following occupations are back on the list (amongst others):

  • Managers in marketing, sales & distribution
  • Clinical research scientists

Employers recruiting in these occupations must ensure they post their vacancies accordingly with the unemployment agencies. Whether a job is affected by the job notification requirement can be checked with the Check-Up 2025 tool.

ETIAS Travel Authorisation 

The EU created the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) to strengthen security checks for individuals benefiting from visa-free travel to the EU. The ETIAS is a travel authorisation that will be mandatory for nationals who are visa-exempt for entry into 30 European countries, including Switzerland.

Before travelling, travellers must apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation through the official ETIAS website or the ETIAS mobile application. The travel authorisation is usually valid for three years or until the expiry of the travel documents used for the application.

The ETIAS travel authorisation application must be submitted well in advance as airlines and sea carriers are required to verify the possession of ETIAS authorisation in advance of travel. Furthermore, the ETIAS system will work in tandem with the Entry/Exit System (EES) to facilitate easier identification of travellers. The EES is an automated border check system that enables the registration of non-EU nationals at the time of entry or exit at the external borders of selected Schengen Area countries.

The go-live date for this system was postponed several times. The goal is for the system to be introduced in mid-2025.

Conclusions and recommendations 

The year we just closed was calm, with few changes in immigration regulations. While we do not expect many changes to occur in 2025, those taking place will undoubtedly impact employers and their employees.

One of the most important and positive changes is lifting the quotas and corresponding process changes for Croatian nationals. It will lead to a more straightforward process when hiring Croatian nationals in Switzerland. 

Implementing the ETIAS travel authorisation will likely be one of the changes requiring the most adaptations when travelling to Europe. The implementation of ETIAS is a personal obligation for the individual travelling. However, when the travel is for business purposes, it also affects employers. Alongside the changes related to Croatian nationals and the occupation notification requirement, employers will need to evaluate situations carefully and well before a potential travel or move of their employees to Switzerland.

If you would like to discuss any of the above topics, please reach out to our key contacts below.

Key contacts

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Jehona Islami - Director, Immigration

Jehona is a Director at Deloitte and part of the Immigration Team in Switzerland. She started her career in 2008 and has been able to gain extensive experience in the field of immigration throughout her career so far. She has been supporting both, corporates as well as private clients with their immigration needs for Switzerland. In the last few years, her focus has been on immigration advisory services mainly for private clients, but not exclusively, as well as providing support to corporate clients on best practices and compliance in immigration.

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Aysun Inceleme - Manager, Immigration

Aysun is an Immigration Manager within Deloitte’s Global Employer Services. She enjoys working with different global and local clients and being the mediator between clients and the Swiss authorities. In her day-to-day business her focus lies in advisory on the Swiss immigration law and requirements to ensure a smooth delivery of our services. Aysun holds a master’s degree in political science and public law. She studied in Zurich and worked at the Swiss Embassy in Albania before she joined Deloitte.

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