The right-wing initiative to curb the number of EU immigrants is raising questions about what would happen to foreigners who already live in Switzerland if this measure wins the majority of votes.
Swiss voters will have their say on the controversial ‘No to 10 million’ initiative, instigated by the Swiss People’s Party’s (SVP), in November.
It seeks to drastically reduce the influx of foreigners into Switzerland, so that the country’s population doesn’t exceed the 10-million mark, which the populist party says will overburden key infrastructure, such as housing, public transport, the health system, and schools.
Concretely, the proposal stipulates that “Switzerland’s permanent resident population must not exceed ten million people before 2050. From 2050 onwards, the Federal Council may adjust this limit annually.”
The initiative states that the government would have to start implementing limits on immigration as soon as Switzerland’s population exceeds 9.5 million people (currently, the country’s population stands at just over 9 million, including nearly 2.5 million foreign nationals).
READ ALSO: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
Though the government, most political parties, members of the parliament, employers’ associations, as well as trade unions, oppose this move, polls carried out in 2025 indicate that the initiative has a strong voter support.
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What does the proposal say about third-country nationals – either those already living in Switzerland or the ones who will want to immigrate to Switzerland in the future?
The initiative doesn’t address this group of people, and for a good reason.
That’s because the vast majority of foreign nationals – 1.5 million people – living and working in Switzerland come from the European Union and EFTA states (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), as they have an unlimited access to the country’s labour market under the bilateral Agreement of the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP).
Citizens of third countries, on the other hand, can only come to live and work in Switzerland under very strict conditions, including quotas, so their numbers are already limited and will remain so in the future.
In fact, one of the SVP’s ideas is to introduce a similar quota-based system on the EU/EFTA nationals once the 10-million mark is reached.
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If it is approved at the ballot box, will foreigners who already live in Switzerland have to leave the country?
Nothing in the text of the proposal indicates that this would be the case.
The initiative targets only the citizens of the EU/EFTA who would want to come after the 10-million population mark is reached, and not those who are already living legally in Switzerland, either on a B or C permit, or those who may still immigrate from those countries until the cut-off threshold.
As it stands right now, the AFMP (which could be amended or even dissolved altogether if the initiative is approved) guarantees that these Europeans are on equal footing – in terms of residency, jobs, and salaries – as their Swiss counterparts.
Defending the initiative to The Local, SVP lawmaker Yvan Pahud, one of the instigators of the move, pointed out that the proposal is not quite as drastic or radical as many people believe it to be.
“Limited immigration, tailored to the needs of the labour market, will remain possible,” if the initiative is accepted in a referendum, Pahud said.
READ ALSO: What are EU/EFTA citizens entitled to in Switzerland compared to non- EU nationals?
