The Council of States’ Committee on Political Institutions wants to add an immigration levy to the ‘safeguard clauses’ within the future package of agreements between Switzerland and the European Union.
For employed individuals, the levy would be charged to employers, but adults arriving in Switzerland under family reunification provisions would also be subject to the tax and would have to pay it themselves.
If the safeguard clause were to be triggered, the levy would also apply to nationals of third countries.
First: what is the ‘safeguard clause’?
It is intended to limit the free movement of people from the EU and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) into Switzerland to protect the labour market and the country’s social welfare system in the event of a sudden rise in immigration from those countries.
In such cases, Bern has had the right to invoke this clause unilaterally — that is, without the EU’s consent.
During the negotiations over the new package of treaties, however, this provision caused a protracted tug-of-war, with the Swiss insisting on keeping the law intact, while officials in Brussels arguing the provision went “a step too far.”
In the end, a compromise of sorts was reached, with both sides having to modify their initial expectations, but Switzerland will still have this right in some situations.
What about the tax?
The idea is not new; this kind of levy – either paid by employers or immigrants themselves – has been discussed on and off for the past three years.
The move’s instigator, MP Andrea Caroni from the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), has been arguing that foreigners who come to Switzerland take advantage of the country’s excellent infrastructure and other benefits, and should therefore pay for it.
He asked the Federal Council to look into the feasibility of imposing such a tax either directly on foreign workers or the companies that hire them.
“This would make employers wonder whether they should actually recruit someone from abroad instead of from within the country,” he said.
READ MORE: Could foreigners in Switzerland be forced to pay ‘immigration tax’?
A similar measure was proposed in 2025 by deputy Simon Michel from the Liberal-Radical Party (FDP).
Under his proposal, anyone moving to Switzerland would have to pay 3 percent of their income for 11 years, thus generating up to 1 billion francs annually, which would be redistributed among Switzerland’s population — for instance, in the form of a reduction in health insurance premiums.
However, after examining both proposals, the Federal Council concluded in May 2026 that “the only option considered feasible without amending the Constitution would be to introduce an incentive-based tax, the revenue from which would be redistributed to the population and the economy.”
However, applying this tax to nationals of EU and EFTA “would be contrary” to the terms of the free movement of people agreement that Switzerland concluded with the European Union, it added.
Not the last word
Now the Council of States committee wants to bring this issue up again, and will vote on it during the autumn session of the Parliament, which begins on September 14th.
For the tax to be included in the agreement with the EU, MPs from the National Council would have to accept it as well.
But even at that point, the future of this clause will still not be set in stone.
That’s because the new batch of agreements between Bern and Brussels has not yet been ratified and its ultimate fate will be sealed by Swiss voters.
Under the country’s direct-democracy system, the government must seek voters’ approval before introducing new laws, and the new treaties are no exception.
While no date for the vote has been set, it is likely to take place in 2027.
READ MORE: What happens next with the landmark Swiss-EU agreements?
