Citizens of the European Union have an unlimited access to the Swiss labour market. But what about nationals of third countries who have work and residency rights for an EU country.
This could be a tricky and a somewhat confusing situation: if you are, for instance, a UK or US national — or come from another country outside the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein) — but have the residency rights in those countries, you may assume you can freely move to Switzerland as well.
However, this isn’t so (with some exceptions — read more about them below).
For all intents and purposes related to employment, Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals are — at least in principle — on an equal footing.
READ ALSO: Can companies in Switzerland favour Swiss workers over EU citizens?
But this right does not extend to people who merely live in the EU/EFTA nations without actually being citizens of those countries.
What does the law say?
The right to work and live in Switzerland is based on the person’s citizenship, not their residency.
Therefore, third-country nationals can’t just pack up and move to Switzerland based merely on their legal residence status within the EU or EFTA.
In fact, the same strict requirements apply to EU-based third-country foreigners as to those still based in their countries on origin.
This means that they must go through an often-complex process of finding a Swiss employer willing to hire them, who must then apply for a work permit for them based on a number of strict criteria, including having skills that no Swiss or EU/EFTA national has for that particular job.
And the fact of already living in the EU or EFTA is not going to be a factor in their favour.
READ ALSO: What do third-country nationals need to do to move to Switzerland?
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There are, however, some exceptions to these rules
There are also no restrictions if you happen to be a dual national of a third country AND a EU or EFTA state.
Also, if you have a residence card (held for at least 12 months) in a Schengen state and are sent by a company in that Schengen country for an assignment in Switzerland, you can work here for up to 90 days per calendar year without needing to apply for an additional work visa for Switzerland.
Rules are also more relaxed for those applying for a cross-border permit.
According to State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), “third-country nationals will be given a G permit, if they have a permanent residence permit in a neighbouring country.”
However, this will only happen if they have lived with this permit in the neighbouring country’s border zone for at least six months and fulfil the labour market requirements — which means have an employer lined up on the Swiss side willing to hire them.
READ ALSO: Can a non-EU citizen work as a cross-border worker in Switzerland?
