The rules for obtaining a work permit for third-country nationals are strict, but a member of Switzerland’s parliament is trying to facilitate the process for foreigners with Swiss roots.
A group of descendants of Swiss emigrants in Argentina have been trying to obtain Swiss nationality, but their initiative was rejected by the Federal Council.
That’s because even though citizenship can be based on ancestry through either paternal or maternal descent, it can be lost if the legal deadlines for claiming or renewing it are not met.
This seems to be the case with the group of Argentinians in question — their (or their ancestors’) Swiss nationality was lapsed so their legal links to Switzerland are tenuous at best.
As it is, they are not only citizens of a foreign nation but also of a “third country”, which makes matters even more complicated from the standpoint of access to Switzerland’s residency and labour market because, as is the case for all non-EU/EFTA citizens, they too are subject to work quotas.
However, someone in Switzerland is championing their cause — MP Carlo Sommaruga.
Close ties
“Throughout the world, there are numerous communities of Swiss nationals,” Social Democrat Sommaruga stated in his motion.
“But within these communities, there are many people who, while maintaining a strong connection to our country, have not held Swiss nationality for one, two, or three generations. These descendants of Swiss nationals, living on other continents, also bear names that are very common in our cantons.”
Sommaruga also pointed out that these people “are very often involved in associations that cultivate ties with Switzerland, participate in patriotic festivities such as August 1st, and contribute to the preservation of Swiss culture abroad. This connection remains strong, despite the distance and the financial impossibility of affording trips to Switzerland.”
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What exactly does he propose?
Sommaruga’s solution is a separate quota for residence permits for those who have Swiss ties but no citizenship. (This would be in addition to the two already existing sets of quotas — a general one for all third-country citizens and another specifically for UK nationals).
This system, Sommaruga argues, would benefit both the Swiss descendants and the country’s economy, as the newcomers would be filling tens of thousands of vacant jobs in the labour market.
However, the Federal Council and other deputies oppose this proposal, emphasising that existing rules are sufficient and that migration policy should not be over-complicated.
As an alternative, one MP, Matthias Michel from the Liberal-Radical party, suggests that instead of a third set of a quotas, a simplified naturalisation procedure for those wishing to return to Switzerland be put in place.
As for the Federal Council, which is also against Sommaruga’s idea, it said that descendants of Swiss nationals living abroad may, under certain conditions, obtain Swiss nationality.
Furthermore, “a simple notification to a Swiss authority abroad is sufficient for a child born in another country to parents of whom at least one is Swiss, to retain Swiss nationality. This already guarantees direct descendants privileged access to the Swiss labour market.”
READ ALSO: The different routes to obtaining a Swiss passport
