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Switzerland: Work Permit Quotas Lowered 50% for 2010
2010-01-15
by fragomen.com
The Federal Council of Switzerland is reducing the 2010 work permit quotas by fifty percent for non-European Union (EU)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) nationals and nationals from pre-enlargement EU countries on assignment in Switzerland for more than 90 days. The quota for B-Permits, which are used for long-term assignments, will be 2,000. L-Permits, which are issued for a period up to one year (but are extendable up to 24 months), will be limited to 3,500. Employers should evaluate their 2010 work permit needs for Switzerland and plan on filing as early as they can because the reduction is expected cause quotas to be reached much earlier than in previous years. Note, however, that the Federal Council of Switzerland has announced it will reevaluate quota numbers in June 2010 and may increase them for the second half of 2010.
In addition, work permit applications, in particular those for workers in the IT industries, are likely to be subject to increased scrutiny. Employers should continue to ensure that they document well their need for foreign national workers when submitting work permit applications, as well meeting all other documentary requirements. They should also ensure that salary requirements for work permit holders continue to be met.
Each year, the Swiss Federal Council fixes quotas for the number of non-EU/EFTA nationals who may enter Switzerland to take up employment; the quotas are administered by cantonal and federal authorities. The separate quotas for foreign nationals from the EU’s “Accession 8” countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia) and for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals are not being lowered in 2010. Foreign nationals from the pre-enlargement EU countries do not need work permits to take up employment in Switzerland if they are hired locally.
Note that work permit quotas apply only to first-time applicants seeking to take up employment in Switzerland or to those seeking to convert an L-Permit into a B-Permit. Work permit extensions are not subject to the quotas. Prospective Non-EU/EFTA national workers may be eligible for four-month work permits, which are not subject to a quota but are subject to other restrictions and it is likely that they will not be able to extend their status from within Switzerland.
In preparing this article, Fragomen worked closely with SuterHowald (Switzerland). The content is provided for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.
http://www.fragomen.com/newsresources/xprNewsDetailFrag.aspx?xpST=GlobalAlerts&news=673
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