BREXIT – Switzerland And UK Conclude Agreement On Mobility Of Service Suppliers
Switzerland and the United Kingdom have secured an agreement on
services. The Service Mobility Agreement (SMA), which
was signed on December 14, 2020 and entered into force from January
1, 2021, will be valid initially for two years.
It allows service suppliers, such as management consultants, IT
experts or engineers, to continue travelling freely between
Switzerland and the UK and work for up to 90 days per year, without
the need for visas, economic interest tests, work permits, evidence
of language skills or lengthy processing times.
In concrete terms, this means that Switzerland will continue to
offer the 90-day notification procedure in the following
situations:
- Persons seconded by companies basedin the UK, irrespective of their nationality. For third-countrynationals and EU/EFTA nationals who are posted to Switzerland from
the UK for the purpose of cross-border services, the notification
procedure is only applicable if they were already permanently (i.e.
for at least 12 months) admitted to the regular UK labour market
before their secondment to Switzerland.
- Self-employed cross-border serviceproviders with company headquarters in the UK who are UK citizens.EU/EFTA nationals who are registered as self-employed workers in
the UK should therefore normally no longer benefit from the 90-day
notification procedure.
The existing Swiss 8-day exemption rule for
sending companies based in the EU/EFTA will continue to apply.
Applicants employed outside Switzerland who will be working in
Switzerland for up to eight days per calendar year per company or
per self-employed worker may not need to obtain work permits or
complete a 90-day notification.
Please note that this is general information only and not
intended as advice on a specific matter. Please feel free to
contact FGI directly with questions
exclusive to your situation. This news alert may have been prepared
using information from Peregrine Immigration Management, which is
licensed to FGI.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.