SWITZERLAND – Foreign Worker Numbers to be Restricted
On February 9th, an amendment was passed by Swiss voters that aimed to cap the number of foreign workers in Switzerland. The initiative, introduced as an anti-mass immigration policy to maintain Swiss identity, was only narrowly passed with 50.3% in favor. The Federal Council announced steps a few days later that will implement the new amendment. The change in legislation requires a quota system to be imposed on the number of foreign workers that companies may employ from the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. Many details, such as how large the quotas will be or what conditions will need to be met in order to obtain a work permit in Switzerland, have yet to be decided. No immediate changes have been made to the processing of work permits, and it is believed that it could take up to three years for all changes to become permanent.