Global Alerts

Switzerland – Quotas for EU/EFTA L Permits Exhausted for Third Quarter of 2016

The quota for L permits for the third quarter of 2016, for short-term assignees from European Union (EU) / European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) countries, has been filled.

Who is Affected?

New, incoming EU/EFTA nationals who are assigned to Switzerland but remain on foreign employment contracts will not be issued L permits until 1 October 2016.

Who is Not Affected?

The quota for B permits, and permits not subject to quotas, such as the 120 day permit and the 4 month short-term permit, are not affected. Quotas for non-EU/EFTA nationals are also not affected.

Cantonal Variations

The cantonal procedures in dealing with the situation vary:

  • Zurich: The authorities will grant permit approval for one month for the time being. One can then ask for an L permit for the duration after expiration of that month and should be able to join the applications which fall under the next quarter, from 1 October 2016 onwards.
  • Basel: The authorities will establish a preliminary decision which will allow assignees to start work. The quota will be issued on 1 October 2016.
  • Geneva: The authorities will establish a preliminary decision which will allow assignees to start work. The quota will be issued on 1 October 2016.
  • Ticino: The authorities in Ticino will not issue any preliminary or temporary approvals. An L-Permit can be applied for only for assignments starting from 1 October 2016.
  • All other cantons: Still under investigation.

The Swiss government decided to keep the reduced amount of permit quota for the year 2016. The quotas are allocated to the cantons on a quarterly basis. Employers should allow for possible delays with sending EU/EFTA nationals to Switzerland.

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