Trainees are eligible for a short-term residence permit. These permits are granted for a maximum period of 18 months.

Trainees are persons aged 18 to 35 who have completed their occupational training and want to undergo some advanced occupational or linguistic training in the context of gainful employment in Switzerland. Trainees are subject to rules that have been laid down in special treaties; therefore, they are subject to special quotas. The legal provisions concerning issues of national priority do not apply to them.

Trainee permits are granted based on a written employment agreement with an integrated training program.

Trainees should receive salaries comparable to those of host-country nationals in the same job and with similar qualifications, and should, in any case, be able to cover their living expenses.

Employers are free to look for candidates in their own subsidiary companies abroad or through business connections. However, if preferred, they may ask the government officials responsible for the scheme to help them find suitable trainees for any positions available.

With the exception of Croatia, nationals from EU/EFTA member states have the right to reside and work in Switzerland.

Protocol III, extending the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons to Croatia, came into force on 1 January 2017.

According to this protocol, nationals from Croatia were subject to transitional restrictions regarding access to the Swiss labor market until 31 December 2023. The delivery of work permits was subject to the following conditions:

• Economic needs test: A permit is only granted if no equivalent candidate is already available in the Swiss labor market.
• Control of wage and working conditions: A permit is only granted if local wage levels and working conditions are respected.
• Quota: A permit is only granted if the respective quota for the L or B permit has not yet been met. Cross-border work permits and permits with a validity of less than four months are not subject to a quota.

These restrictions only applied to first admission. Once admitted to the labor market, nationals of Croatia benefit from full professional and geographical mobility. Apart from the specific restrictions above, nationals of Croatia have the same rights and obligations as all other EU/EFTA nationals.

Between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2026, Switzerland will still be entitled to set quotas for nationals of Croatia, provided immigration from this country exceeds a certain threshold.

No permit is required. The employer can simply announce the foreign national's presence using the Federal Office for Migration's online registration procedure.

A short-term L EC/EFTA permit will be issued for the duration of the contract. Upon presenting a new contract, it can be prolonged to a maximum duration of 364 days or renewed.

A B EC/EFTA residence permit is issued with an initial validity of five years.

Workers living in an EU/EFTA member state and employed in Switzerland based on a Swiss employment agreement can receive a G EU/EFTA frontier worker permit, provided that they return home at least once a week. As the employee stays in Switzerland during the week, they must register where they are staying with the communal authorities.

The settlement permit is not regulated by the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. It is currently granted to pre-2004 EU and EFTA nationals after five years of residence in Switzerland, based on settlement agreements or considerations of reciprocity. Currently, as no such agreements exist for the new EU member states, their citizens receive the C permit after the regular residence period of 10 years. The C permit has to be renewed every five years. It is not subject to restrictions with regard to the labor market, and its holders are essentially placed on the same level as Swiss nationals (holders can invoke the freedom of trade and industry), with the exception of the right to vote and elect.

The rules for independent entrepreneurs are the same for nationals of all EU and EFTA member states.

Nationals of EU/EFTA member states who would like to start a business in Switzerland can apply for a five-year B EU/EFTA permit with the respective cantonal authorities. This permit will be granted if there is proof of an effective independent activity. The cantonal immigration authorities determine what documents must be presented. As a general rule, these include some or all of the following: a business plan, proof of capital for starting the business, proof of specific preparations for launching the business (such as a rental agreement for real estate) and a registration with the register of commerce.

Permit B: residence permit

Resident foreign nationals are foreign nationals who are resident in Switzerland for a longer period of time for a certain purpose with or without gainful employment.

As a rule, the validity period of residence permits for foreign nationals is limited to one year when the permit is granted for the first time. First-time permits for gainful employment may only be issued within the limits of the ceilings and in compliance with the FNA. Once a permit has been granted, it is normally renewed every year unless there are reasons against a renewal, such as criminal offenses, dependence on social security or labor market conditions. A legal entitlement to the renewal of an annual permit only exists in certain cases. In practice, an annual permit is normally renewed as long as its holder is able to draw a daily allowance from the unemployment insurance. In these cases, however, the holder is not actually entitled to a renewal of the permit.

Permit C: settlement permit

Settled foreign nationals are foreign nationals who have been granted a settlement permit after five or 10 years' residence in Switzerland. The right to settle in Switzerland is not subject to any restrictions and must not be tied to any conditions. The Federal Office of Migration fixes the earliest date from which the competent national authorities may grant settlement permits.

As a rule, foreign nationals can be granted a settlement permit after 10 years of regular and uninterrupted residence in Switzerland. US, Canadian and UK nationals can be granted a settlement permit after five years of residence. However, foreign nationals have no legal entitlement to settlement permits. Aside from the provisions of settlement treaties, such a claim can only be derived from the FNA. Persons who hold a settlement permit are no longer subject to the Limitation Regulation, are free to choose their employers and are no longer taxed at source.

Permit Ci: residence permit with gainful employment

The residence permit with gainful employment is intended for family members of persons working for intergovernmental organizations or foreign representations. This concerns spouses and children up to 25 years of age. The validity of the permit is limited to the duration of the main holder's function.

Permit G: cross-border commuter permit

Cross-border commuters are foreign nationals who are resident in a foreign border zone and are gainfully employed within the neighboring border zone of Switzerland. They are entitled to permit G after six months of residence in the border zone. The term "border zone" describes the regions that have been fixed in cross-border commuter treaties concluded between Switzerland and its neighboring countries. Cross-border commuters must return to their main place of residence abroad at least once a week.

Permit L: short-term residence permit

Short-term residents are foreign nationals who are resident in Switzerland for a limited period of time (usually less than a year) for a certain purpose with or without gainful employment.

Foreign nationals can be granted a short-term residence permit for a stay of up to one year, provided the quota of the number of foreign nationals staying in Switzerland has not been met. The Federal Council fixes this annually. The validity period of the permit is identical to the term of the employment contract. In exceptional cases, this permit can be extended to an overall duration of no more than 24 months if the holder works for the same employer throughout this time. Time spent in Switzerland for a basic or advanced traineeship is also considered short-term residence. Permits issued to foreign nationals who are gainfully employed for a total of no more than four months within one calendar year are not subject to the quota regulation.

Permit F: provisionally admitted foreign nationals

Provisionally admitted foreign nationals are persons who have been ordered to return from Switzerland to their native countries, but in cases where the enforcement of this order has proved inadmissible (e.g., violation of international law), unreasonable (e.g., concrete endangerment of the foreign national) or impossible for technical reasons of enforcement. Thus, their provisional admission constitutes a substitute measure. Provisional admission may be ordered for a duration of 12 months and can be extended by the canton of residence for a further 12 months at a time. The cantonal authorities may grant provisionally admitted foreign nationals work permits for gainful employment, irrespective of the situation of the labor market and in the economy generally. A residence permit granted at a later date is subject to the provisions of the LEtr.

Permit S: protection status

Under protection status S, the persons concerned receive a Permit S. This is limited to a maximum of one year, but can be extended. After five years, persons in need of protection may receive a B residence permit, which is valid until the temporary protection has been lifted.

Persons who are granted protection status S may travel abroad and return to Switzerland without a travel permit. They may engage in gainful employment (including self-employment) immediately.

Persons with protection status S are assigned to a canton after registration. What applies in which canton? 

There is no quota for protection status S.

The following persons are eligible for protection status S:

• Ukrainian citizens seeking protection and their family members (partners, minor children and other close relatives who were fully or partially supported at the time of flight) who were residents in Ukraine before 24 February 2022
• Persons of other nationalities and stateless persons seeking protection, and their family members as defined in paragraph a) above, who held international or national protection status in Ukraine before 24 February 2022
• Persons of other nationalities and stateless persons seeking protection, and their family members as defined in paragraph a) above, who can prove by means of a valid short-term residence permit or residence permit that they have a valid right of residence in Ukraine and cannot return to their home country safely and permanently

People under protection status S are allowed to work/be employed.

Protection status S is valid until the Federal Council withdraws it and depends on the continued existence of serious general danger in Ukraine.