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Job offer & working

A Swiss job — and the question of who applies for the permit

Whether you can take a job depends on your nationality. EU/EFTA nationals have the right to work; for non-EU nationals it is the employer who files the application — and admission is capped.

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Zürich old town and the Limmat at sunset, with the towers of the Grossmünster, Fraumünster and St. Peter.

There is no single “work permit”. Who may work, and who files the application, depends on whether you are an EU/EFTA or a non-EU (third-country) national.

Depending on nationality

Two paths to a work permit

EU/EFTA nationals take up a job under free movement. Non-EU nationals are admitted only if the employer files the application and several conditions are met.

EU/EFTA nationals

Free movement · FZA

You have the right to take up gainful employment. With an employment contract you receive the permit; your employer needs none.

  • Right to reside and work.
  • No quotas, no labour-market priority test.
  • Contract of a year or more: B permit for at least five years.
FZA Anhang I Art. 2FZA Anhang I Art. 6
See the EU/EFTA path

Non-EU (third-country) nationals

AIG / VZAE

Your employer files the application before you start. Admission must serve the economic interest and is tied to several conditions.

  • The employer must file the application.
  • Capped by quotas and a labour-market priority test.
  • Reserved for managers, specialists and the qualified.
AIG Art. 18AIG Art. 33 Abs. 3 + VZAE Art. 58
See the whole path

Not sure which group applies to you? Special cases — such as family members of EU/EFTA citizens — can differ. Ask Clara.

The priority test — made concrete

Five working days before a reported vacancy is advertised openly

For occupation types with above-average unemployment a job-reporting duty applies: the employer reports the vacancy to the regional job centre, and at first it is open only to people registered there. This preserves the priority of resident and EU/EFTA workers.

Deadline

5working days

from publication of the reported vacancy in the job-reporting system

AIG Art. 21a Abs. 3 + AVV Art. 53b
If missed: If the embargo is not observed, the vacancy must be reported again before any third-country permit application.
  • Working days exclude public holidays — check the cantonal calendar.

This duty falls on the employer. For non-EU nationals it explains why a job offer alone is not yet a permit.

What admission requires

Five conditions for a non-EU permit

An offer is not enough. For non-EU nationals the authorities check several statutory conditions — the employer must meet them all.

  • Economic interest, employer’s application

    Admission must serve the country’s overall economic interests, and it is the employer — not you — who files the application.

    AIG Art. 18

  • Quotas

    The Confederation caps the number of initial permits each year. Once the cantonal quota is exhausted, admission is no longer possible for the time being.

    AIG Art. 20

  • Priority of resident workers

    The post is authorised only if it is shown that no worker in Switzerland or from the EU/EFTA area with the required profile could be found.

    AIG Art. 21 Abs. 1

  • Personal qualifications

    Only managers, specialists and other qualified workers are admitted — as a rule with a degree and professional experience.

    AIG Art. 23

  • Local-standard pay and conditions

    Pay and working conditions must match what is customary for the locality, profession and sector — no one may be hired on worse terms than local workers.

    AIG Art. 22

These conditions do not apply to EU/EFTA nationals — for them, free movement governs.

The path to the job — in order

What to do next

  1. Establish your nationality class

    EU/EFTA or non-EU — this determines who files the application and which rules apply.

  2. EU/EFTA: take the job and register

    With a contract you register with your commune and receive your permit. Short assignments up to three months per calendar year go through the notification procedure.

  3. Non-EU: the employer files the application

    Your employer applies to the canton before you enter or start — quota, priority and qualifications are examined.

  4. After admission: 14-day registration

    Once admitted, the arrival deadlines apply — first the registration with your commune within 14 days.

Where these figures come from

Last reviewed: 03.06.2026

General information based on the statutes cited, not lawyer-reviewed legal advice. Quotas and administrative practice change — the state at the last review is what governs.

Statutory bases

FZA Anhang I Art. 6AIG Art. 33 Abs. 3 + VZAE Art. 58AIG Art. 21a Abs. 3 + AVV Art. 53b

Are you an asylum seeker or provisionally admitted?

Then different rules govern work — access is restricted and tied to a permit. Get support before taking a job that could put your status at risk.

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A specific question about your job?

Ask Clara — you get an answer with the statute cited, free and without an account.

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Clara is an AI and does not replace legal advice.