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From application to permit — who decides, and in what order

If your passport is from outside the EU/EFTA, your work permit runs through a multi-step procedure: the employer applies, the canton decides first, the Confederation approves. Here is the whole path — and the part that is yours.

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The Federal Palace in Bern, seat of the Federal Assembly and Federal Council — where the SEM gives its approval.

This page covers employed work by third-country nationals — passports from outside the EU and EFTA. EU/EFTA nationals take a job under free movement: they register, and the employer files nothing. Taking up a job for up to three months per calendar year runs through the notification procedure.

Who does what

The application is the employer’s — the documents are yours

Unlike a visa application, you are not the one who files. The procedure is run by your employer; your part is the documents and the timing. This split is why a job offer alone is not yet a permit.

Your employer

Files the application with the canton and carries the labour-market case.

  • Files the application before you enter or start.
  • Makes the case for economic interest, priority and qualification.
  • Bears the fees for the labour-market decision.
AIG Art. 18

You

Supply the personal documents and keep to the order of the steps.

  • Passport, signed contract, diplomas and CV — more, depending on the canton.
  • No travel and no start before the permit is granted.
  • After arrival: register with the responsible authority within 14 days.

That the employer files the application is set out in AIG Art. 18.

Step by step

Five steps, from application to residence permit

Three authorities are involved: the canton, the SEM and — if you need a visa — the Swiss representation abroad. Each step depends on the one before it.

  1. The employer files the application

    Before you enter or take up the job, your employer files the permit application with the competent cantonal authority. Without it, the procedure does not begin.

    AIG Art. 18

  2. The canton’s labour-market preliminary decision

    The cantonal labour-market authority checks whether the admission conditions are met — economic interest, priority, pay and working conditions, qualification — and whether a quota place is free.

    VZAE Art. 83

  3. SEM approval

    If the cantonal decision is positive, it goes to the State Secretariat for Migration for approval. The SEM checks the federal-law conditions; the approval draws down one quota place.

    VZAE Art. 85AIG Art. 20

  4. Entry authorisation and visa

    If you need a visa to enter, the canton authorises the Swiss representation in your country of residence to issue a national (type D) visa. Only then do you travel.

    VZAE Art. 5

  5. Arrival: register within 14 days, then the permit

    After entering, you register with the authority responsible for your place of residence before starting work and within 14 days. The permit is then issued — a first B residence permit is usually valid for one year.

    AIG Art. 12 Abs. 1AIG Art. 33 Abs. 3 + VZAE Art. 58

Between application and permit, it usually takes several weeks. Exactly how long depends on the canton and the quota.

How long, and what it hangs on

There is no statutory deadline for the decision

Federal law sets the authorities no fixed processing deadline. In practice the procedure takes several weeks — plan for a buffer.

  • Fees are charged by the canton; they differ from canton to canton, but stay within the maximum tariffs set at federal level. Processing time is set by the canton too.
  • If the year’s quota is used up, a first permit may have to wait for the next release.
  • Incomplete documents lengthen the procedure — a complete file is faster.

Do not take up the job or book a move before the permit is granted. Working without a permit puts it at risk and is a punishable offence.

What to have ready

Documents usually requested

Exactly which documents are needed is for the canton to decide. These are almost always required:

  • Valid passport or travel document.
  • Employment contract signed by the employer and by you.
  • Diplomas, certificates and CV evidencing the qualification.
  • Depending on the occupation: recognition of foreign qualifications.

Submit everything complete and in the form the canton requires — this is the part you can speed up yourself.

If your case is different

Other routes, briefly flagged

Not every situation runs through this procedure. Three common turn-offs:

  • Asylum seeker or provisionally admitted

    Access to the labour market is restricted and tied to a permit. Get support before taking a job that could affect your status.

    To emergency help

  • EU/EFTA passport

    Then free movement applies, not this procedure — you take the job and register, with no employer application.

    See the two paths

  • Self-employed or cross-border commuter

    Self-employment and cross-border commuter status follow their own conditions. Ask what applies to your case.

    Ask Clara

Where this information comes from

Last reviewed: 10.06.2026

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.

Legal basis

AIG Art. 18VZAE Art. 83VZAE Art. 85AIG Art. 20VZAE Art. 5AIG Art. 12 Abs. 1GebV-AIG Art. 8AIG Art. 33 Abs. 3 + VZAE Art. 58

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