1. What the L permit legally is

The L permit (officially: short-term residence permit) is, in Swiss immigration law, the residence title for temporary stays of up to twelve months, exceptionally extendable to a maximum of twenty-four months. It is defined in Art. 32 FNIA in the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20) and set out in more detail in the Ordinance on Admission, Period of Stay and Employment (OASA, SR 142.201), in particular Arts. 55–58 OASA. For nationals of an EU or EFTA member state, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) applies in parallel, in particular Art. 6 Annex I AFMP.

The permit legally fixes the purpose of stay: it is always granted for a specific purpose and for a specific duration. A change of purpose (for example from au pair to gainful employment) is as a rule not possible during the period of validity, but requires a new authorisation procedure. This binding to a purpose is the central structural difference compared to the open-ended C settlement permit and the annually renewable B residence permit.

The L permit is recorded in the foreign national's identity document with the letter "L" as well as the specific purpose of stay (e.g. "gainful employment", "au pair", "stagiaire", "treatment", "studies"). The cantonal migration authority at the place of residence is responsible for grant, extension, revocation and change; for activities subject to quotas, a preliminary examination is carried out by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).

Structurally, the L permit must be distinguished from two related instruments: on the one hand from the short visa-free stay (tourist stay of up to ninety days per half-year under the Schengen Borders Code), which constitutes no permit at all, but a mere right of entry and does not authorise gainful employment. On the other hand from the 90-day notification procedure under the Federal Act on Workers Posted to Switzerland (Posted Workers Act, PWA, SR 823.20) for AFMP nationals, respectively the notification procedure for short-term gainful employment under Art. 12 OASA for third-country nationals in specific sectors: both are administrative facilitations, not actual permits, and are presented separately in section 3.5.

The L permit in principle entitles to residence only in the canton that granted it. A change of canton during a current L permit requires a change application with the new canton of residence; authorisation practice here is inconsistent from canton to canton and, in the shorter L constellations (au pair, treatment), as a rule restrictive. Travel within the Schengen area is possible without a visa during a valid L permit (up to ninety days per half-year in every other Schengen state).

2. Two parallel regimes — AFMP versus FNIA

The legal treatment of the L permit differs fundamentally depending on whether the applying person belongs to the AFMP group of persons or not. For any advice, this distinction is the first filter, because it determines liability to quotas, priority for resident workers, the catalogue of criteria and the existence of a legal entitlement.

L EU/EFTA — legal entitlement under Art. 6 Annex I AFMP: nationals of an EU or EFTA state receive the L permit upon proof of an employment relationship of three to less than twelve months under Art. 6 Annex I AFMP in principle as of right; the procedure is essentially declaratory. There are no quotas, no priority for resident workers and no examination of pay and working conditions in the authorisation procedure (accompanying controls are carried out separately via the Posted Workers Act, PWA). The period of validity corresponds to the duration of the contract; an extension is possible as long as the employment relationship continues.

L third-country — discretionary decision under Art. 32 FNIA: for persons outside the scope of the AFMP, the L permit is a discretionary decision of the authorities. It is subject to the general admission requirements under Arts. 18–24 FNIA — in particular the priority for resident workers (Art. 21 FNIA), the requirement of pay and working conditions customary for the locality and sector (Art. 22 FNIA) as well as annual maximum numbers (quotas) under Art. 20 FNIA in conjunction with Annexes 1 and 2 OASA. The maximum numbers are set by the Federal Council and distributed among the cantons; no legal entitlement exists even when all requirements are met.

In practice, this division means that the subclasses dealt with below almost always constitute, for AFMP nationals, a procedural detail, while for third-country nationals they can make the substantive difference between authorisation and removal.

3. The eight practically relevant subclasses

In the OASA and the supplementary SEM directives, the L permit knows no exhaustive enumeration of subclasses, but rather various purpose categories with differing requirements. The eight constellations below cover by far the largest part of authorisation practice.

3.1 Au pair

Legal basis: Art. 32 FNIA (short-term residence permit) in conjunction with the exception to the admission requirements for au pair employment arranged by a recognised organisation under Art. 30 para. 1 let. j FNIA, implemented in Art. 48 OASA ("au pair persons"); supplemented by the SEM directives on au pair stays (State Secretariat for Migration, published online).

Au pair stays are intended for third-country nationals aged between 18 and 25, who are unmarried and childless. The duration of stay is a maximum of twelve months and is not extendable; a second au pair year in Switzerland is excluded, even with a different family.

The activity is limited in scope by law: a maximum of thirty hours of housework and childcare per week, supplemented by at least three hours of weekly language instruction in the official language of the canton of residence (German, French or Italian) at a recognised school. The language course is not a hobby, but a condition of authorisation; without confirmation of the course, the migration offices refuse the grant.

The minimum pocket money to be paid in cash is determined according to the cantonal standard employment contracts for domestic work (standard employment contract for domestic work) and is owed in addition to free board and lodging; individual cantons (in particular Geneva and Vaud) have their own, higher minimum rates. The specific franc amounts are set at cantonal level and adjusted periodically; the rate decisive for the year of application is to be looked up at the competent cantonal migration or labour market office, respectively in the relevant cantonal standard employment contract.

For AFMP nationals, the au pair construction is in practice of subordinate importance, because as workers entitled to an L or B permit under Art. 6 Annex I AFMP they have access to the labour market.

Frequent sources of conflict in practice are the exceeding of the weekly hour limit (for example through additional weekend duties or babysitting outside the family), the omission of the language course (in the hope of saving the money), and the lack of accident and health insurance of the au pair person. All three constellations can lead to the revocation of the permit and to removal; the host family as employer additionally risks a sanction under the penal provisions of the FNIA (Art. 117 FNIA, employment of foreign nationals without authorisation). The au pair contract should therefore, in most cantons, be reviewed before commencement by a recognised placement organisation and coordinated with the cantonal migration office; in German-speaking Switzerland, Pro Filia in particular is an established point of contact.

3.2 Stagiaire (trainee under bilateral trainee agreements)

Legal basis: Art. 30 para. 1 let. g FNIA (simplification of international exchange in business, science and culture as well as vocational education and training) in conjunction with Art. 41 OASA (international exchange) and Art. 42 OASA (stagiaires), supplemented by bilateral trainee agreements of Switzerland with individual third states.

The stagiaire regime is a reciprocal mobility instrument: it enables young professionals aged between 18 and 35 with completed vocational training to work for up to eighteen months (twelve plus six extension) in Switzerland in their learned profession, in order to broaden their linguistic and professional knowledge.

The central advantage: the stagiaire permit is quota-free, meaning it does not count towards the annual maximum numbers for third-country nationals. Priority for resident workers and locally customary pay conditions nevertheless apply. The requirement is an existing bilateral trainee agreement between Switzerland and the state of origin.

The decisive and continuously updated list of stagiaire contracting states is maintained by the State Secretariat for Migration on its "Stagiaires" page; it is to be checked at this source before any concrete clarification. According to the public SEM presentation, the body of bilateral trainee agreements comprises several non-European industrialised states as well as various states of Latin America and Eastern Europe; since individual agreements are amended, suspended or newly concluded, only the official SEM list is decisive.

For AFMP nationals, the stagiaire regime does not exist in this form; young professionals from the EU/EFTA reach an L or B permit via the ordinary free movement of workers.

3.3 Artists, athletes, performers

Legal basis: Art. 32 FNIA (short-term residence permit); for the special quota treatment of short cultural and sporting engagements, Art. 30 para. 1 FNIA (derogation from the admission requirements, in particular let. g on the simplification of cultural exchange) in conjunction with the pay and working conditions under Art. 22 FNIA; concretised by the SEM directives on artists and short-term engagements.

For stage artists, musicians, athletes and comparable performing activities, a regime tailored to the typically short and project-bound activity applies. In this category, third-country nationals can, according to SEM practice, perform in Switzerland for up to eight months within a period of twelve months.

The permit is in principle subject to quotas, but SEM practice provides administrative facilitations for short engagements; for very short performances, the 90-day notification procedure under the Posted Workers Act (PWA) suffices for AFMP nationals, respectively the simplified procedure for short-term gainful employment under Art. 12 OASA via the national notification platform for third-country nationals. The daily limits decisive for exemption from the authorisation requirement result from the SEM directives and are to be checked there on a case-by-case basis.

The event, respectively engagement, contract is examined by the competent cantonal body (as a rule the office for economy and labour or the cantonal labour market authority) with regard to pay and working conditions customary for the locality and sector (Art. 22 FNIA). Sector customariness is here measured in particular according to the relevant collective employment agreements of the Swiss Stage Association, respectively the regulations of the respective sports federations.

3.4 Mandatory internships within a university education

Legal basis: Art. 27 FNIA (education and training) in conjunction with Art. 38 OASA (education and training with supplementary gainful employment) for the curriculum-integrated practical phase; for foreign universities, supplemented by Art. 30 para. 1 let. g FNIA (international exchange in science and vocational training).

The legal treatment of mandatory internships depends on the university at which the studying person is enrolled.

Mandatory internship within a Swiss university education: anyone enrolled at a Swiss university or university of applied sciences who completes a prescribed internship as part of the curriculum needs no additional gainful-employment authorisation; the existing student L or B also covers the internship, insofar as it is demonstrably part of the study regulations.

Mandatory internship within a foreign university education: students of a foreign university who complete a curriculum-prescribed internship in Switzerland receive an L permit with quota exemption, provided that the internship is demonstrably part of the studies (confirmation from the foreign university, module description, transcript of records). The duration corresponds to the duration of the internship; extensions beyond twelve months are possible when the curriculum requires a longer practical phase.

The requirement in both cases is that the internship does not disguise regular gainful employment: the migration offices examine the pay, the task profile and the relationship between education-related and productive activities.

3.5 Short-term gainful employment of up to four months (notification procedure)

Legal basis: Art. 12 OASA (short-term gainful employment); for AFMP nationals additionally the Posted Workers Act (PWA) and AFMP Annex I.

Anyone who, as a third-country national, plans gainful employment of a maximum of four months per calendar year does not fall under the ordinary authorisation procedure, but under a simplified procedure under Art. 12 OASA: the employer notifies the activity via the online platform EasyGov (or the respective cantonal system). The activity is in principle counted towards the maximum numbers (quota-free in certain sectors), but the administrative effort is considerably reduced.

For AFMP nationals, the 90-day notification procedure of the Posted Workers Act applies: up to ninety working days per calendar year no residence permit is required; an online registration eight days in advance via the notification platform suffices. Beyond ninety days, an L EU/EFTA is to be applied for.

This constellation is in practice the most frequent "invisible" L variant: those seeking advice regard it as a mere notification act, but overlook the consequences of exceeding the calendar-year limit. Anyone who carries out several short activities in Switzerland within a calendar year — whether as an independent consultant, artist or seasonal worker — should count the days cumulatively and initiate the transition to the ordinary authorisation procedure before the limit is exceeded; a subsequent change is administratively burdensome and may be associated with fines for unauthorised gainful employment (Art. 117 FNIA).

A special constellation is the independent gainful employment of third-country nationals in the context of short-term assignments: here neither the Posted Workers Act (which is designed for employees) nor the simplified employee notification procedure under Art. 12 OASA applies. Independent activity as a rule requires an ordinary L or B permit with the express purpose "independent gainful employment" under Art. 19 FNIA, with substantial requirements as to the business plan, equity capital, overall economic interest and personal qualification. This constellation is dealt with in depth in the related content on independent gainful employment.

3.6 Medical treatment or cure

Legal basis: Art. 29 FNIA (medical treatment); concretised by the relevant SEM directives on stays for the purpose of medical treatment.

Third-country nationals who undergo a medical treatment or cure in Switzerland receive an L permit whose duration is tied to the medically certified treatment or cure duration. The permit does not entitle to gainful employment; a change of purpose to a gainful-employment permit during the stay is possible only in exceptional situations.

The requirements are in particular:

  • treatment contract with a Swiss clinic or a Swiss hospital, stating the expected duration
  • financial guarantees for the treatment costs and subsistence during the stay (bank confirmation, cost guarantee from a foreign insurer or deposit of a guarantee sum); the amount of the security required is determined according to the expected treatment costs and cantonal practice and may be considerable in the case of costly treatments. The specifically required amount is set on a case-by-case basis by the competent cantonal migration office
  • health insurance coverage for the duration of the treatment
  • obligation to return upon conclusion of the treatment; the migration offices typically require proof of a return flight or a corresponding declaration

In the case of chronic or unclearly scheduled treatments (oncology, transplantation medicine), the permit can be extended in stages, as long as the necessity of treatment is medically certified.

A barely visible but practically important constellation is the accompanying stay (parents of a minor child in treatment, spouse of a seriously ill patient). Accompanying persons as a rule receive their own, accessory L permit with a shorter or equally long period of validity; the requirement is the medically certified necessity of the presence, proof of sufficient means for the subsistence of the accompanying person as well as their health insurance coverage. The accompanying L does not entitle to gainful employment; circumvention via ostensible accompanying constructions with actual taking up of work is widespread and is increasingly being checked by the migration offices.

3.7 Family members of an L permit holder

Legal basis: Art. 44 FNIA (family reunification for the residence permit) and Art. 45 FNIA (spouse and children of the holder of a short-term residence permit); implemented in Art. 26 OASA (gainful employment of the family members of short-term permit holders) as well as Arts. 73–75 OASA (deadlines and grounds for family reunification).

Family reunification for the L permit is the exception, not the rule. Unlike with the B residence permit, the law provides no ordinary right to family reunification for L permit holders. The migration offices grant family reunification for the L permit only if:

  • the L permit is issued from the outset for more than twelve months or a corresponding extension is assured
  • adequate housing is available (as a rule a number of rooms corresponding to the number of persons plus one)
  • the financial means for the maintenance of the entire family without recourse to social assistance are proven
  • no integration-related reservations (language skills, school attendance of the children) stand in the way

In practice, reunification is regularly excluded for au pair, short-term stagiaires, performers and treatment stays. For longer stagiaire stays and certain student L constellations, some cantons allow reunification in hardship cases; no legal entitlement exists. Persons who wish to come to Switzerland as a family unit therefore frequently switch from the L to the B regime as soon as the requirements for it are met.

3.8 Students outside the AFMP scope

Legal basis: Art. 27 FNIA, Arts. 23–27 OASA.

Third-country-national students at a recognised Swiss university (university, university of applied sciences, university of teacher education, recognised college) receive an L permit for study purposes, which is issued for the duration of the studies and renewed annually as long as the study-law requirements are met. In individual constellations — in particular for doctoral studies with employment at the university — a B permit can also be granted; cantonal practice is inconsistent here.

The requirements are:

  • confirmation of enrolment from the Swiss university
  • proof of sufficient financial means for tuition fees and subsistence during the duration of the studies; the minimum amount to be proven annually is set by the cantons and aligned with the cost of living at the place of study. The amount decisive for the year of application is to be requested from the competent cantonal migration office, respectively from the International Office of the university
  • health insurance coverage
  • adequate language skills in the language of instruction
  • willingness to return (plausibility that the studying person returns to the state of origin upon completion of studies) — this requirement under Art. 27 para. 1 let. d FNIA is in practice the most frequent ground for refusal; its interpretation is concretised by the case law of the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Supreme Court (Federal Supreme Court Act, FSCA, SR 173.110). The respective current state of judicial practice is always decisive

Students may exercise a restricted gainful employment during their studies: under Art. 38 OASA (education and training with supplementary gainful employment), in principle a maximum of fifteen hours per week during lecture time and on a full-time basis during the semester breaks, however at the earliest six months after the start of studies in Switzerland (waiting period) and always with the authorisation of the cantonal migration office. Doctoral candidates and university assistants whose employment is an integral part of their education are exempt from the six-month waiting period.

Upon completion of studies, Art. 21 para. 3 FNIA provides that graduates of a Swiss university with a job offer in a field of scientific or economic interest may be admitted to gainful employment in derogation from the priority for resident workers — a practically very relevant transition from the L study permit to the B gainful-employment status. An in-depth treatment of this constellation — employment quotas, waiting period and transition to a B permit after completion — is reserved for the related content on the student L.

4. The transition from L to B

The L permit does not automatically lead into a B permit. Anyone who wishes to remain in Switzerland after expiry of the L period must submit an independent application for a B permit with the cantonal migration office, which is dealt with according to the rules of the relevant B constellation.

The most frequent transitions in practice are:

Working third-country nationals (L → B gainful employment): the requirements are the general admission conditions under Arts. 18–24 FNIA: priority for resident workers, locally customary pay and working conditions, personal requirements (qualification, language skills, integration), and the availability of annual maximum numbers. Since the B third-country quotas are regularly tight, a successful transition is by no means guaranteed despite an impeccable L record.

Working EU/EFTA nationals (L → B gainful employment): the requirement is a permanent employment or a fixed-term employment of at least twelve months' duration. Under Art. 6 Annex I AFMP there is a legal entitlement to the B permit; the procedure is declaratory.

Marriage to a Swiss national: the foreign spouse of a Swiss national obtains, under Art. 42 FNIA, an entitlement to a B residence permit by way of family reunification, provided that the marriage was not entered into to circumvent the authorisation provisions. The L permit is in this case converted into a B before expiry; the original binding to a purpose of the L (au pair, stagiaire, studies) becomes moot.

Marriage to a C permit holder or EU/EFTA B permit holder: family reunification under Art. 43 FNIA (to the settlement permit), respectively under Art. 3 Annex I AFMP (for EU/EFTA nationals) with a B permit; the requirements are in particular a shared dwelling and proof of sufficient financial means.

From L studies to B gainful employment: university graduates benefit from Art. 21 para. 3 FNIA (facilitated admission). This is in practice the most important career path for young third-country nationals with a Swiss degree.

From L treatment or L au pair to B: a change is legally possible, but almost always fails on the lack of a job offer with proof of priority for resident workers and on the quota situation. The migration offices expect in such cases the departure upon expiry of the L period and a new application from abroad.

From L stagiaire to B gainful employment: anyone who has successfully completed the stagiaire year in Switzerland and receives an employment offer from the previous employer can apply for the transition to a B permit. The transition is not guaranteed, but in practice more favourable than the direct first application, because the person has already demonstrated their professional suitability and linguistic integration. The quota situation, however, remains identical to the ordinary third-country B.

From L artist or L athlete to B: in the case of a lasting contractual tie to a Swiss stage, an orchestra or a sports club, the transition to a B permit with a gainful purpose is possible, often facilitated by the recognised economic and cultural interest. In practice, close cooperation between the organiser, respectively the club, and the cantonal migration office, which in these constellations can frequently draw on existing precedents, proves its worth.

In each of these transitions, timing and sequence are critical: anyone who submits the B application only after expiry of the L period risks a gap in lawful residence and possibly a removal ruling. The application is therefore to be submitted in good time before expiry of the current permit with the competent cantonal migration office; the lead time to be observed varies from canton to canton and is to be clarified in advance with the office. A particular danger situation exists with extension requests submitted only on the last working day before expiry: if the request is formally recorded as incomplete (missing enclosures, missing signature) and is not supplemented within a few days, a break in residence can arise between expiry of the old permit and grant of the new one, which can count, for the later C settlement permit (Art. 34 FNIA), as an interruption of the uninterrupted duration of residence.

5. Extension of the L permit

The standard period of the L permit of twelve months can, under Art. 56 OASA (renewal), be extended to a total of a maximum of twenty-four months. An extension beyond this as an L is not provided for; the person must either leave the country or switch to another permit category.

The requirement for the extension is that:

  • the original purpose of stay continues to exist (same employer, same treatment, same studies)
  • the authorisation requirements are met without interruption (pay conditions, financial means, insurance coverage)
  • the application is submitted in good time before expiry of the current permit; the lead time to be observed varies from canton to canton and is to be clarified in advance with the competent migration office

For the exceptional extension beyond twenty-four months, a special hardship case is required (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA). Practical examples are unforeseeably prolonged medical treatments, extraordinary study delays for health reasons or stagiaire constellations with a longer internship duration covered by the bilateral agreement situation. These extensions are rare and are examined by the SEM on a case-by-case basis.

For au pair, no possibility of extension beyond twelve months exists, neither ordinarily nor in a hardship case.

6. Cantonal migration offices and the quota system

The L permit is formally granted by the cantonal migration office at the place of residence. In practice, authorisation practice differs considerably among the twenty-six cantons, both in the interpretation of hardship cases and in the speed of the procedures, the documentation required and the use of quotas.

The annual maximum numbers under Art. 20 FNIA in conjunction with Annexes 1 and 2 OASA are set by the Federal Council for each calendar year and distributed among the cantons. The distribution is not made proportionally to the population figure, but on the basis of previous take-up and economic indicators; a part of the quotas remains with the Confederation for redistribution during the year. In high-population, high-demand cantons, the allocated third-country quotas are larger in absolute figures, but there also tend to be exhausted earlier. In cantons with lower demand, the arithmetical quota situation is often more relaxed; whether the sought position is available there depends on the concrete labour market. This platform does not evaluate individual cantons and makes no location recommendation.

This platform provides no canton-specific quota advice. Anyone wishing to know whether quotas are available in a concrete canton at the time of application turns directly to the competent cantonal migration office or has this clarified by the hiring employer, who often already has empirical values with the office.

The quota situation is in particular favourable at the start of the year (freshly allocated quotas) and often exhausted towards the end of the year (especially in high-demand cantons). In an exhausted quota situation, some cantons grant permits subject to the release of quotas in the following year; others reject the application and require resubmission in January. The differing treatment can postpone the taking up of the position by several months and is therefore to be addressed, for every third-country hire, in the negotiation phase with the employer.

For AFMP nationals, no maximum numbers apply any longer in the ordinary free-movement regime; only a safeguard clause ("safeguard clause") can, under narrowly defined extraordinary circumstances, be temporarily reactivated. Whether and for which categories of persons such a clause is in force at the time of application is to be ascertained from the current communication of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), respectively the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).

7. Related content

8. Anti-scope — what this page expressly does not do

This content is general legal information, not advice in an individual case. In particular no:

  • prognosis as to whether an L permit would be granted in a concrete case
  • quota advice on the current availability of third-country quotas in a specific canton
  • placement of au pair families, internship positions or Swiss employers
  • advice on concrete foreign universities or on the recognition of foreign study qualifications (responsibility: Swissuniversities, professional recognition SERI)
  • interpretation of bilateral trainee agreements in relation to concrete occupational profiles

Anyone wishing to clarify a concrete chance of authorisation turns to the cantonal migration office at the intended place of residence or to a lawyer entered in the cantonal bar register within the meaning of the Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers (Lawyers Act, LLCA, SR 935.61). The SwissImmigrationPro platform explains the law and assumes no representation by a lawyer in an individual case; any acceptance of a mandate takes place directly between the person seeking advice and the lawyer.

Legal status: 1 January 2024; next review at the latest ninety days after last_reviewed.