This Wednesday, Bern decided to maintain unchanged the quotas for workers from third countries and member countries of the European Union (EU) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Thus, next year, 8,500 qualified workers from third countries will be able to be recruited again, of whom 4,500 will benefit from a residence permit (B permit) and 4,000 from a short-term stay permit (L permit). . For Europeans, 3000 L authorizations and 500 B authorizations will again be available.
The United Kingdom remains, like every year since Brexit, a special case. If, in the medium term, the idea is to integrate it into the ordinary quota of third States, for the moment a special quota continues to be allocated to it. Thus, up to 3,500 British workers could be recruited in 2025 (2,100 B permits and 1,400 L permits).
Note that, in recent years, the quotas have not been used in their entirety. In 2023, 78% of B and L permits found buyers in third countries, as well as 52% of permits intended for Europeans. As for the contingents intended for the British, they were requested at 24%. As for 2024, the quotas were exhausted, at the end of October, to almost 63% for workers from third countries, to almost 44% for those from the EU or EFTA and to 18% for workers from the United Kingdom.
Generally speaking, authorizations are issued according to the needs of businesses and taking into account the economic interests of the country. Priority must be given first to workers already present in Switzerland, then to those coming from EU or EFTA member states.
