If you are a national of an EU or EFTA state, you do not come to Switzerland under the ordinary immigration rules. You come under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681), in force since 1 June 2002, which gives you a right to live and work here without quotas or priority for Swiss workers, as long as you meet its conditions. It covers roughly half of Switzerland's foreign residents. This page explains who it covers, which permits it gives and the key terms.

In short

  • Who: nationals of the 27 EU states and the EFTA states Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, plus their family members of any nationality. Not UK nationals who arrived after 2020.
  • Work: an employment contract is enough. No quotas, no priority for Swiss workers.
  • Permits: L (contract of 3 to under 12 months), B (12 months or more, valid 5 years), G for cross-border commuters, and C after 5 or 10 years depending on your nationality.
  • Family: a wider circle than for third-country nationals, including children under 21 and dependent parents.
  • Register: within 14 days of arrival and before you start work, at your municipality.

What the agreement is

The AFMP is a bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union and its member states, signed on 21 June 1999. It came into force on 1 June 2002 together with the six other agreements of the Bilateral I package. The EFTA states Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are covered in parallel by the amended EFTA Convention of 21 June 2001 (Vaduz Convention).

It gives nationals of the contracting parties four core rights:

  1. to enter and live in the other country;
  2. to work as an employee or be self-employed;
  3. to provide services for a limited time;
  4. equal living, employment and working conditions with nationals (AFMP Art. 2).

Annex I covers free movement itself, Annex II social security coordination and Annex III the recognition of professional qualifications.

In Switzerland, the Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons (OFMP, SR 142.203) implements the agreement, supplemented by the EU-related parts of the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201).

Who is covered

  • The EU-27: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus.
  • EFTA: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, with special rules for Liechtenstein (see below).

Not covered:

  • The United Kingdom. After it left the EU on 31 January 2020 and the transition period ended on 31 December 2020, the AFMP no longer applies. UK nationals living here before 1 January 2021 keep their rights under a separate agreement (see below).
  • Third-country nationals, unless their right comes from a family member with AFMP rights. They fall under the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20).

Who can get a right of residence

The AFMP recognises several groups (Annex I, Art. 4 ff.):

  • Employees (Annex I Art. 6 ff.): you need an employment contract or a confirmation of employment from a Swiss employer. No quotas apply.
  • Self-employed people (Annex I Art. 12 ff.): you show your business, for example with a business plan, a commercial register extract or accounts.
  • Service providers (Annex I Art. 17 ff.): you can provide services in Switzerland for up to 90 days per calendar year without a permit, using the advance notification procedure (8 days' notice; from day 1 in certain high-risk sectors). From day 91 you need a regular permit.
  • Students (Annex I Art. 24): proof of enrolment at a recognised institution, enough money and health insurance.
  • Job seekers (Annex I Art. 2 para. 1): you may stay up to 6 months to look for work, without a right to social assistance.
  • People not working, such as pensioners (Annex I Art. 24): you need enough money not to depend on social assistance and full health insurance.
  • Family members (Annex I Art. 3): see below.

Your permit

AFMP permits are marked EU/EFTA on your identity card, to distinguish them from FNIA permits.

L permit EU/EFTA (Annex I Art. 6)

  • Validity: up to 12 months, renewable.
  • For: an employment contract of 3 to under 12 months.
  • Switching to B: once your employment reaches 12 months, or you have a new contract of at least 12 months.

B permit EU/EFTA (Annex I Art. 6 and 10)

  • Validity: 5 years, renewable.
  • For: a contract of 12 months or more or of unlimited duration; self-employment; living here without working but with enough money; or study.
  • Equal treatment: the same access to jobs, social benefits (except while you are only seeking work) and professions as Swiss nationals (AFMP Art. 2 with Annex I Art. 9).

C permit EU/EFTA

The AFMP does not itself govern the C permit. It rests on bilateral settlement agreements between Switzerland and individual states:

  • After 5 years: for nationals of states with a settlement agreement, historically Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Denmark.
  • After 10 years of uninterrupted residence: for nationals of EU states without such an agreement, in particular the central and eastern European states that joined in 2004.

The same substantive conditions apply as under the FNIA (Art. 34 FNIA with the OASA): integration, no reliance on social assistance, no certificates of unpaid debt and no serious criminal offences.

G permit EU/EFTA (Annex I Art. 7 and 28)

  • Validity: 5 years, renewable.
  • For: people who live in an EU/EFTA state and return home daily, or at least weekly.
  • Where you can work: since 1 June 2007, you are no longer limited to defined border zones. A G permit can in principle be issued for work anywhere in Switzerland, as long as you prove your weekly return.

UK nationals after Brexit

  • Living in Switzerland before 1 January 2021: you keep your rights under the Agreement of 25 February 2019 between Switzerland and the United Kingdom on citizens' rights after the UK's withdrawal from the EU. You keep your L, B, C or G permit; there is no Ci permit for British nationals. Your core rights to live, work, bring family and social security stay in place.
  • Arriving from 1 January 2021: you are a third-country national under the FNIA, with quotas, priority for resident workers and higher qualification requirements.

Transitional rules for newer EU members

Each EU enlargement was added by a protocol with transitional periods. All have now expired:

  • EU-15: full free movement since 1 June 2007.
  • EU-8 (joined 1 May 2004: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary): Protocol I, in force 1 April 2006; full free movement since 1 May 2011.
  • EU-2 (joined 1 January 2007: Bulgaria, Romania): Protocol II, in force 1 June 2009; full free movement since 1 June 2016.
  • Croatia (joined 1 July 2013): Protocol III, in force 1 January 2017; full free movement since 1 January 2022, or 1 January 2023 according to an SEM announcement. Check the latest SEM information.

These phases mattered for quotas and priority for Swiss workers. Today the differences have almost disappeared.

Liechtenstein

Norway and Iceland are treated essentially like EU states. Liechtenstein has a special position:

  • Switzerland and Liechtenstein are linked by a separate agreement of 29 March 1923 on Liechtenstein joining the Swiss customs territory.
  • Liechtenstein has its own quota system for residence permits, which applies to Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals and does not follow the AFMP.
  • Swiss nationals working in Liechtenstein, and Liechtenstein nationals working in Switzerland, fall under a separate bilateral regime, managed by the SEM and the Liechtenstein Office for Foreign Nationals and Passports (APA).

If Liechtenstein is involved, check the specific rules instead of relying on the AFMP.

Family reunification (Annex I Art. 3)

Family members of someone with AFMP rights have a derived right of residence, whatever their own nationality. The circle is wider than under the FNIA:

  • spouses and registered partners;
  • children and grandchildren under 21, or older if dependent;
  • parents and grandparents, if you support them;
  • for students, only the spouse and dependent children.

There are no deadlines for bringing family, unlike Art. 47 FNIA. A German national with a Filipino spouse, for example, can bring the spouse to Switzerland even if the spouse has never lived in an EU/EFTA state. Swiss case law has generally followed the European Court of Justice's Metock ruling since BGE 136 II 5.

Family members who join you may work, whatever their nationality (Annex I Art. 3 para. 5). You need suitable housing (Annex I Art. 3 para. 1 let. b) and must not rely on social assistance.

Keeping your rights (AFMP Art. 13 and Annex I)

  • Retirement: employees who reach retirement age in Switzerland can have a permanent right to stay, under conditions (Annex I Art. 7).
  • Permanent incapacity for work: the right to stay also applies (Annex I Art. 7 para. 1 let. b and c).
  • Death of the employee: surviving family members keep their right, under conditions (Annex I Art. 7 para. 1 let. d).
  • Losing your job during a B permit: if you become involuntarily unemployed in the first 12 months, the permit can be extended for 6 months. After that, renewal depends on finding work again or showing enough money. Case law is still developing (Federal Supreme Court 2C_390/2013 and 2C_412/2014; European Court of Justice, Ziolkowski and Saint Prix).

What the courts have decided

The Federal Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice (relevant under AFMP Article 16(2)) have developed these principles:

  • Who is a worker: anyone doing real, genuine work that is not purely marginal (ECJ Levin, Case 53/81; Lawrie-Blum, Case 66/85). There is no fixed minimum of hours or pay; the overall picture counts.
  • Involuntary unemployment: losing your job before your permit expires does not automatically end it. Annex I Art. 6 para. 6 only bars withdrawing it solely for involuntary unemployment; the time limits are in Art. 61a FNIA. The Federal Supreme Court has drawn the line between worker and job seeker in several cases (BGE 141 II 1, 2C_390/2013, 2C_412/2014).
  • Social assistance: for employees, it is generally not a ground for revocation. For people not working and job seekers, heavy and lasting reliance can mean they no longer have enough money, which is a condition of their permit. This is one of the most common disputes with cantonal offices.
  • Revocation: the AFMP has its own public-policy clause (public order, safety and health) in Annex I, Article 5. It is narrower than the revocation grounds in Articles 62 and 63 FNIA. A measure must be based on your personal conduct; general deterrence is not enough (ECJ Bouchereau, Case 30/77; BGE 130 II 176).

Safeguard clause and termination (AFMP Art. 14)

If free movement causes serious economic or social difficulties, a party can take temporary unilateral safeguard measures, including reintroducing quotas (Art. 14 para. 2, Joint Committee, and the accession protocols). Switzerland has done this several times, most recently for Croatia after Protocol III came into force.

The agreement can be terminated (AFMP Art. 25), but because of the guillotine clause, ending the AFMP would automatically end the other six Bilateral I agreements.

Bilateral I and relations with the EU

The AFMP is one of seven agreements in the Bilateral I package of 21 June 1999: free movement of persons, technical barriers to trade, public procurement, agriculture, land transport, air transport and research. They are linked by the guillotine clause: ending one ends them all.

The Federal Council ended talks on an institutional framework agreement (negotiated from 2014 to 2021) on 26 May 2021. A new package approach has been in preparation since; check the latest FDFA and SEM announcements. The AFMP itself remains in force.

Social security (Annex II)

Annex II applies EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 on social security coordination:

  • Which country's law applies: usually the country where you work, with special rules for posted workers, people working in several states and cross-border commuters.
  • Adding up insurance periods for pensions and other benefits.
  • Paying benefits abroad, in particular first- and second-pillar pensions.

Data is exchanged through the EESSI system, handled in Switzerland by the Swiss Compensation Office (ZAS, Geneva) and the social insurers.

  • Cross-border commuters with a G permit: you must have Swiss health insurance (KVG), with a time-limited, irrevocable option to insure in your country of residence (France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein).
  • Posted workers: an A1 certificate from the home country, typically for 24 months, extendable to 5 years under special agreements.
  • Pensions: AHV/IV pensions are paid to all EU/EFTA states. IV pensions to insured persons living in third countries follow stricter rules.

Professional qualifications (Annex III)

Annex III applies EU Directive 2005/36/EC:

  • Automatic recognition for seven professions: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, vets, midwives, general nurses and architects.
  • General system for other regulated professions, sometimes with an adaptation period or aptitude test.
  • Recognition of experience for certain crafts, trades and industrial jobs.

Responsible authorities include the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) for health professions and the Federal Office of Justice for notaries and some legal professions. The legal profession itself is governed by the Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers (LLCA, SR 935.61); there is no federal bar register; EU lawyers deal with the cantonal supervisory authorities and bar registers.

Procedure and authorities

  1. Register within 14 days of arrival and before starting work at your municipality's residents' office.
  2. Receive your permit from the cantonal migration office, for example the OCPM in Geneva, the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich or the SPOP in Vaud.
  3. Federal supervision is with the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), especially on questions of interpretation.
  4. Appeals go from the cantonal office to a cantonal administrative or appeal authority or court, then to the Federal Supreme Court (not the Federal Administrative Court).

For your own situation, such as a mixed-nationality family, pre-Brexit rights, Liechtenstein or social assistance, get individual advice.

Sources

The Joint Committee updates the annexes from time to time. Before relying on this page, check the latest consolidated text on Fedlex and the current SEM directive I/4.7 on free movement.