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SWITZERLAND – Federal Council lifts quotas for Croatian nationals in 2025.
December 6, 2024
By: Maria Lopez, Immigration Service Delivery Country Lead, Switzerland
At its meeting on November 27, 2024, the Federal Council of Switzerland adopted an amendment to the Ordinance on the Free Movement of Persons (FMPO). From 1st January 2025, Croatian nationals coming to work in Switzerland will benefit from full freedom of movement.
Full freedom of movement for Croatian nationals was introduced in 2022. As a result of the sharp increase in the number of Croatian workers that year, the Federal Council unilaterally activated the safeguard clause provided for in the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) and reintroduced quotas in 2023 and 2024. During these two years, the number of short-term permits (L-EU/EFTA permits) was limited to 1,053 per year and the number of residence permits (B-EU/EFTA permits) to 1,204 per year. The quotas for 2024 have already been fully utilized.
Between January 1, 2017 – the date on which Croatia became a contracting party to the AFMP – and December 31, 2021, the Federal Council imposed restrictions on the number of Croatian workers permitted to come and work in Switzerland. Under the AFMP, the safeguard clause can be applied for a maximum of two consecutive years. Croatian nationals will therefore have full access to the Swiss labor market from January 1, 2025.
Newland Chase insights
If the number of Croatian workers in Switzerland exceeds a certain threshold again in 2025, the Federal Council may once more invoke the safeguard clause and limit the number of permits, but only for the year 2026. This is because Croatia is subject to a transitional period of ten years, until December 31, 2026. After this date, Croatian nationals will benefit from full free movement of persons in the same way as nationals of other EU member states.
