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SWITZERLAND: Quotas for EU/EFTA L and B Permits Exhausted for Third Quarter of 2017
September 1, 2017
The quota for L and B permits for the third quarter of 2017, for short-term assignees from European Union (EU) / European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) countries, has been filled.
Who is Affected?
New, incoming EU/EFTA nationals who are assigned to Switzerland but remain on foreign employment contracts will not be issued L or B permits until 1st October 2017.
Who is Not Affected?
The quota for permits not subject to quotas, such as the 120-day permit and the 4-month short-term permit, are not affected. Quotas for non-EU/EFTA nationals are also not affected.
Cantonal Variations
The cantonal procedures in dealing with the situation vary:
Zurich
The authorities will grant permit approval for one month for the time being (if the applicant has not already used four months in the past 12 months). From mid-September, applicants can request a quota-based permit for the duration after expiration of that month, and should be able to join the applications which fall under the next quarter, from 1st October 2017 onwards.
Basel and Geneva
The authorities will establish a preliminary decision which will allow assignees to start work. The quota will be issued on 1st October 2017.
Bern
The canton of Bern has a delay in processing at the moment, and is not likely to be able to process pending applications for quota-based permits earlier than 1st October 2017 in any case.
Geneva
The authorities will establish a preliminary decision which will allow assignees to start work. The quota will be issued on 1st October 2017.
Vaud
The canton of Vaud refers applicants to online registration, which can be used as a temporary solution until 1st October 2017 (if the applicant still has registration days left).
Ticino
The authorities in Ticino will not issue any preliminary or temporary approvals. Any quota-based permits can be applied for only for assignments starting from 1st October 2017.
All other cantons
Still under investigation.
Our Advice
Allow for possible delays with sending EU/EFTA nationals to Switzerland.
Contact your Newland Chase immigration specialist for any new EU/EFTA national assignments to Switzerland, as pending applications will be treated differently depending on the canton.
For advice and information on Swiss immigration in general, please email us at [email protected].
