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The Swiss people have adopted the protocol for extending the bilateral agreements (between Switzerland and the European Union) to the ten new EU member states. However, some restrictions still apply to citizens of these new states with regard to taking up employment in Switzerland.

You must look for an employer that has re-ceived authorisation to hire a national of any of the ten new member states. To obtain this authorisation, the employer in Switzerland must prove that he has made efforts to recruit on the national labour market and that he has been unable to find any employees (Swiss na-tionals or foreign nationals integrated in the Swiss labour market) with the appropriate profile. The employer must comply with the terms of employment and salary in his or her branch and in the profession generally. Work permits will only be issued for skilled jobs. Other applica-tions will be subject to annual quotas, particularly non-skilled labour in the agricultural sector.

If you are in gainful employment, it is not your responsibility to obtain a residence permit. It is your employer who has to apply to the cantonal authorities (usually the labour market au-thorities) for a residence permit for you. The employer in question can apply for a period of up to four or twelve months. Before s/he can hire you, your employer must meet the above conditions. If s/he wants to hire you for an unskilled job for a period of less than four months, your employer can only do so if the quotas for permits have not been used up. The same applies if s/he wants to hire you for a job lasting between four and twelve months. For entry into Switzerland you only need a valid national passport or identity card.

 

If you are a national of one of the following countries: Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slo-venia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia, you need a work and residence permit even if you are hired for a period of less than three months starting on the first day of work.

Self-employed persons from the new member states will be treated on a par with the EU 15. As a self-employed person, therefore, you will only be subject to quotas up to 31 May 2007.