The situation for third-country nationals

| Stay for studies | Work permits for third-country nationals with a degree from a Swiss university | Unemployment

Nationals of countries that are not members of the European Union or EFTA are subject to a law that lays down restrictive criteria for entry into Switzerland (the Federal Law on Foreign Nationals and Integration, LEI).

In the case of work permits, only highly qualified nationals may work in Switzerland if certain restrictive conditions are met.

These include managers, specialists or university graduates with several years of professional experience.

It is important to note that a work permit is required even for short-term employment (more than four months) and that the number of permits issued (B and L work permits) is limited.

There are several reasons for obtaining a residence permit: work, study, family reunification, cohabitation, extremely serious cases or asylum protection. These pages only deal with residence permits for studies (1) and work permits (2).

Stay for studies

As a general rule, you are authorised to undertake training or continuing education for a maximum of eight years.

When you apply for your first permit for studies, you need to present a personal study plan and specify the goal you are seeking (diploma, Matura, Masters degree, doctorate, etc.).

As a stay for training or continuing education is temporary, you must intend to leave Switzerland once you have achieved the purpose of your stay.

If you have successfully completed your studies, you have the option of applying for a short-term L permit (6 months) in order to look for a job that matches your qualifications.

Are you considered to be a student?

Permit renewal problems

As the permit for studies is temporary and subject to conditions, the competent authority may refuse to renew it in the event of failure or a change of career.

Exceptions are admitted in specific cases, and if the request is justified.

Short-term residence permit to seek employment (6 month L permit)

You can apply for a short-term residence to look for a job that corresponds with your studies, if you are graduate of a cantonal university, a federal institute of technology (EPF), a university of applied sciences (HES) or university of teacher education (HEP).

Documents required:

Proof of successful completion of studies (not the diploma);
Proof of sufficient financial means for the 6-month stay in Switzerland;
Adequate accommodation, i.e. an address in Switzerland for the additional 6-month stay.

The date on which the 6-month L permit begins to run is the date on which you successfully completed your studies, not the date on which the degree was obtained. For the doctorate, this means the date on which you successfully defended your thesis. A certificate (not the degree diploma) will be issued by the university: at UNIL, this is the imprimatur, provided by your faculty.

Work permits for third-country nationals with a degree from a Swiss university

If you hold a doctoral degree from a Swiss university, there are 4-5 conditions to fulfil.

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1. Your activity must be of over-riding scientific or economic interest.

Scientific interest concerns the universities, EPF, etc that wish to recruit highly qualified people from outside Europe.

Economic interest concerns the canton where the activity will be carried out. Data concerning your future employer will be analysed, in particular: the field of activity, size of the company, turnover, etc.

The criterion of a proven labour shortage will also be taken into account. In other words: are you a specialist with such specific skills that your employer has been unable to find any other applicants?

2. You can benefit from an order of priority according to certain criteria.

The condition of priority means that your admission can only be considered if no workers are available on the local labour market or on the EU/EFTA* labour markets.

If you are a graduate of a Swiss university, you may have easier access to the labour market

The competent cantonal authority may decide to grant easier access ot the labour market to foreign nationals who have graduated from a Swiss university.

The key steps:

Your future employer must provide proof that, despite their best efforts, they have been unable to find the required personnel on the local labour market or on the EU/EFTA* labour markets.
Your future employer must demonstrate the existence of an over-riding scientific or economic interest.
The post will still have to be advertised with the regional employment office (Office régional de placement - ORP).
A pre-screening will be made of the match between the position offered and your profile as an applicant (and not just your Swiss university degree).

The principle of priority will apply if it cannot be demonstrated that:

There is an over-riding scientific or economic interest;
There is a severe shortage of skilled labour in your field.

If there is a severe shortage of skilled workers in your field, you may have easier access to the job market.

This rule is designed for certain fields of activity, in particular for postdoctoral researchers.
The Directorate-General for Employment and the Labour Market (DGEM) may waive the above requirements if the professional field concerned is affected by a severe shortage of skilled labour.
This is a possibility. Each canton is free to decide whether or not to decide this rule.
Note! There is no automatic application. You are strongly advised to contact the cantonal authority in the place where you will be working. You will still need to demonstrate a perfect match between the position offered and your profile.

* Priority is given to Swiss citizens, established foreign nationals (C permit), foreign nationals holding a residence permit for the purpose of gainful employment (B permit, including recognised refugees), foreign nationals holding a provisional admission permit (F permit), persons who have been granted protection on a provisional basis and who are in possession of a work permit (S permit), as well as nationals of countries (currently EU and EFTA states) with which an agreement on the free movement of persons has been concluded (L or B permit).

3. Your pay and working conditions will be analysed.

The aim is to protect foreign workers from abusive employment conditions, but also to prevent local workers from having to compete with cheaper labour.

Your working conditions and salary will therefore be analysed, in particular using a salary calculator.

4. Your profile must be a perfect match for the position offered.

It is important to demonstrate that there is a perfect match between the position offered (job description) and the profile of the future employee.

The following will be taken into account:

University degrees;
Previous professional experience;
Language skills;
Any research work related to the proposed position (articles, thesis, internship reports).

5. The number of L and B work permits is limited.

Work permits granted to highly qualified nationals from outside Europe are subject to quotas. In other words, there is a limited number of L and B permits.

The number of work permits is granted by the Confederation to each canton.

In 2024, the Confederation granted the canton of Vaud 181 short-term permits (L permits) and 112 residence permits (B permits).

Recommendation

Given the limited number of permits available, it is very important that applications for work permits are duly substantiated and demonstrate that each condition has been met.

No more quotas for work permits for graduates of Swiss universities?

An amendment to the law was tabled in 2021. Its goal was to abolish quotas if the activity was of over-riding scientific or economic interest. However, the Parliament decided to refer the bill back to the Federal Council on 19 December 2023. As a result, the quotas will continue to apply until the Federal Council responds with a new amendment.

NB: applications will still be subject to compliance with other questions, even if the law is amended. To learn more about the abolition of quotas, see here.

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L permit

L work permit

This permit is issued for a fixed-term contract of more than four months and up to one year.
Its validity may be extended for up to a total of two years.
Work permits are subject to annual quotas.
- For the canton of Vaud, around 200 permits are available each year.
A change of employment is only accepted for major reasons.
It is possible to change jobs within the same sector and profession in specific cases (for example, if the employer has financial difficulties).

Note! This is not the same permit as the L permit issued to seek employment after successful completion of studies.

B work permit

This permit is issued for an employment contract of more than two years. In the case of an employment contract of 25 to 30 months, the competent cantonal authority may decide to issue an L permit.
B work permits are subject to annual quotas.
- For the Canton of Vaud, about one hundred permits are available each year.
In certain cases, the B work permit may be limited to the occupation, the duration of the employment contract, and the employer.
In the case of unemployment: the "unlimited" B work permit may be extended for as long as the person is entitled to unemployment benefit or is participating in a temporary employment programme (programme d'emploi temporaire, PET), unless they are dependent on social assistance.

Unemployment

For questions regarding unemployment, please go to the information provided by ACIDUL, the association of intermediate staff at the University of Lausanne.

You can also read an article (in French) on the same question: Doctorant ou Post Doctorant de nationalité extra européenne : Ai-je droit aux indemnités chômage au terme de mon contrat de travail?

Specific conditions of British nationals after Brexit

Easier access to the labour market until 31st December 2020. If you obtained your status before this date, your rights under the AFMP are preserved. In other words, you will be treated as an EU citizen.

If you received your status after that date, your access to the labour market is restricted similarly to non-European nationals. The LEI applies in this situation. Nevertheless, the Federal Council has approved specific quotas (residence permits) for UK nationals.

You'll find more information on the situation for British nationals after Brexit here. (LIEN)