Switzerland to continue to curb immigration from Croatia
Since January 2022, Croatians have the same rights to live and work in Switzerland as all other EU citizens but the government can temporarily limit their numbers.
Keystone
The Swiss government will continue to limit the number of Croatian nationals wanting to work in Switzerland in 2024, it said on Wednesday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Access to the Swiss labour market will again be restricted for Croatian nationals in 2024. On Wednesday, the Federal Council extended the safeguard clause provided for in the European Union’s Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. Switzerland is not a member of the EU but signed the agreement in 1999.
Croatians have enjoyed complete freedom of movement for persons since January 1, 2022. But the safeguard clause in the EU agreement allows Switzerland to unilaterally reintroduce permit quotas for a limited period when immigration from Croatia exceeds a certain threshold.
This threshold is reached when the number of permits issued in 2022 is more than 10% higher than the average for the previous three years (2019 to 2021).
At the end of October 2023, the entire quota of B permits (valid for five years), i.e., 1,204 permits, had been used up and 76% of the 1,053 L permits (short-term permits, renewable for more than one year) had already been issued.
In view of the big demand, the Swiss government has decided to extend the safeguard clause for another year. In 2024, the number of permits issued to workers from Croatia will be capped.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
The Böögg, Switzerland’s exploding psychic snowman
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
Switzerland to give millions to three UN organisations
This content was published on
Switzerland is supporting Unicef, UN Women and the UN Population Fund this year with a total of CHF39 million ($47 million).
Electricity reserves still needed in Switzerland in midterm
This content was published on
Switzerland's energy supply remains uncertain. Electricity reserves are still needed in the medium term, the Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom) said.
ICRC says next few days will be ‘decisive’ for aid to Gaza
This content was published on
The next few days will be absolutely decisive if the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to continue providing aid in the Gaza Strip, said its director-general Pierre Krähenbühl.
Switzerland unveils a national drought-detection system
This content was published on
Switzerland launched on Thursday a new national system for detecting drought and warning the population and authorities in advance.
Federal coffers to get CHF100 million boost from Swiss Post
This content was published on
Swiss Post will pay a dividend of CHF100 million ($121 million) to the Confederation this year, the company announced on Thursday.
Swiss Federal Railways satisfied with bodycams for transport police
This content was published on
Since the introduction of body-worn cameras, the frequency of assaults on Swiss Federal Railways transport police has fallen by 25%.
Zurich cantonal government to compensate victims of forced labour
This content was published on
Victims of past forced labour measures in canton Zurich could soon apply to receive a one-off solidarity compensation of CHF25,000 ($30,255).
Risk of a real-estate bubble in Switzerland grew in first quarter
This content was published on
The risk of a bubble in the Swiss property market increased slightly in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter, says UBS.
French authorities order Nestlé to remove its filtration system
This content was published on
Authorities in the south of France have served formal notice to Nestlé Waters, a subsidiary of the Swiss food giant, to "withdraw within two months" its microfiltration system for its Perrier mineral water.
Switzerland says pushbacks at border by Germany are unlawful
This content was published on
Switzerland considers Germany's planned systematic pushbacks at the border to be contrary to existing law, the department of justice has said.
Swiss government decides to draw up negotiating mandate with EU
This content was published on
The Swiss government wants to draw up a negotiating mandate with the EU. In its view, the exploratory talks with Brussels have been concluded.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.