Work permits for S status refugees could be swapped for registration 

It is understood that registration would offer more flexibility and there would also be less of a deterrent to potential employers. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / ANTHONY ANEX

The Swiss parliament wants to boost the employment rate of Ukrainian refugees. To this end, it wants to replace the current work permit requirement with a simplified online registration requirement. This should facilitate refugees with the protection status S to find a job in Switzerland.

Following the House of Representatives, the Senate also adopted a corresponding motion on Wednesday by 29 votes to 15 with one abstention. The ball is now in the Federal Council’s court.  

The motion was initiated by the House of Representative’s Political Institutions Committee (PIC). The motion also found a majority in the Senate’s sister committee. Speaking on behalf of the PIC, Senator Tiana Angelina Moser said that the aim was to improve the integration of people with S status into the labour market.  

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It is understood that registration would offer more flexibility, as people with S protection status could be hired immediately if needed, and there would also be less of a deterrent to potential employers, who would only have to complete an online form. “It is a matter of reducing bureaucracy,” she said. 

Protected status guaranteed until 2025  

The Federal Council also voted in favour of the motion. Justice minister Beat Jans said that the government wanted to increase the employment rate of Ukrainians with S protection status from the current 20% to 40% by the end of 2024, and that switching from permit to registration was a key stepping stone to achieving this. 

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A minority of right and centre-right politicians believe the existing process is already quick and easy to complete. Parliamentarian Esther Friedli spoke of an “erosion of employee protection” as with a registration system, wage and working condition audits would be carried out retrospectively and at random, whereas it is currently carried out in advance and systematically.  

The “S status” is granted to refugees from Ukraine and their close relatives. According to the government, around 66,000 people with S status were living in Switzerland at the beginning of December. Last November, the government decided not to revoke S status before March 4 2025. 

Adapted from German by DeepL/kp/amva 

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