Tag Archives: Immigration

On 13 May 2020, Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland’s ministerial head of police and justice, said Switzerland is aiming to fully reopen borders between Germany, Austria and France on 15 June 2020. © Prosiaczeq | Dreamstime.comAfter discussions with her counterparts in these three countries she said there was a common will to return to normal as quickly as possible including the freedom to travel, if epidemiological development allows it.  In addition, she said they would like to relax...

Every year, Switzerland sets quotas for the number of work visas it issues to citizens outside the EU and EFTA. This week the government announced it would maintain the quota of 8,500 permits that was in place in 2018. In addition, it confirmed an earlier deal it struck with the UK to issue up to 3,500 work visas to British citizens in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The 8,500 quota is made up of 4,500 B-permits for stays over one year, and 4,000 short-term L-permits for short term...

Switzerland’s low unemployment rate is the envy of many EU countries. However, in the third quarter of 2019, Switzerland underperformed the EU. © Suriel Ramirez Zaldivar | Dreamstime.comRecent statistics show Switzerland’s overall rate of unemployment in the third quarter rose from 4.2% (Q3 2018) to 4.6% (Q3 2019) – these figures are based on the International Labour Organisation definition of unemployment. The lower measure typically used in Switzerland includes only those still...

Switzerland made the the top 5, after dropping from 4th to 5th, in this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index. Switzerland’s decline was largely due to a down weighting of a factor where it is strong, according to WEF’s Saadia Zahidi. Solar Impulse 2 – an example of Swiss innovation – © Ryan Fletcher | Dreamstime.comThe Global Competitive Index measures performance in 114 areas that influence a nation’s productivity. Productivity, a measure of how much value is...

The Swiss bank UBS estimates there could be a shortfall of 500,000 workers in Switzerland in the coming 10 years as the baby boomer generation retires. © Sebnem Ragiboglu | Dreamstime.comHowever, the bank predicts the shortfall will not be even across all industries. Some sectors are expected to stagnate. Workers in these industries might find it harder to find work. Demand for workers is expected to be high in the health and care sectors but low in manufacturing. In general, growth is...

Geneva – © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.com In 2019, Switzerland came top overall in a ranking of destinations for expatriates to live and work, moving up from eighth last year. Singapore, which had held the top spot for four years in the HSBC’s list of the best countries for expatriates, dropped to second place. Switzerland scored highly on salaries (1st), stability (1st), education (2nd) and quality of life. 82% of...

In 2019, Switzerland came top overall in a ranking of destinations for expatriates to live and work, moving up from eighth last year. Geneva – © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.comSingapore, which had held the top spot for four years in the HSBC’s list of the best countries for expatriates, dropped to second place. Switzerland scored highly on salaries (1st), stability (1st), education (2nd) and quality of life. 82% of expats say they experienced an improvement in quality of life after...

An internal EU commission letter says that without a framework agreement Swiss-EU agreements granting access to the EU single market will only be changed if it is in the EU’s interest, according to the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) and the Keystone-SDA news agency. © Ognjen Stevanovic | Dreamstime.com The letter dated 10 January 2019 and signed by Martin Selmayr, Secretary General of the EU Commission, calls on officials not to start any new negotiations with Switzerland on its...

After listening to the culprit claim she had committed the fraud to help her family, the judge sentenced her to deportation, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. © Edward Olive | Dreamstime.com For the judge, the woman’s latest act of fraud, claiming unemployment benefits while working, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This was the woman’s third welfare fraud offense. She would have been deported earlier if she hadn’t been pregnant. Previously, her husband had been deported but...

In the second quarter of 2018, the number of jobs in Switzerland rose to 5.048 million, a 2.1% increase on the second quarter of 2017. © Catalin205 | Dreamstime.com Regions rising the most were Lake Geneva (+3.0%), north west Switzerland (+3.0%), central Switzerland (+2.4%) and Zurich (+2.1%). Rises in job numbers in eastern Switzerland (+1.6%), Mittelland (+1.3%) and Ticino (0%) were lower. Sectors with the highest vacancy rates were IT (4.0%), information and communications (3.1%) and...