Other residence permits and naturalisation

Seconding or transferring an employee to Switzerland

A mission of a few weeks, a manager transferred within the group, a team on a site: the route depends on nationality, duration and the nature of the service. We choose it with you before anything is filed.

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For whom

The employer who sends, the employee who goes

The employer or the group

You are a company established abroad, or the parent company of a Swiss subsidiary. You answer for the notification, the permit application and the pay conditions. The route is determined before the employee leaves.

The transferred employee

You are a manager or specialist and your employer sends you to Switzerland. We tell you what the file requires of you (diplomas, contract, housing) and the permit you will hold during the mission.

The requirements of the law

Up to 90 days: notification. Beyond: a permit

For EU and EFTA service providers, a short mission goes through a notification procedure. Once the duration is exceeded, or for other nationalities, the law on foreign nationals applies.

The notification procedure and the minimum conditions

An EU or EFTA service provider may work in Switzerland for up to 90 effective days per calendar year. The ceiling applies to the company, not to each posted worker. The activity must be notified online at least eight days before it starts; in certain sectors, including construction, hospitality and cleaning, notification is required from the first day.

The foreign employer guarantees posted workers at least the working and pay conditions set by federal acts, collective agreements declared generally binding and standard employment contracts (Art. 2 para. 1 PWA). They must be complied with throughout the mission (Art. 2 para. 4).

Source: PWA (SR 823.20), Art. 2 paras. 1 and 4; SEM, notification procedure for EU and EFTA service providers

Beyond 90 days, and for third countries

Beyond 90 days per year, the free movement agreement no longer applies: a permit is required, with no entitlement to it. For a cross-border provision of services, admission requires that the activity serves the country's economic interests, and Art. 20, 22 and 23 FNIA apply by analogy (Art. 26 FNIA). A separate quota of 3,500 permits, renewed for 2026, covers EU and EFTA service providers.

For a transfer within a group, the law allows departures from the personal qualification requirements for managers transferred by internationally active companies (Art. 23 para. 3 let. d FNIA). The remuneration and working conditions customary for the place, profession and sector still apply (Art. 22 para. 1 FNIA).

Source: FNIA (SR 142.20), Art. 22, 23 para. 3 let. d and 26, Fedlex; 2026 quotas: Swiss Employers' Confederation

Our work

What we do for you

Choice of route: notification, short-term permit or residence permit
Count of mission days and check of the company's annual ceiling
Verification of the pay and working conditions applicable in Switzerland
Qualification of the post: transferred manager, specialist or provision of services
Preparation of the file and filing with the competent authority
Follow-up until the decision and reminders of the mission deadlines

We do not recruit staff and do not hire out employees to third parties: those activities require a licence that the firm does not hold.

The documents

What generally needs to be gathered

The employee's passport, diplomas and curriculum vitae
Employment contract or assignment letter, stating the salary during the stay in Switzerland
Description of the service, the Swiss client and the mission dates
For a transfer: group organisation chart and proof of the link between the companies
Proof of housing, where the mission exceeds a short stay

Fees

A flat fee per employee

Secondment and intra-group transfers

CHF 1,500 to CHF 3,000

flat fee per employee

The transfer of a manager or specialist within a group, or the secondment of an employee to provide services in Switzerland.

Choice of route: notification, short-term or residence
Check of the salary and working conditions applicable in Switzerland
Preparation and filing of the file
Follow-up until the decision and of deadlines

For several employees on the same project, a global fee is offered.

See the service

Indicative amounts, excluding VAT (Swiss standard rate of 8.1% since 1 January 2024). They are confirmed in writing before any engagement, on the basis of the actual file. For an employer established abroad, the service is deemed to be supplied abroad within the meaning of art. 8 para. 1 LTVA and the invoice is issued without VAT. For a private individual domiciled abroad, the VAT treatment is specified in the proposal.

All flat fees: indicative fee schedule.

Limits of the engagement

The decision rests with the authorities

The first step

Your mission in Switzerland, prepared before departure

Tell us the employee's nationality, the planned duration and the nature of the mission.

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