Switzerland has announced that it will maintain its foreign worker quota at the same level for 2025, allowing the recruitment of up to 8,500 skilled workers from non-European Union countries. According to Switzerland’s Federal Council, this decision aims to ensure that the country’s economy continues to have access to necessary talent without facing workforce shortages, Schengen.News reports.
For 2025, the quota includes:
The Federal Council emphasized the importance of allowing Swiss companies to recruit skilled foreign workers when needed while maintaining a controlled and limited immigration policy.
Switzerland will also continue to apply special quotas for workers from the United Kingdom, which is now treated as a non-EU country post-Brexit. For 2025:
The Federal Council plans to eventually integrate the UK-specific quota into the general foreign worker quota in the medium term.
In both 2023 and 2024, Switzerland did not fully utilize its foreign worker quotas. In 2023, only 78% of the quota was used, and in 2024, usage dropped to approximately 63%. This shortfall is attributed to foreign workers not meeting Switzerland’s strict entry requirements and the country’s policy of prioritizing domestic and EU/EFTA workers over third-country nationals.
The Swiss government reiterated that the admission of foreign workers is based on economic demand, ensuring that local and EU/EFTA labor markets remain the first sources for recruitment. The continuation of these quotas reflects Switzerland’s commitment to balancing economic needs with a controlled approach to immigration.