Switzerland - Work Skills & Ancestry - Residence Permit L for EC or EFTC Nationals
Short-term residents are foreign nationals who are resident in Switzerland for a limited period of time, usually less than a year, for a certain purpose with or without gainful employment.
EC/EFTA nationals are entitled to this permit provided they are in possession of an employment contract of between three and twelve months’ duration. Employment relationships below 3 months within a calendar year do not require a permit but are to be regulated via the so-called registration procedure. For nationals from the EU-8 and EU-2 (Bulgaria and Romania) member states all employment is still subject to a permit. In addition, the temporary regulations will apply for EU-8 nationals until approximately 2011 and for EU-2 nationals (Bulgaria and Romania) until approximately 2016. The period of validity of the permit is identical with the term of the employment contract. It can be extended for a total period of less than twelve months. Provided the new quota has not been exhausted, the permit can be renewed after an overall stay of one year without the foreign national having to interrupt his or her residence in Switzerland.
EC/EFTA L permits without gainful employment are granted to job seekers from all EC/EFTA States. However, this practice does not create an entitlement to social insurance.
Trainees from EC/EFTA States are also in principle granted short-term residence permits in accordance with the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMD). Bilateral trainee agreements with EU and EFTA States may only be subsidiarily implemented where they provide trainees with a more advantageous legal position than that granted by the AFMP. Trainees are persons who are aged 18-30, have completed their occupational training and want to undergo some advanced occupational or linguistic training in the context of gainful employment in Switzerland.