Swiss work permits for EU citizens: the B, L, G and C permits explained
You have a contract in Switzerland, or you are looking for one, and you are a citizen of a European Union or EFTA country. Good news: the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons gives you a right to a permit as soon as you have a job. What remains is to know which one, who applies for it, how long it lasts, and what happens to it if you change employer or canton, or if you lose your job.
This guide explains the four permits that concern European employees, L, B, G and C, based on the pages of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) and the Ordinance on the Free Movement of Persons (OFMP). A separate section covers the special cases: Croatia, the United Kingdom, third-country nationals, family.
The four permits at a glance
Under three months: no permit, a notification
A job of up to three months per calendar year requires no authorisation. The employer notifies the employee online to the SEM, no later than the day before work starts (art. 9 para. 1bis OFMP). Beyond three months or 90 working days in the year, a permit is required.
L permit: contract of three to twelve months
The EU/EFTA short-term residence permit is issued on presentation of a contract of three to twelve months. Its validity matches the contract and it can be extended, “up to twelve months in total” according to the SEM. It is also used by job seekers (see below), without entitlement to social assistance.
B permit: contract of one year or more, or open-ended
The EU/EFTA residence permit is issued to people hired for an indefinite period or for at least one year (365 days). It is valid for five years and extended by five years if the conditions are still met. The first renewal may be limited to one year in case of involuntary unemployment of more than twelve consecutive months.
G permit: you live in the EU/EFTA and work in Switzerland
The EU/EFTA cross-border permit concerns employees who live in an EU/EFTA state and return to their main residence “in principle every day or at least once a week”. It is valid for five years for a contract of one year or more, and for the length of the contract below that. Border zones have been abolished: you can live anywhere in the EU/EFTA and work anywhere in Switzerland.
C permit: settlement, after five or ten years
The settlement permit is “granted for an indefinite period and without conditions” (art. 34 para. 1 FNIA). Nationals of 17 countries linked to Switzerland by a settlement agreement have access to it after five years of regular, uninterrupted residence, the others after ten years. A check takes place every five years.
Who applies, and where
Free movement gives you a right to a permit, but the permit does not come by itself. The SEM points out that issuing permits is the responsibility of the cantons. In practice:
- You register with your commune of residence. The law requires you to register your arrival before starting gainful employment (art. 12 FNIA). The commune forwards the file to the cantonal migration office, which issues the permit.
- The usual documents. The employment contract or a confirmation of hiring, a valid identity document, proof of accommodation, a photo. Each canton publishes its list and forms: the SEM keeps the list of cantonal authorities up to date.
- Cross-border workers go through their employer. For the G permit, the application is filed with the authority of the place of work, usually by the employer. A cross-border worker who changes jobs must notify that authority before starting (art. 9 para. 3 OFMP), and if they stay in Switzerland during the week, they also register with the commune where they stay (art. 9 para. 4 OFMP).
- You can start working. For a job of more than four months, you may start working as soon as you have registered your arrival (art. 12 para. 2 ASEO); the permit card follows. Ask the employer for a dated confirmation of hiring, useful for the commune, the landlord and health insurance.
If you come from a third country, the order is reversed: the authorisation must be obtained before you start (see the section on special cases).
Changing employer, canton or status
Changing employer or occupation
The holder of an L, B or C permit working as an employee may change jobs and occupation without a new authorisation. The free movement agreement guarantees this “professional and geographical mobility” (Annex I AFMP). You change contract, not permit.
Changing canton
Permits are valid throughout Switzerland. Moving to another canton does not require a new permit, but the new address must be entered in the EU/EFTA permit: you register with the new commune (art. 12 para. 2 FNIA).
Moving from L to B
If your fixed-term contract becomes a contract of one year or more, or an open-ended one, you meet the conditions for the B permit: ask the cantonal office for the conversion, contract in hand, without waiting for the L permit to expire.
Becoming self-employed
Moving from employment to self-employment is subject to notification and requires a new residence permit, the SEM specifies. Prepare a file: entry in the commercial register or with the AHV, business plan.
Cross-border worker moving to Switzerland
The G permit presupposes residence abroad. If you move to Switzerland, you switch to the B permit, under the same contract conditions. Our guide to living in France and working in Switzerland details the cross-border status.
Losing your job, unemployment: what happens to the permit?
Six months to find a new job
After an involuntary end of contract, the right of residence of an L permit holder, or of a B permit holder during their first twelve months of residence, ends six months after the termination of employment (art. 61a para. 1 FNIA). The SEM sums it up: in principle, you can stay in Switzerland for six months to look for a new job.
Unemployment benefits extend the period
If unemployment benefits are still being paid when the six months expire, the right of residence ends when those payments end (art. 61a para. 2 FNIA). Register with the regional employment office from the first day without a job: that is also what preserves your right of residence.
After twelve months of residence
For a B permit holder who has passed their first twelve months, the right of residence ends six months after the end of employment or, if unemployment benefits are paid, six months after the end of those benefits (art. 61a para. 4 FNIA). The B permit itself remains valid for five years; what is at stake is the right of residence based on work.
No social assistance in the meantime
Between the end of employment and the lapse of the right of residence, no entitlement to social assistance is recognised (art. 61a para. 3 FNIA). Unemployment benefits, on the other hand, are due if you have contributed: see the conditions in our guide to unemployment after resignation.
Illness, accident, disability
These time limits do not apply in case of temporary incapacity for work due to illness, accident or disability, nor to people who can invoke a right to remain under the AFMP (art. 61a para. 5 FNIA).
Coming to Switzerland to look for a job
Three months without a permit
EU/EFTA nationals may stay in Switzerland for up to three months to look for a job, without authorisation. You must support yourself.
Then an L permit for job seekers
If the search lasts longer, you receive an EU/EFTA short-term permit valid for three months per calendar year, provided you have the financial means to support yourself (art. 18 para. 2 OFMP). It is requested from the cantonal migration office.
Extension up to one year at most
The permit can be extended up to one year in total if you prove your efforts and there is a “real prospect of employment” (art. 18 para. 3 OFMP). Keep a record of every application and every interview.
No social assistance
The job seeker permit gives no entitlement to social assistance, the SEM recalls. Swiss unemployment benefits presuppose having contributed in Switzerland, or claiming insurance periods from another EU/EFTA state under the coordination rules.
As soon as the contract is signed
A contract of three to twelve months turns your job seeker permit into an ordinary L permit; a contract of one year or more entitles you to the B permit. Present the contract to the cantonal office without delay.
Obtaining the C permit
The C permit does not derive from the free movement agreement, but from the FNIA and bilateral settlement agreements. The rules:
- Five years for 17 nationalities. Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway: after five years of regular, uninterrupted residence, the C permit is granted if the conditions are met. For the other EU states, the general rule applies.
- Ten years for the others. The settlement permit may be granted after a stay of at least ten years in total, the last five of them uninterrupted with a B permit, in the absence of grounds for revocation and if the person is integrated (art. 34 para. 2 FNIA).
- The early C permit after five years. Any integrated person with sufficient command of the national language of their place of residence may obtain the C permit after five years of uninterrupted residence with a B permit (art. 34 para. 4 FNIA). The ordinance then requires level B1 spoken and A1 written (art. 62 para. 1bis ASEO), against A2 spoken and A1 written for the ordinary grant (art. 60 para. 2 ASEO).
- The integration criteria. Respect for public safety and order, respect for the values of the Constitution, language skills, participation in economic life or acquisition of training (art. 58a FNIA). Language is proven by a certificate from a recognised test, or by schooling or training completed in that language (art. 77d ASEO).
- A permit you keep. The C permit is subject to no conditions, but it can be revoked and replaced by a B permit if the integration criteria are no longer met (art. 63 para. 2 FNIA).
On the employment side, the C permit changes nothing in your rights as a worker: it changes your security of residence, and it is required by some public employers and by banks for certain products.
Croatia, United Kingdom, third countries, family: the special cases
Croatia: full free movement
The quotas applied to Croatian workers in 2023 and 2024 were not reactivated. On 14 January 2026, the Federal Council noted that the thresholds had not been reached: Croatia now enjoys full free movement of persons. The rules in this article therefore apply to Croatians as to other EU citizens.
United Kingdom: third country since 2021
Since 1 January 2021, British nationals are treated on an equal footing with other third-country nationals and must obtain an authorisation before starting work. A separate quota is reserved for them: 2,100 B permits and 1,400 L permits for 2026.
Third countries: quotas and order of priority
For 2026, Switzerland admits at most 8,500 qualified workers and specialists from third countries, i.e. 4,500 B permits and 4,000 L permits (Federal Council decision of 19 November 2025). The employer must demonstrate that no worker in Switzerland and no national of an EU/EFTA state could be found for the position (art. 21 FNIA). Graduates of a Swiss university have six months after their studies to find a job of predominant scientific or economic interest.
Family members
The spouse, children under 21 or dependent, and dependent parents can join you. Family members admitted under family reunification have a right of access to the labour market whatever their nationality, the SEM specifies. Suitable accommodation for the whole family is generally required.
Weekly stays in Switzerland
A cross-border worker who goes home only at weekends remains a cross-border worker, but must register with the commune where they stay during the week (art. 9 para. 4 OFMP). Beyond that, if they no longer return at least once a week, they fall under the B permit.
The Licorn method: your status is clear before the first exchange
Your situation in your profile
Nationality, current permit or future place of residence: this information is part of your criteria. An employer who writes to you already knows they can hire you without a quota.
Targeted proposals
Location, workload, annual salary, remote work: recruiters come to you with a position that matches your requirements. Licorn generates your CV from your profile.
Invisible to your employer
Your profile is hidden from your current employer. If your contract ends, you are already open to the market, which matters when the six-month clock is ticking.
Frequently asked questions about work permits
The EU/EFTA B permit, valid for five years, if you live in Switzerland. If you keep your residence in an EU/EFTA country and return at least once a week, you receive a G permit, also valid for five years. A contract of three to twelve months gives an L permit; under three months, a simple online notification by the employer.
Yes. EU/EFTA permits are not tied to an employer: you can change job, occupation and canton. You notify your new address to the commune if you move. Only the switch to self-employment requires a new authorisation. Cross-border workers notify their change of job to the authority of the place of work before starting.
Not immediately. In principle you have six months to find a new job, extended as long as unemployment benefits are paid to you (art. 61a FNIA). Register with the regional employment office without delay. Social assistance, however, is not available during this period.
Three months without a permit, then a job seeker L permit of three months per calendar year if you have the means to support yourself, extendable up to one year in total if your efforts are documented and hiring is realistic (art. 18 OFMP).
After five years of regular, uninterrupted residence if you are a national of one of the 17 countries linked to Switzerland by a settlement agreement, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal; after ten years for the others. An early C permit is possible after five years for any well-integrated person with level B1 spoken and A1 written in the language of the place of residence.
Yes. Border zones have been abolished for EU/EFTA citizens: you can live anywhere in the EU/EFTA and work anywhere in Switzerland, provided you return to your residence at least once a week. If you stay in Switzerland during the week, register with the commune where you stay.
In short
Under three months: a notification. Three to twelve months: L permit. One year or more: B permit, five years, renewable. Residence abroad: G permit. Five or ten years of residence: C permit. EU/EFTA permits are tied neither to an employer nor to a canton, and losing a job opens a six-month period, extended by unemployment benefits, to bounce back.
The point not to miss: every change is declared to the commune, and every permit is requested from the cantonal migration office, contract in hand.
Sources
- State Secretariat for Migration, FAQ Free movement of persons: permits, notification procedure, job search, mobility, cross-border workers, family
- SEM, L EU/EFTA permit (short-term residence permit)
- SEM, B EU/EFTA permit (residence permit)
- SEM, G EU/EFTA permit (cross-border commuter permit)
- SEM, C EU/EFTA permit (settlement permit): countries with a settlement agreement
- SEM, UK nationals: admission conditions since 1 January 2021
- Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA), art. 12, 21, 34, 58a, 61a and 63, English translation on Fedlex
- Ordinance on the Free Movement of Persons (OFMP), art. 9, 18 and 23, on Fedlex (in French)
- Ordinance on Admission, Period of Stay and Employment (ASEO), art. 12, 60, 62 and 77d, English translation on Fedlex
- Agreement between Switzerland and the European Union on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP), Annex I, on Fedlex
- Federal Council, press release of 19 November 2025: 2026 quotas for third-country and UK nationals (in French)
- Federal Council, press release of 14 January 2026: thresholds not reached to limit free movement with Croatia (in French)
