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On Feb. 9, 2014 a proposal launched by the national conservative Swiss People’s Party SVP was accepted by a small but crucial majority of the Swiss electorate.

The proposal aims to limit immigration through quotas, as it had been before the bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the European Union.

This federal popular initiative “against mass immigration” contravenes bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the European Union that guarantee the free movement of persons as introduced in 2007.

There are widespread fears of an economic slowdown due to the enforcement of the initiative. Business and industry groups were opposed to the initiative during the campaign and expressed concern about the measure’s impact on their ability to attract and retain top talent from abroad.

Although all governing parties except the Swiss People’s Party opposed the initiative, the federal council (the Swiss government) announced that it would promptly start implementing the new constitutional provisions and will set to work on re-introducing immigration quotas “without delay”. The acceptance of the initiative binds the Swiss government to renegotiate the entire EU labour market agreements with the EU within three years (deadline is February 2017.

On March 4, 2016 the Swiss government has communicated how it intends to proceed with the matter.

Take advantage of the opportunity to meet with Switzerland Relo’s immigration lawyer Mr. Jürgen Bouli during the 2016 EuRA conference in Malta from April 19 – 23, 2016. Jürgen has 22 years of experience in Swiss immigration law and is widely regarded as a thought leader on the subject in the immigration field in Switzerland.

Hear from him about the impact the single most important factor in global mobility in Switzerland may have on your business in the future.

Contact Switzerland Relo today for your meeting in Malta or Switzerland: info@switzerlandrelo.com