Switzerland to curb immigration from Croatia in 2023

Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, is not a member of the Schengen travel-free area. Keystone / Patrick Seeger

The government has decided to curtail numbers arriving from the Balkan state by invoking a ‘safeguard clause’ for 2023.

The decision comes less than a year after Croatians were granted unrestricted access to the Swiss labour market for the first time, as part of Swiss participation in the European Union (EU) Free Movement of Persons Agreement.

However, since January 1 this year, arrivals of Croatians have “risen sharply”, surpassing a threshold figure defined in the agreement and prompting the triggering of the limiting clause, the government wroteExternal link on Wednesday.

The threshold is set at a 10% increase in the average number of permits accorded over the three previous years. Between January and October this year, 2,413 B permits were accorded to Croatians, who are largely employed in the manufacturing, construction, hospitality, trade, and agency sectors, the government said.

Concrete quotas will thus be introduced for Croatians for 2023: 1,150 new “B” (five-year) permits and 1,007 new “L” (short-term) permits will be made available.

Croatia joined the EU in 2013, but Switzerland had until this year opted out of fully opening its borders to the Balkan state. In 2016, government and parliament approved Croatia’s inclusion in the free movement agreement but opted to continue to restrict immigration under “transitory provisions”. The right to invoke the safeguard clause expires at the end of 2026.