Immigration: foreign resident population increases by 47,200

The Swiss healthcare system saw an increase in demand for foreign workers © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The number of non-Swiss living in Switzerland rose by a net 47,200 in the first half of 2023, most of them from EU/EFTA countries. The government puts this down to the strong demand on the labour market and structurally low unemployment.

Net immigration into the permanent foreign resident population increased by 9,384 people to 47,200, according to the figuresExternal link published on Thursday by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Of these 32,487 were EU/EFTA nationals and 14,713 were third-country nationals.

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The immigration trend was already noticeable last year, after an unstable phase during the Covid pandemic. In the first half of 2023, around 45% of the new foreign workers were in short-term employment, while 55% took up long-term employment, according to the SEM.

Of the quota-based residence permits for workers from third countries, 41% of short-term residence permits and 41% of residence permits had been exhausted by the end of June 2023. German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish nationals accounted for half of the immigrant workers.

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The economic situation and the internationalisation of the economy and society are driving companies’ demand for labour, the SEM said. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 20 years. In many professions, demographic replacement requirements in the form of retirements could be cushioned by workers recruited in Switzerland and abroad.

The strongest immigration for the purpose of long-term employment was recorded in branches of the industrial sector and within the service sector in the hospitality industry, planning, consulting and IT, trade and healthcare.

Cross-border workers

At the end of June 2023, a total of 2,275,965 foreign nationals were living permanently in Switzerland.

According to the government, 41,747 new cross-border commuter permits were issued between January and June 2023. In the first half of last year, 38,547 permits were issued.

The number of short stays subject to registration was 168,896, compared with 155,570 in the first half of 2022. Short stays are defined as people who take up a short-term job with a Swiss employer, as well as posted workers and self-employed service providers who stay in Switzerland for a maximum of three months or 90 working days per calendar year.