Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss work permit hassles put off foreign workers

Employee in an office, seen through glass doors
Willingness to relocate has declined worldwide, according to the Boston Consulting company. Keystone

Switzerland has lost some of its appeal for foreign labour, according to a survey by an American multinational management consulting firm.

Compared with 2014, Switzerland finished in eighth place – down three positions.

The authors of the Decoding Global Talent reportExternal link say the drop is due to a loss of appeal of Switzerland among citizens from Russia, China, the United States as well as Germany and Italy and increasing difficulties to receive a work permit.

However, employees from abroad still find Switzerland’s living standards attractive, according to the report of the Boston Consulting GroupExternal link

Stay put

Meanwhile, respondents in Switzerland have shown markedly less interest in working abroad.

The proportion of people keen to find a job outside of Switzerland dropped from 77% to 60% over the past four years.

The main motivation for working abroad remains to “broaden horizons”. The best destinations to do so are the US, Canada and Germany, according to the Swiss-based respondents.

The report is based on interviews with more than 366,000 employees and job seekers in 197 countries.

The Boston Consulting Group is an American multinational management consulting firm with 90 offices in 50 countries.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Swiss Post CEO Roberto Cirillo steps down at the end of March after six years

More

Swiss Post CEO to step down

This content was published on The boss of Swiss Post, Roberto Cirillo, is stepping down at the end of March after six years in the job, the company announced on Friday.

Read more: Swiss Post CEO to step down
UBS replaces CS logos on Paradeplatz

More

UBS takes over Credit Suisse’s former Zurich HQ

This content was published on The name and logo of the former Credit Suisse headquarters at Paradeplatz 8 in Zurich's financial centre were officially replaced by those of UBS on Friday.

Read more: UBS takes over Credit Suisse’s former Zurich HQ
Outgoing Fedpol chief warns of funding cuts for police work

More

Outgoing Swiss federal police chief warns of insufficient resources

This content was published on The outgoing director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), Nicoletta della Valle, has warned that officers, prosecutors and investigators in Switzerland have insufficient resources to do their work.

Read more: Outgoing Swiss federal police chief warns of insufficient resources
Swiss films recorded more admissions in 2024

More

Swiss film industry reports successful year in 2024

This content was published on Swiss films did well in cinemas in 2024, recording over 907,000 admissions, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reports. They accounted for almost 9% of all films shown last year in Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss film industry reports successful year in 2024

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR