Hi - I am in need of advice from someone who knows better employment laws for non-citizens and no EU passport holders when applying for jobs in Switzerland.

I recently was interviewed to get a position in Switzerland and I received great feedback from the Hiring Manager. A few weeks pass then the feedback was that the Human Resources department had concluded that because I hold an american passport I could not get employed under a local contract, despite the fact that I am a great candidate, is an internal application, and the Hiring Manager wanted to, at least, continue with the recruitment process.

I have asked my local HR, but they are not topic experts so I am seeking for advice.

I would deeply appreciate if you could help me understand how valid is the statement that I can't get employed under a local contract.

Sincerely,

american_2011

I could be oversimplifying this, and I'm no expert, but if the contract is a 'local contract' that could imply the employer has determined there are ample local individuals in the employment market who could perform the requisite job functions satisfactorily, thus making the costs associated with bringing in a foreigner (especially a Non-EU or Schengen foreigner) as an employee (relocation, permitting, etc.) prohibitive or superfluous.

Getting employed under a local contract as a US passport holder is extremely difficult in Switzerland and takes several months of paperwork and appeals and is not always -almost never- successful (US passport holders have better luck with temporary or ex-pat contracts).

The gist of the matter is that the company has to prove to the cantonal and federal authorities -who have the final say on whether or not you get a permit, not the company trying to hire you- that they cannot find an acceptable local candidate or an acceptable EU passport holder candidate. The standards the authorities use are very high and not always fair- I have seen highly-qualified CFOs get turned down for permits, so it has nothing to do with your qualifications for the job but rather the ups and downs of the issuing authorities, who will argue that even if you are the best for the job (which you probably are, otherwise you wouldn't have made it this far in the process), there must be a Swiss or EU national who could do an *acceptable* job.

Because it is such a long legal process, I have seen HR departments turn down a non CH/EU for a position simply because they wanted a quick hire, or because the type of position is hard to justify a foreign hire and they were worried they would spend six months on a permit application that would ultimately be refused by the authorities. The only positions that seem to be able to bypass the CH/EU requirements seem to be senior science and research positions, some teaching positions, and senior management (but like I said, I've seen CFOs get turned down). With all the unemployed French and Germans and Greeks and Italians etc etc it would be a hard case to make to the Swiss authorities that no one in Switzerland or the EU is available and willing to do just about any job under the sun.

So for the tl;dr, it is a valid statement in that they are probably speaking from experience of getting refused a foreign hire by the authorities in the past, but I do agree that they should have known that if they went that far with you in the interview process, so the gesture of trying to apply for your permit would have been nice. Sadly though, no matter how much a company likes you, whether or not you get a work permit is not their decision to make and the cantons usually say no to us Americans.

If you are still in contact and convinced HR wasn't using it as an excuse to brush you off, you could ask them what other options would be available- short term expat contract, working in another branch office, being based elsewhere and commuting, etc. etc. Good luck!

Given you asked local HR for input, I'm guessing this is an internal company transfer, not a move to a totally new employer?

If so, and you have been working for the company outside Switzerland for at least 12 months, then I believe you would possibly qualify for intra-company transfer visa. Under this visa, there is no need for the CH company to show it not been able to find a suitable local worker.

heckenhocker - You are correct. I have been working for the company for the past 27 months based in the US and I applied internally. I will research in the internet to obtain additional information on the intra-company transfer visa and understand if this would be a possibility for me to apply. If you have any helpful links that would be terrific!

@ Jobsrobertsharpii and NicoleCZ - Thank you for your advice and knowledge transfer. Never is too bad to learn more from international processes.

Regards.

A few years ago, an American friend of mine wanted to set up a company with a Swiss citizen. Along with this went an application for a work permit. Luzern accepted and agreed it. However, when it went for Federal approval it was denied with the comment "We already have enough Americans working in Switzerland".

Excellent summary!

And don't forget our fellow EFTAers. Not that there is a huge influx of Norwegians, Liechtensteiners or Icelandics.

Do we actually have any on EF?

We did.

Yes, about nine months in my case, but that was back in '86.

Tom

Yes. You are right. I did think of her as I was writing that.

Not too many others though. A minority in the minority!