The Department for Business and Trade has announced a four-year extension of the UK–Switzerland Services Mobility Agreement (SMA), pushing its expiry date from 31 December 2025 to 31 December 2029. The deal allows UK professionals—including consultants, lawyers and IT specialists—to deliver services in Switzerland for up to 90 days per calendar year without a work permit or economic-needs test, while Swiss service suppliers can access the UK under the existing Service Supplier visa for up to 12 months.
Since its provisional application in 2021, the SMA has enabled more than 4,700 short-term business assignments each way, according to Swiss customs data. Government modelling suggests the four-year extension could safeguard £1.6 billion in bilateral services exports and support 17,000 UK jobs.
The Law Society welcomed the decision, noting that Switzerland is the UK’s third-largest overseas market for legal services. Professional-services firms had feared a cliff-edge in 2026 that would complicate project-based work in Zurich’s banking sector and Geneva’s commodities hub.
The extension buys negotiators time to embed mobility provisions into the broader UK-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement, talks on which began in May 2024. Officials say they will explore digital verification of professional qualifications and a possible increase in the 90-day ceiling for high-value projects.
HR and global-mobility teams should update travel-policy matrices: UK nationals can continue to undertake client-facing work in Switzerland visa-free within the 90-day allowance, but longer deployments still require local permits. Swiss nationals seconded to the UK must remain sponsored and meet minimum-salary thresholds, which rise to £52,500 for Senior Specialist Workers on 1 January 2026.
Since its provisional application in 2021, the SMA has enabled more than 4,700 short-term business assignments each way, according to Swiss customs data. Government modelling suggests the four-year extension could safeguard £1.6 billion in bilateral services exports and support 17,000 UK jobs.
The Law Society welcomed the decision, noting that Switzerland is the UK’s third-largest overseas market for legal services. Professional-services firms had feared a cliff-edge in 2026 that would complicate project-based work in Zurich’s banking sector and Geneva’s commodities hub.
The extension buys negotiators time to embed mobility provisions into the broader UK-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement, talks on which began in May 2024. Officials say they will explore digital verification of professional qualifications and a possible increase in the 90-day ceiling for high-value projects.
HR and global-mobility teams should update travel-policy matrices: UK nationals can continue to undertake client-facing work in Switzerland visa-free within the 90-day allowance, but longer deployments still require local permits. Swiss nationals seconded to the UK must remain sponsored and meet minimum-salary thresholds, which rise to £52,500 for Senior Specialist Workers on 1 January 2026.
