The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) confirmed on 26 November 2025 that Switzerland may reactivate safeguard quotas for Croatian nationals hired on local Swiss contracts from 1 January 2026. The mechanism—dormant since the end of 2024—allows the Federal Council to cap new B- and L-permits if immigration from Croatia exceeds preset thresholds under the 2022 accession protocol. Official migration statistics for 2025 will be published in late December, after which the government has until mid-January to decide.
If triggered, the cap would revive the 2023/24 limits of 1,150 B-permits and 1,007 L-permits. Multinationals with shared-service centres in Zagreb had used the safeguard period to second engineers and finance specialists to Swiss headquarters on local contracts, bypassing stricter third-country quotas. HR teams must now prepare contingency plans such as intra-company transfer permits (not subject to the cap) or split-site assignments that keep Croatian staff formally employed in the EU while working partly in Switzerland.
![Bern Warns Croatian Hires Could Face Fresh Work-Permit Quotas in 2026]()
Cantonal migration offices say they could implement quota controls with two weeks’ notice, probably on a first-come-first-served basis. Employers should therefore collect documentation early, schedule medicals in advance and pre-book biometric appointments to stay ahead of rivals once the January decision lands.
Industry groups argue that renewed quotas would hit tech and life-sciences clusters hardest; Croatian nationals accounted for 12 % of new hires in Zurich’s ICT sector during 2025. The SEM counters that the safeguard clause was written into the accession treaty precisely to smooth labour-market shocks and stresses that no final decision has been made.
If triggered, the cap would revive the 2023/24 limits of 1,150 B-permits and 1,007 L-permits. Multinationals with shared-service centres in Zagreb had used the safeguard period to second engineers and finance specialists to Swiss headquarters on local contracts, bypassing stricter third-country quotas. HR teams must now prepare contingency plans such as intra-company transfer permits (not subject to the cap) or split-site assignments that keep Croatian staff formally employed in the EU while working partly in Switzerland.
Cantonal migration offices say they could implement quota controls with two weeks’ notice, probably on a first-come-first-served basis. Employers should therefore collect documentation early, schedule medicals in advance and pre-book biometric appointments to stay ahead of rivals once the January decision lands.
Industry groups argue that renewed quotas would hit tech and life-sciences clusters hardest; Croatian nationals accounted for 12 % of new hires in Zurich’s ICT sector during 2025. The SEM counters that the safeguard clause was written into the accession treaty precisely to smooth labour-market shocks and stresses that no final decision has been made.
