One of the most far-reaching Swiss immigration reforms of the year quietly entered into force on 1 December 2025. Holders of the special ‘S’ protection status—introduced in March 2022 for people fleeing the war in Ukraine—no longer need to obtain a separate cantonal work authorisation before taking up a job. Instead, employers merely submit a short online notification via the federal EasyGov portal or directly to their cantonal labour-market authority.
Until now, the two-step procedure (first the humanitarian residence permit, then a work-permit application) generated waiting times of up to three months. With around 65 000 S-permit holders currently in the country and labour shortages biting in healthcare, construction and IT, both business groups and refugee-advocacy NGOs had labelled the bureaucracy counter-productive. The Federal Council heeded those calls in its 22 October ordinance revision, and the change is now live nationwide.
![From 1 December, Ukrainian S-Permit Refugees Can Work in Switzerland after Simple Online Notification]()
For employers, the new system resembles the notification regime already used for short-term EU/EFTA postings: they must record the employee’s personal data, job title, salary and planned start date online at least one working day before employment begins. No labour-market test, wage review or skills-matching process is required, slashing red tape and onboarding time.
The reform also contains safeguards. Cantonal authorities can still intervene if wages are below local reference levels, and S-permit holders who rely on social assistance may be obliged to follow integration programmes. Early feedback from Zurich and Vaud employment offices indicates that hundreds of notifications were filed in the very first 24 hours.
Global mobility managers should update onboarding checklists, train recruiters to use the EasyGov interface and remind finance teams that S-permit holders remain subject to source-tax withholding unless and until they qualify for ordinary tax assessment.
Until now, the two-step procedure (first the humanitarian residence permit, then a work-permit application) generated waiting times of up to three months. With around 65 000 S-permit holders currently in the country and labour shortages biting in healthcare, construction and IT, both business groups and refugee-advocacy NGOs had labelled the bureaucracy counter-productive. The Federal Council heeded those calls in its 22 October ordinance revision, and the change is now live nationwide.
For employers, the new system resembles the notification regime already used for short-term EU/EFTA postings: they must record the employee’s personal data, job title, salary and planned start date online at least one working day before employment begins. No labour-market test, wage review or skills-matching process is required, slashing red tape and onboarding time.
The reform also contains safeguards. Cantonal authorities can still intervene if wages are below local reference levels, and S-permit holders who rely on social assistance may be obliged to follow integration programmes. Early feedback from Zurich and Vaud employment offices indicates that hundreds of notifications were filed in the very first 24 hours.
Global mobility managers should update onboarding checklists, train recruiters to use the EasyGov interface and remind finance teams that S-permit holders remain subject to source-tax withholding unless and until they qualify for ordinary tax assessment.
