A landmark ruling by Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court has quietly rewritten the rules for thousands of foreign professionals. In October 2025 the high court found that cantonal authorities had been applying Article 38(2) of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) too narrowly, by attaching “no job-change” conditions to B-work-permits issued to third-country nationals.
On 4 February 2026 the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) circulated formal guidance instructing all cantons to comply with the ruling. Effective immediately, any non-EU/EFTA national who holds a B-permit for gainful employment may move to a new Swiss employer without seeking prior authorisation. The only remaining restrictions a canton may impose are those that are expressly unrelated to professional mobility—for example, an obligation to remain in a given canton or to attend an integration course.
![Swiss Supreme Court unlocks job-change freedom for non-EU residents]()
The practical impact is significant. Switzerland issues up to 8,500 new B-permits a year to highly-skilled workers from outside Europe; until now many found themselves locked into their original sponsor for the duration of the permit, limiting career progression and reducing labour-market flexibility for Swiss companies. Global employers with Swiss operations will now be able to redeploy key staff internally rather than filing fresh work-permit applications—saving both time and legal fees.
Companies and professionals navigating these new liberties can streamline their immigration paperwork with VisaHQ, an online visa and passport services platform. VisaHQ’s Switzerland page (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) offers step-by-step support for B-permit applications, renewals and related documentation, helping ensure full compliance with the latest cantonal guidance while reducing administrative burdens for HR teams.
Immigration lawyers expect HR policies to change quickly. Companies are advised to review employment contracts that cite earlier cantonal restrictions and to adjust mobility programmes so that third-country staff can benefit from internal transfers, promotions and redundancy protections on the same footing as EU nationals. Cantonal labour-market tests still apply to new hires from abroad, but once the worker is in-country, Swiss law now guarantees the freedom to switch jobs, bringing the regime closer to the EU’s own long-term-resident rules.
On 4 February 2026 the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) circulated formal guidance instructing all cantons to comply with the ruling. Effective immediately, any non-EU/EFTA national who holds a B-permit for gainful employment may move to a new Swiss employer without seeking prior authorisation. The only remaining restrictions a canton may impose are those that are expressly unrelated to professional mobility—for example, an obligation to remain in a given canton or to attend an integration course.
The practical impact is significant. Switzerland issues up to 8,500 new B-permits a year to highly-skilled workers from outside Europe; until now many found themselves locked into their original sponsor for the duration of the permit, limiting career progression and reducing labour-market flexibility for Swiss companies. Global employers with Swiss operations will now be able to redeploy key staff internally rather than filing fresh work-permit applications—saving both time and legal fees.
Companies and professionals navigating these new liberties can streamline their immigration paperwork with VisaHQ, an online visa and passport services platform. VisaHQ’s Switzerland page (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) offers step-by-step support for B-permit applications, renewals and related documentation, helping ensure full compliance with the latest cantonal guidance while reducing administrative burdens for HR teams.
Immigration lawyers expect HR policies to change quickly. Companies are advised to review employment contracts that cite earlier cantonal restrictions and to adjust mobility programmes so that third-country staff can benefit from internal transfers, promotions and redundancy protections on the same footing as EU nationals. Cantonal labour-market tests still apply to new hires from abroad, but once the worker is in-country, Swiss law now guarantees the freedom to switch jobs, bringing the regime closer to the EU’s own long-term-resident rules.
