The Swiss authorities have said that the labour market of Switzerland is to be restricted again for nationals of Croatia from January 1, 2023.
Announcing the news, the Federal Council of Switzerland said that this decision was taken due to a sharp increase in the number of Croatian workers, which exceeded the cap set in the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The number of workers from Croatia has risen sharply this year and now exceeds the threshold figure defined in the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. The Federal Council, therefore, decided at its meeting on November 16 to invoke the safeguard clause provided for by the Agreement,” the statement of the Swiss Federal Council reads.
The Federal Council explained that the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the European Union was extended to Croatia through a protocol that entered into force on January 1, 2017. The same noted that the protocol provides for an opening of the labour market of Switzerland to Croatians for a period of ten years.
However, since the number of Croatians leaving their country to work in Switzerland has increased tremendously, the Federal Council pointed out that the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons’ safeguard clause allows Switzerland to put in place a cap on the number of Croatians that can move to the country when needed.
Data show that between January and October 2022, Switzerland issued a total of 2,413 B permits for nationals of Croatia, even though the threshold for the entire year was 178.
“The 2022 figures, therefore, satisfy the quantitative conditions provided for by the AFMP, allowing Switzerland to unilaterally invoke the safeguard clause,” the Federal Council stressed.
Taking into account the above-mentioned, the authorities have said that in line with the legal provisions, quotas will be reintroduced for B and L permits from January 1, 2023.
The number of B permits for 2023 has been fixed at 1,150 and the number of L permits has been fixed at 1,007.
The demand for workers from Croatia has been mainly in the construction as well as the manufacturing industry. In addition, there was also demand for Croatian workers in the hospitality sector.
Apart from the above-mentioned, Switzerland also registered an increase in the number of workers from Croatia in areas that require qualifications. Highly educated workers from Croatia were mainly employed in planning services, consulting, and IT.
The safeguard clause of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons was also used to restrict the number of workers from other countries too.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
