whereTOemigrate
Get your free results
CH country scene

UK pre-2021 acquired residence or work rights

SwitzerlandLong-term residence

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

Explore pathways in Switzerland Read the five questions ↓

What exact status does accumulated residence lead to?

The status is the protection of AFMP rights acquired before 31 December 2020 under the bilateral Switzerland–UK agreement on citizens' acquired rights, covering residence with gainful employment (employed and self-employed) and residence without gainful activity. Holders have acquired rights if they hold a valid C, B or L residence permit or G cross-border commuter permit marked 'EU/EFTA' or 'in accordance with the CH-UK agreement of 25.02.2020'.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The source does not say whether accumulated residence under acquired rights leads to a C settlement permit for B/L holders; it only lists the permits that evidence acquired rights.

What qualifying residence period is required and when does the period begin?

No minimum number of years: UK nationals must have acquired AFMP rights before the end of the transition period, by 31 December 2020 at the latest — they must have actually exercised free-movement rights by then and submitted at least one permit application with the necessary documents to the competent cantonal authority.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The route is based on a cut-off date, not an accumulated residence period.

Which types of residence count fully, partially or not at all where the official rules specify this?

Covered: employees and employed cross-border commuters who took up employment before 1 January 2021; self-employed persons who started before 1 January 2021 and can prove it; students who began studies in Switzerland before 1 January 2021; non-employed persons who had sufficient financial means and adequate health insurance on 1 January 2021; job seekers who entered before 1 January 2021. Not covered: holders of an FDFA legitimation card or a Ci permit.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    Right of stay for employees and employed cross-border commuters: UK nationals must have taken up their employment before 1 January 2021. Right of stay for self-employed persons and self-employed cross-commuters: UK nationals must have started in a self-employed capacity before 1 January 2021. They must be able to prove their self-employed status when applying for a permit. Right of stay for students : UK nationals must have started their studies in Switzerland before 1 January 2021. Right of stay for persons not in gainful employment: on 1 January 2021 UK nationals must have sufficient financial means and adequate health insurance. Right of stay for persons seeking employmen t: UK nationals seeking work must have entered Switzerland before 1 January 2021.
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    No, UK nationals only fall under the agreement on citizens’ acquired rights if they came to Switzerland under the provisions of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP). Holders of an FDFA legitimation card or a Ci permit do not fall under the AFMP

What absence/continuity rules affect accumulation of the qualifying residence period?

A UK national who deregisters and leaves cannot later reactivate acquired rights. Without deregistering, a short-stay (L) or residence (B) permit expires after more than six months' absence from Switzerland. On request, a permanent residence (C) permit can be maintained for four years of absence.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    Example 1: A UK national who gives up their residence in Switzerland by announcing their departure to another country cannot ‘reactivate’ their acquired rights at a later stage. If they do not announce their departure, their short-stay permit or temporary residence (B) permit expires after an absence from Switzerland of more than six months. On request, a permanent resident (C) permit can be maintained for four years in case of absences from Switzerland.

What other major conditions apply, how is the status obtained, and what renewal, document-validity, retention or loss rules matter?

Acquired rights are valid indefinitely while the agreement's conditions are met and are lost once they are no longer met (e.g. a crime posing a threat to public order under the stricter FNIA, or unemployment after benefits end without another AFMP residence category). A criminal-record extract may be required before a new permit is issued. Existing permit holders generally need no action but must apply for a new permit before the current one expires; new biometric permits are marked "In accordance with the CH-UK agreement of 25.02.2020". Cantons issue residence permits.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    The rights acquired under this agreement are valid indefinitely, provided the conditions stipulated in the agreement are met. The acquired rights are lost once the terms of the agreement are no longer met.
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    Example 2: From 1 January 2021, a person who commits a crime and poses a threat to public order may lose their acquired residence rights based on the somewhat stricter provisions of the FNIA. Example 3: UK nationals who become unemployed in Switzerland can stay in Switzerland while drawing unemployment benefits. After their entitlement to unemployment benefits expires, they must either find gainful employment or meet the requirements of another residence category under the AFMP in order to stay in Switzerland. Otherwise they will lose their acquired residence rights.
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    After 31 December 2020, the competent authority may require nationals from the UK to produce an extract from the criminal records register
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    If they are not informed that they need a different permit, they must simply apply for a new permit before their existing one expires, as usual. After 31 December 2020, UK nationals will be issued with a biometric residence permit marked (in German, French and Italian) “In accordance with the CH-UK agreement of 25.02.2020”.
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/arbeit/uk/faq.html
    In Switzerland the cantons are responsible for issuing residence permits.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

Explore more pathways in Switzerland · All pathways

Your story.
Your next step.

Explore pathways in Switzerland →