- by croatiaweek
- January 15, 2026
-
in
News
Switzerland
Switzerland has confirmed that Croatian nationals coming to work in the country will no longer be subject to quotas, after official figures showed that permit thresholds were not reached in 2025.
According to a Swiss government press release, the Federal Council was informed that the number of residence and short-term work permits granted to Croatian citizens last year remained below the limits required to activate Switzerland’s unilateral safeguard clause.
As a result, Croatia now benefits from full free movement of persons, in line with the rules already applied to other European Union (EU) member states.
“The number of permits granted to Croatian nationals in 2025 remained below the relevant thresholds. The conditions for activating the unilateral safeguard clause in 2026 were therefore not met,” the Swiss government stated.
Permit numbers below safeguard thresholds
Between 1 January and 31 December 2025, Switzerland issued 1,701 residence permits (B permits) to Croatian workers, and
792 short-stay permits (L permits).
These figures remained below the safeguard thresholds calculated under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP), which were set at: 2,004 B permits, and 1,116 L permits.
Under transitional arrangements, Switzerland had previously announced in November 2025 that it would invoke the safeguard clause for Croatia in 2026 if these thresholds were exceeded.
As this did not occur, no restrictions will be applied.
The AFMP was extended to Croatia through an additional protocol that entered into force in 2017, providing for a gradual opening of the Swiss labour market to Croatian nationals over a ten-year period.
Switzerland would have had the option to invoke the unilateral safeguard clause one final time before the end of the transitional period on 31 December 2026. With the thresholds not met, Croatian citizens now enjoy full and unrestricted access to the Swiss labour market.
Croatian workers’ role in Switzerland
In 2025, Croatian nationals accounted for around 2% of total immigration from the EU and EFTA countries. Croatian workers are primarily employed in: industry, health and social services, retail, and construction.
The Swiss government noted that Croatian labour continues to play a stable and valuable role across several key sectors of the Swiss economy.
