An Entry Fee for Switzerland: Federal Council Reverses Course on Immigration Levy

The Swiss Federal Council has made a notable U-turn on a proposed “entry fee” for foreign workers. Ahead of a major autumn parliamentary debate on the Bilateral III agreements with the European Union, the government is supporting two motions that call for an immigration levy.

The motions were submitted by FDP lawmaker Andrea Caroni and Centre Party Council of States member Heidi Z’Graggen. Under Caroni’s proposal, nationals from non-EU countries would pay the charge. Workers from the EU and EFTA could also face it if Switzerland activates the safeguard clause included in the government’s plans.

The amount has not been decided. Caroni’s proposal envisages that immigrants would pay several thousand Swiss francs for several years. Adult family members would pay half, while minors would be exempt. The proposal has raised the idea of a charge of around 4,000 francs per immigrant, although the article says the final figure remains open.

The shift is striking because the Federal Council rejected an earlier Caroni motion two years ago, citing major legal obstacles. Such an instrument could conflict with Switzerland’s free-movement agreements with the EU and EFTA. The government also argued then that immigration benefits Switzerland, making such charges economically undesirable.

Those concerns have not disappeared. In May, the Federal Council still outlined various legal and practical challenges to introducing the levy. But support has grown in Parliament. A clear majority of the Council of States’ Political Institutions Committee backed a charge for EU and EFTA nationals in mid-August if the safeguard clause is activated. Senior foreign-policy lawmakers in the chamber also support the idea. The issue is expected to feature prominently in a three-day debate on the new EU agreements scheduled for late September.

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Since Switzerland benefits from immigration, such charges are not desirable from an economic point of view.