Switzerland Extends Labor Market Restrictions For Romanians Until At Least 2014

05.04.2011 By Gavrila Oana

Romanian and Bulgarian workers’ access to the Swiss labor market will continue to be restricted until at least 2014, after the country’s Federal Council confirmed Wednesday the extension of a transitory period imposed on citizens of the two EU countries, Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported online.

Freelance Romanian and Bulgarian workers will benefit fully from free movement principles starting June 1, 2011.

The agreement on free movement of citizens, signed in 1999, allows countries to impose temporary restrictions on their national labor market for a period of maximum seven years.

Switzerland is allowed to extend the restrictions until May 2016.

Jobs available for Romanian and Bulgarian workers in Switzerland are mainly in services (76% of work permits) and agriculture (17% of work permits).

At the end of December 2010, Switzerland had 8,690 Romanians and Bulgarians in residence, accounting for 0.8% of European citizens living in the country. The number of Romanians and Bulgarians in Switzerland increased 17.5% since December 2009.