Switzerland

Salary in IT

$ 66 004 – $ 201 767

Median

$ 114 710

Degree required

yes

Language at work

English is usually enough in international companies (Zurich, Geneva, Basel); knowing German, French or Italian depending on the region is a practical advantage.

Changing employer

For citizens from outside the EU/EFTA, changing employer or occupation requires approval from the cantonal migration authorities rather than happening automatically.

Visa types: Permit L is a short-term permit (up to 1 year, tied to the employer) · Permit B: residence for skilled specialists from outside the EU/EFTA · Permit G — a permit for cross-border workers

Employers: Google (engineering office in Zurich), UBS, Roche, Novartis, Logitech, ABB, Nestlé

Switzerland divides its grounds not by purpose but by passport. Citizens of the EU and EFTA go through the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons and the VFP ordinance: they have a right to a permit, there are no quotas and the labour market is not tested. Third-country nationals go through the AIG and the VZAE ordinance: only managers, specialists and other qualified labour are admitted, and only after it has been shown that no worker from Switzerland or from the free-movement states is available. The full catalogue of routes lies not on the SEM pages but in the guidance “Weisungen und Erläuterungen Ausländerbereich”, which is published as TWO files: the main PDF comes without chapter 4, while chapter 4, “Stay with work”, is a separate PDF. The free-movement half is described by the separate “Weisungen VFP”. Switzerland prints no income threshold anywhere: the salary must correspond to what is customary for the place, the occupation and the industry, while the sufficiency of means of non-working citizens of the EU and EFTA is measured against the SKOS social assistance standards and the threshold for supplementary benefits to pensions under the ELG — these thresholds have no figure. Fees are assigned not to the ground but to the act: art. 8 GebV-AIG (SR 142.209) sets only the CEILINGS on cantonal fees, and how much is charged within those limits is decided by cantonal law (art. 7), while for everything that is not in art. 8 the canton sets the fee itself (art. 9). Where the rate is not fixed, the fee is calculated by time: 100–250 CHF per hour depending on the knowledge required (art. 4), with up to 50 % added for urgency and for work outside normal hours (art. 5); where more than twelve people apply, a group fee is charged that does not exceed the sum for twelve (art. 8 para. 6), and for a refusal decision the actual costs may be charged (art. 8 para. 7). Separately from the permit, the employer pays for the federal labour-market approval: a flat rate of 180 CHF. It is not in the tariff itself — it is printed in the guidance, in chapter 4 of the “Weisungen AIG”, ziff. 4.6.4 (https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/de/data/rechtsgrundlagen/weisungen/auslaender/weisungen-aig-kap4.pdf.download.pdf/weisungen-aig-kap4-d.pdf). The visa fee is set by art. 12 GebV-AIG: a sum in francs equal to 90 euros, and 45 euros for children aged 6 to 12; art. 13 exempts from it, among others, spouses of Swiss citizens and close relatives of citizens of the EU and EFTA. The decision times are set not by the authority but by a norm. For the federal labour-market approval the ordinance on procedural deadlines (OrFV, SR 172.010.14) applies: the SEM decides within ten days if the work amounts to a few hours, within 40 days if it amounts to about a week, and within three months if it is longer. These deadlines cover only the SEM stage — the cantonal decision comes on top of them, and requesting the opinions of third parties adds its own time; the processingDays field in the records of work routes is filled with exactly this range. For asylum the deadlines are set by art. 37 of the Asylum Act. For the other routes neither the confederation nor the cantons publish deadlines. The quotas for 2026 are set by annexes 1 and 2 to the VZAE in the version of 19 November 2025: 4 000 short-stay permits for third countries (2 000 for the cantons and 2 000 for the confederation) and 4 500 ordinary ones (1 250 for the cantons and 3 250 for the confederation); separately 3 000 short-stay and 500 ordinary for cross-border services, 1 400 short-stay and 2 100 ordinary for citizens of the United Kingdom and 300 places a year under the agreement with the United States on the exchange of trainees and young professionals. After entry one must register at the place of residence within 14 days, and work may not be started before registration.

Permanent residence after

10 years

Citizenship after

10 years

Language

The national language of the canton of residence (German/French/Italian): the federal minimum is B1 spoken and A2 written.

Dual citizenship

allowed

Ordinary naturalisation: a minimum of 10 years of residence in Switzerland, including 3 of the last 5 years before applying. A C permit (permanent residence) and successful integration are required.

Document certification

apostille

The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.

Limit

5

Quarantine

no

Antibody titre test

needed

Preparation

~4 months

The rules are aligned with the EU regime (microchip, rabies vaccination, no quarantine on import from recognised countries). For animals imported from countries not on the list of those free of rabies without testing, a rabies antibody titre test at an accredited laboratory is required, along with a waiting period after the test is taken. Importing dogs with cropped ears and/or a docked tail is prohibited. Breed restrictions are set at the level of individual cantons (for example, Geneva), not federally.

Situation

calm

Permanent neutrality, a stable direct democracy, outside the EU and NATO. Geneva hosts the headquarters of many international organisations (the UN, the ICRC).

Crime: One of the safest records in the world: very low violence and corruption. The main risk for newcomers is pickpocketing in tourist areas, not serious crime.

Generally a low level of natural disasters for the lowland part of the country. The main specific risks relate to the mountains: avalanches and landslides in the Alps (there is no separate field in the schema, so they are recorded here), plus local river floods.

Type

Temperate: oceanic/continental (Cfb/Dfb) on the flat part (the plateau); in the Alps, from subtropical (southern Ticino) to tundra and glacial at altitude

The temperature and rainfall figures refer to the lowland part (the plateau, the Zurich area). The climate depends heavily on altitude: the Alps are noticeably colder and snowier, while the southern canton of Ticino is milder and sunnier. For Zurich: about 1544 hours of sunshine a year.

Life expectancy

83.8 years

Migration

inflow

Healthcare: Compulsory health insurance (LAMal/KVG) for all residents, paid entirely out of pocket (premiums depend on the canton and the insurer; subsidies are available for low incomes).

Air: Air quality is broadly good away from major transport hubs.

Flows: A steady migration inflow over decades; foreign residents make up about a quarter of the country's population.

Bread, 500 g

$ 3,58

Milk, 1 l

$ 2,27

Eggs, 12

$ 8,25

Chicken breast, 1 kg

$ 27,7

Cheese, 1 kg

$ 24,9

Rice, 1 kg

$ 3,66

Potatoes, 1 kg

$ 2,28

Apples, 1 kg

$ 3,95

Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l

$ 3,42

Total

$ 80,0

The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.

Rent, 1 bedroom

$ 2 006 a month

Rent, 3 bedrooms

$ 3 775 a month

Utility bills

$ 259 a month

Home internet

$ 58,9 a month

Monthly transport pass

$ 98,6 a month

Single transport ticket

$ 4,53

Petrol, litre

$ 2,26

Cold medicine

$ 18,9 for a week

Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.

Life expectancy

84,4 years2024

Homicides

0,5 per 100k2024

Theft

1 966,1 per 100k2024

Burglary

514 per 100k2024

Robbery

23,6 per 100k2024

Vehicle and vehicle-part theft

357,3 per 100k2024

Road deaths

2,4 per 100k2021

Unemployment

4,9 %2025

Unemployment, ages 15–24

9 %2025

Inequality (Gini)

33,82022

Health spending per person

$ 11 784 a year

Air pollution, PM2.5

8,3 µg/m³2023

Access to clean water

100 %2024

Internet, fixed line

296,1 Mbit/s2026

Internet, mobile

115,8 Mbit/s2026

Governance

Political stability

above average · 1

Control of corruption

high · 2

Rule of law

high · 1,8

Government effectiveness

high · 1,8

World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.

Natural hazards

Earthquakes

4,6 out of 10

River floods

5,9 out of 10

Coastal floods

0 out of 10

Tropical cyclones

0 out of 10

Droughts

0,9 out of 10

Tsunamis

0 out of 10

Policy towards newcomers

Migrant integration, overall score

46 out of 100 · 2019

Family reunification

41 out of 100 · 2019

Permanent residence

48 out of 100 · 2019

Access to citizenship

28 out of 100 · 2019

Access to the labour market

63 out of 100 · 2019

Measures how favourable the law is towards newcomers, not one person's chances of getting a visa.

Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.

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