Swiss – 120-Day Work Permits – A Dilemma

A 120-day work permit category is for those foreign nationals who wish to work in Switzerland for 120 days or less in a 12-month period. This category is exempt of any quotas. This permit is issued for a maximum of 120 days in a 12-month period, but the way in which this is adjudicated varies from canton to canton and Embassy to Embassy.

From our recent experience with these applications lodged with the Swiss Embassy in Mumbai, we observed a lot of variations with each case. To note a few of these observations:

• Of all the applicants that applied for this visa, some of them were issued a type "D" visa and some were issued a type "C" visa. This decision was completely at the discretion of the Swiss Embassy and we did not have control over whether an employee would receive type "D" or "C" visa;