Precedence of domestic employees
Domestic employees have priority when recruiting for technical and administrative positions. In accordance with external page Art. 21 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA), employees from third countries can only be employed for a non-scientific position if it can be proven that the position cannot be filled with suitable domestic or EU/EFTA employees despite extensive search efforts.
Scientific positions are exempt from this regulation.
Domestic employees are all persons who have a regular residence in Switzerland and are admitted to the labour market.
- Swiss nationals
- Foreign nationals with a permanent residence permit (C permit)
- Foreign nationals with a residence permit that entitles them to pursue gainful employment (B permit, incl. recognised refugees)
- Temporarily admitted persons (F permit)
- Persons who have been granted temporary protection and are authorised to take up gainful employment (S permit)
- All persons from countries with which a freedom of movement agreement has been concluded (L and B or C permit)
Further information can be found on the external page website of the State Secretariat for Migration.
We would also like to refer you to ETH Zurich's overview of the Download documents required for employment (PDF, 605 KB) (only available in German).
The recruitment process
- If it can be assumed that no suitable domestic candidates can be found for a technical or administrative position, the recruiting team registers the position with the regional employment centres (RAV) and the European Employment System (EURES) as a precautionary measure.
- The recruiting team or your HR Partner will inform you (hiring manager) about the priority given to domestic employees.
- When selecting applicants, you must first consider people from the domestic labour market and the labour markets of EU/EFTA countries. To do this, use the information on nationality(ies) and residence or work permit that is stored in the recruitment tool for all applicants.
- If no suitable domestic candidates can be found, an application for a work permit can be submitted for a person from a third country.
Applying for a work permit for third-country nationals
Various documents are required for the application.
The Recruiting Team provides the following documents:
- Confirmation of publication from the RAV and EURES
- Proof of the duration of publication on the other platforms
- List of applicants with detailed information on nationality, education/qualifications and date of application
As hiring manager, you prepare the following documents:
- Letter explaining why only the person from the third country is eligible (compared to the domestic applicants)
- List of applicants with a brief explanation per candidate as to why they received a rejection
Your HR Administrator will then take care of submitting the application.