Working in Switzerland: your permit is your work permit, and the tax comes off your pay

Yes, as a Dutch citizen you may work in Switzerland, and you don't need a separate work permit. For EU and EFTA citizens the residence permit also counts as the work permit. You apply for it within fourteen days of arrival, and in any case before your first working day, with your identity document and your employment contract. A national minimum wage doesn't exist. What surprises Dutch people most often is tax: as long as you don't have a C permit, your employer withholds it every month, the Quellensteuer.

Which permit do I get with a job?

That depends on your contract, according to the Swiss migration office SEM:

Situation	Permit	What you show for it
Work up to three months per calendar year	no permit; your employer notifies online	notification by the employer
Contract shorter than twelve months	L, valid for as long as the contract runs	written confirmation of the work
Contract of twelve months or open-ended	B	same
Self-employed	B	proof of your self-employed activity and that you can support yourself
Cross-border commuter living in the EU	cross-border commuter permit	back home at least once a week

How the permit works beyond that, and what the Dutch advantage after five years is, is in living in Switzerland.

Is there a minimum wage?

Not nationally; a popular initiative for a minimum wage was rejected in 2014. Five cantons have introduced one, though:

• Geneva: CHF 24.59 an hour;
• Basel-Stadt: CHF 22.20 an hour, not in all sectors;
• Neuchâtel: CHF 21.35 an hour;
• Jura: CHF 20.40 an hour;
• Ticino: between CHF 20 and CHF 20.50 an hour, per sector.

In addition, many industries have minimum wages in a Gesamtarbeitsvertrag or Normalarbeitsvertrag, the Swiss collective agreements. These sometimes apply to the whole industry and sometimes only to companies that signed. SECO keeps a list, and with the national salary calculator you see what a job typically pays.

What comes off my pay?

Two things. First the social contributions. For AHV, IV and EO, the old age, disability and income replacement system, that's 10.6% in total, of which your employer pays half. For unemployment insurance 2.2% is added up to a salary of CHF 148,200 a year, also split half and half. So you see 6.4% on your payslip as long as you stay below that limit.

Then the tax. Foreign employees who live in Switzerland and don't have a C permit pay Quellensteuer: your employer withholds the federal, cantonal and municipal income tax every month and pays it to the canton. You then generally don't have to file a return. The rates differ per canton.

Deductions only happen if you ask for them yourself, and before 31 March. If you want to deduct contributions to the third pillar, the Säule 3a, for example, or get back the 35% Verrechnungssteuer on your investments, you request a nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung from your canton: by 31 March of the following year at the latest. That deadline can't be extended. After a first request you receive the forms automatically in the following years.

If you have a C permit, or your partner is Swiss or has a C permit, the Quellensteuer falls away and you file an ordinary return.

What if my profession is regulated?

Then you need recognition. Switzerland distinguishes regulated professions, such as doctor or taxi driver, from non-regulated ones, such as chemist or actor. In a non-regulated profession anyone may in principle work, and recognition of your diploma isn't needed; you can, however, have a Niveaubescheinigung drawn up for a higher education diploma, which can improve your chances. For a regulated profession you contact the competent recognition body. If as an EU citizen you want to provide a service in Switzerland for at most 90 days a year, there is an accelerated notification procedure.

What Swiss social security means for your AOW and Dutch pension is in AOW, pension and tax in Switzerland. And since no employer contributes to the health premium, also read Swiss health insurance before you judge a salary.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Switzerland or go straight to step 1.1 in the open plan.