CH - UK: SMA Agreement approved
The Federal Council recently approved an agreement on the mobility of service providers between Switzerland and the UK. This is intended to ensure mutual, facilitated market access. This will close a looming loophole following the abolition of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons from 1 January 2021.
The Services Mobility Agreement (SMA) between Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) regulates the mutual access and temporary residence of service providers such as management consultants, IT experts and engineers. It also contains provisions on the recognition of professional qualifications.
It provides that Switzerland will continue the notification procedure for service providers from the UK for up to 90 days per year, which has already been practised and is well known in the economy. The agreement thus allows the Swiss economy to continue to use short-term services from companies from the UK in a timely manner. In 2019, around 3,800 service providers from the UK up to 90 days who are subject to the notification requirement were registered in Switzerland.
Preferential conditions for CH service providers
On the UK side, market opening vis-à-vis Switzerland takes the form of market access commitments in over 30 service sectors. In addition, the UK grants Swiss service providers further preferential conditions. For example, Swiss service providers are not subject to an economic needs test for access in these sectors in the UK and they do not have to provide proof of knowledge of the English language. Service providers from Switzerland are granted access in the UK for twelve months within a period of 24 months. With these conditions, the SMA will continue to allow Swiss companies extensive market access in the UK for contract-based service provision by natural persons.
Market access to the UK under the SMA is currently limited to persons with qualifications at university or equivalent level. However, as part of an exchange of letters, the UK has undertaken to reassess the recognition of Swiss VET qualifications.
The SMA is initially limited to two years. The contracting parties may jointly decide on an extension. In order for the agreement to be provisionally applied seamlessly from 1 January 2021, the relevant parliamentary committees will be consulted. The dispatch approving the agreement will be submitted to parliament by the end of June 2021.
Press release Federal Government
