On 31 January 2020, the UK left the EU based on the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. The agreement sets out, inter alia, the status of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, as well as the details regarding the transition period (see Question 2).

Switzerland is not a party to the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement and has therefore signed a separate Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement, the aim of which is to secure the rights of Swiss and British citizens after the transition period (see Question 4).

UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement

Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement

Based on the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is followed by a transition period, currently expected to last until 31 December 2020 (the UK and the EU can jointly decide to trigger an extension of the transition period of up to two years).

During the transition period, EU law continues to apply to the UK, even though the UK will have ceased to be an EU member state. Agreements that the EU has concluded with third countries, including the Swiss-EU Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP), will continue to apply to the UK until the end of the transition period.

In summary, regarding daily life during the transition period, things will largely remain as they are now.

Please find additional information regarding the new rules in 2021.

Gov.uk: Get ready for new rules in 2021  

Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP)

Until the end of the transition period the relations between Switzerland and the UK are governed by the network of bilateral agreements concluded between Switzerland and the European Union. One of those agreements is the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP). Under the AFMP, economically active persons have the right to enter, remain and take up employment in the UK and in Switzerland, both in an employed or self-employed capacity. Economically inactive persons (e.g. retired persons or students) also have the right to enter and stay as long as they have adequate financial means and full health insurance coverage.

After the transition period expires, the Swiss-EU bilateral agreements, including the AFMP, will cease to apply to the UK. To safeguard the rights of Swiss citizens who are resident in the UK (and vice versa), the two governments have concluded the Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement (see Question 4).

Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP)

Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement

Swiss–UK relations post-Brexit

The Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement secures the rights acquired by Swiss citizens living in the UK (and vice versa). Based on this agreement, Swiss citizens residing in the UK on the date the transition period expires will be able to carry on with their lives just as before. In terms of scope, the main areas covered are the following:

• Right of exit and of entry
• Right of residence for persons pursuing an economic activity
  
• Right of residence for persons not pursuing an economic activity
• Family reunification
• Frontier workers
• Rights of persons providing services
• Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality
• Purchase of immovable property
• Coordination of social security systems
• Mutual recognition of professional qualifications

The Swiss-UK citizen’s rights agreement will be implemented once the transition period expires, which is currently expected to be from 1 January 2021. The agreement will be applied on a provisional basis from 1 January 2021 and enter into force following the completion of the formal domestic procedure in Switzerland.

Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement

Swiss citizens (and their family members) wishing to remain in the UK beyond December 2020 have to apply for a new residence status under the EU Settlement Scheme, called settled or pre-settled status (see Question 6).

Acquiring settled or pre-settled status will allow Swiss citizens to continue to live, study and work in the UK, to have access to public funds and services and to go on to apply for British citizenship if they wish to do so.

Applications are free of charge.

Swiss citizens married to a British citizen also need to apply. However, Swiss-UK dual nationals must not (and cannot) apply. They already have full rights of residence in the UK.

The settlement scheme opened fully at the end of March 2019.

Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)

Settled and pre-settled status are the new UK permanent residence status post-Brexit. Swiss citizens (and their family members) wishing to remain in the UK beyond December 2020 need to apply.

Acquiring settled or pre-settled status will allow Swiss citizens to continue to live, study and work in the UK, to have access to public funds and services and to go on to apply for British citizenship if they wish to do so.

If you have lived in the UK for a continuous five-year period (‘continuous residence’) you should be granted settled status. Continuous residence means that for five years in a row you have been in the UK for at least six months in any 12-month period, except for:

• one period of up to 12 months for an important reason (for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting)
• compulsory military service of any length.

If you do not have five years’ continuous residence when you apply you will generally get pre-settled status instead. This means you can stay in the UK for a further five years from the date you get pre-settled status. Once you have five years’ continuous residence you can apply for settled status.

To be eligible for settled or pre-settled status under the Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement, you have to:

• be a Swiss citizen, or a family member of a Swiss citizen; and
• have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

You do not have to be physically present in the UK to apply for settled/pre-settled status. You can also apply from overseas.

Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement

Family members who are living with, or join, Swiss citizens in the UK by 31 December 2020 can also apply for settled or pre-settled status.

Family members who are not living in the UK by 31 December 2020 will be able to join a Swiss citizen in the UK at any point in the future, as long as the relationship existed before that date and still exists.

Children born or adopted after 31 December will also have their rights protected.

Where a new relationship is formed after 31 December 2020, the future spouse of an eligible Swiss citizen will be able to join the Swiss citizen in the UK within a period of five years following the entry into force of the Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement.

Family members do not need to be from Switzerland or the EU to be eligible to apply for settled or pre-settled status; they can come from anywhere in the world.

For the purposes of the settlement scheme, family members are defined as:

• Those who are in a relationship with a Swiss national as their spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner (unmarried partners will need a residence card to prove the relationship).
• Those who are related to a Swiss national, their spouse or civil partner as their:
  • child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
  • dependent child over the age of 21
  • dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent
  • dependent relative with a residence card to prove the relationship 

Yes, Swiss citizens married to a British citizen will also need to apply. However, Swiss-UK dual nationals must not (and cannot) apply. They already have full rights of residence in the UK.

Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain (ILR) status will generally not be affected by the UK leaving the EU, and ILR holders can continue to live in the UK without applying for settled status.

However, we recommend that holders of an ILR status still apply for settled status, because it guarantees that your immigration status will be registered with the Home Office and it offers certain more favourable entitlements. For example it will not lapse unless the holder has been absent from the UK for more than four consecutive years, as opposed to two years in the case of ILR). If you choose to change your ILR to settled status, the application for settled status should be a simple process and subject only to verification of identity, a criminality check and confirmation of ongoing residence. The application to the scheme is free of charge.

Should you decide against applying for settled status, please note that you should ensure that you have sufficient proof of your ILR status.

Sufficient proof for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and the Settlement Scheme

Yes, if you already have a ‘document certifying permanent residence’, you still need to apply for settled status. This should be a simple process, subject only to verification of identity, a criminality check and confirmation of ongoing residence. The application to the scheme is free of charge.

The application for settled/pre-settled status is an online application and consists of three steps:

1. Identity Check: There are three ways to complete the Identity Check.

• Option 1: Use the 'EU Exit ID document check' App on your phone and scan your passport with the App. To be able to do this, you need to have an Android smartphone, which has NFC technology. Since October 2019, the App has also been available for iPhone.
  
  
• Option 2: Choose the 'online + by post' method, which means you start your application online on the gov.uk website and at the end you will be asked to send in your passport or ID card to the Home Office. Please note that if you only have a Swiss ID card you have to use the 'online + by post' method. 
  
  
• Option 3: Start your application by going to one of the local council scanning locations, where they will scan your passport and complete the Identity Check together with you.

Start your application to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)

Find locations offering ID document scanning

2. Residence Check: You can complete the Residence Check by using your National Insurance Number. The Home Office will then make an automated check with your tax and benefits records to help confirm your UK residence. If you do not have a National Insurance Number, or if you do not want to use yours, or you do not agree with the result that you receive from the automated check, you can prove your residence by submitting additional documents. The Home Office has published a list of documents accepted as evidence of UK residence. Please be aware that you do not need to provide evidence for your entire UK residence. You only need to show that you qualify for settled or pre-settled status. 

EU Settlement Scheme: UK tax and benefits records automated check

3. Criminality Check: The Criminality Check is completed during the application to the EU Settlement Scheme.

The Home Office provides support over the phone or in person if you need help during the online application process (see Question 13).

There will be no physical document evidencing your status. Instead, successful applicants will get proof of their status through an online service.

Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)

Translations of the guidance on settled status for EU citizens and their families in European languages 

If you encounter any problems during your application or if you have questions about the status of your application, you can contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre. 

How to contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre by phone

How to contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre by email

There is also a service provided by the Home Office, called Assisted Digital Service, if you do not have the appropriate access, skills or confidence to complete the application form online.

How to contact the EU Settlement Scheme: Assisted Digital service

To support the Swiss Community in the UK, the Swiss Benevolent Society  has been approved and registered as an Advisor by the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner to help Swiss citizens through the Settlement Scheme application process. If you know of a Swiss citizen who is unable to complete the application and unable to rely on family members, please contact the Swiss Benevolent Society online or by phone on 020 7836 9119 (available Tuesdays and Wednesdays only).

Swiss Benevolent Society contact form

Find free events across the UK where information on the EU Settlement Scheme is provided

The deadline for applying to the settlement scheme is 30 June 2021.

Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme

It is your decision whether you want to use your Swiss or your EU nationality for the application for settled status. When making your decision, you might want to consider the following differences between settled status under the Swiss regime and settled status under the EU regime:

• Swiss settled status is more generous with regards to family reunification of future spouses. Third country nationals who become the spouse of a Swiss national after the end of the transition period  can join the Swiss national already living in the UK for a period of up to five years following the entry into force of the Swiss-UK citizens’ rights agreement, whereas the EU Withdrawal Agreement does not foresee this.
  
  
• EU settled status is more generous with regards to the authorised period of absence from the UK. With Swiss settled status you can be absent from the UK for a period of up to four years without losing your settled status; with EU settled status you can be absent from the UK for a period of up to five years without losing your settled status.

Please note that you can register your second nationality after you have been granted settled or pre-settled status.

Update your EU Settlement Scheme details

Please note that Swiss-UK dual nationals must not (and cannot) apply to the Settlement Scheme, as they already have full residence rights as UK nationals.

Swiss-Irish dual nationals do not have to apply

There will be no physical document evidencing your settled or pre-settled status in case of successful application through the scheme. Instead, successful applicants will get proof of their status through an online service.

Once you have been granted settled status, you only need to make sure that you keep your online status up to date (e.g. if you receive a new passport or a new identity card, if you change your name, if you change your email address or phone number, etc.).

Update your EU Settlement Scheme details

If you have been granted pre-settled status you also have to keep your status up to date. In addition to that, once you have accumulated five years of continuous residence, you have to apply for settled status.

Please note that, should you fail to update your details (e.g. when obtaining a new passport), there may be problems in linking your details to your status (e.g. at the border when using the e-gates to enter the UK). 

• Information on settled/pre-settled status
• Translations of the guidance on settled status for EU citizens and their families in European languages
• Sign up to UK Home Office email updates
• EU Settlement Resolution Centre
• EU Settlement Scheme: UK tax and benefits records automated check
• EU Settlement Scheme: evidence of UK residence
• Information on application processing times
• Toolkit on the EU Settlement Scheme in German, French and Italian
• EU Settlement Scheme: Employer Toolkit
• EU Settlement Scheme: Community Leaders Toolkit
• Information on social security from the Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office

Swiss citizens will continue to enjoy visa-free travel for short-term trips to the UK from 1 January 2021.

Until 31 December 2020 the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons continues to apply to the UK. Swiss citizens travelling to the UK before that date can enter the UK under the same conditions as before, using either a valid national identity card or a passport.

From 1 January 2021 onwards, Swiss citizens can still enter the UK using a passport that is valid for the duration of the stay; there is no need for any additional period of validity on the passport beyond this.

From 1 October 2021 the UK will no longer accept Swiss national ID cards for entry to the UK. However, Swiss citizens who take up residence in the UK before 31 December 2020 and have status under the EU Settlement Scheme will be able to use their Swiss national ID card to enter the UK until at least 31 December 2025.

Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP)

gov.uk: Visiting the UK after Brexit 

EU Settlement Scheme

According to the Citizens’ Rights Agreement Swiss citizens who exercised their rights as frontier workers in the UK in accordance with the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) before 31 December 2020 can continue to do so after that date. You will however have to apply for a frontier workers permit in the UK. Such a permit will be a formal requirement to enter the UK as a frontier worker from 1 July 2021.

Frontier workers in the UK

Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons

Until 31 December 2020 the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons still applies between Switzerland and the UK and Swiss citizens can move to the UK under the terms of this agreement. If they wish to stay in the UK beyond 31 December 2020, they will have to apply for pre-settled status (see Question 6).

Swiss citizens arriving in the UK after 31 December 2020 will be subject to the UK’s future immigration system.

Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP)

Swiss citizens arriving after 1 January 2021 will be subject to the UK’s new immigration rules. Economically active persons who intend to work in the UK will have to fulfil the requirements under the UK’s new Points-Based System (PBS). Further guidance regarding this new system will be published at the end of 2020.

The UK’s points-based immigration system: what you need to know

For the time being, there is no bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the UK with regard to migration and labour market access after the transition period.

British citizens who are living in Switzerland with a residence permit obtained under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons do not generally need to take any action. They might be called upon to exchange their current permit for another one – if not they must simply apply for a new permit with the cantonal immigration and labour market authorities before the existing one expires.

Swiss State Secretariat for Migration: Brexit FAQ

Cantonal immigration and labour market authorities

The current regulations for travelling to Switzerland with a pet continue to apply.

Travelling with pets

After Brexit, the International Driving Permit will not be required in order to drive a motor vehicle in Switzerland. Switzerland continues to recognise valid UK driving licences.

After Brexit, drivers with valid UK licence plates will not have to present an International Motor Insurance Card (Green Card) when entering Switzerland and driving in Switzerland.

However the rules may differ in EEA countries. Please ensure that you check the rules of the EEA country you plan to drive in before your journey.