BEST PRACTICEPart 3:
BEST PRACTICEPart 3: Employment abroad and relocationto Switzerland: Important aspects of workpermits, taxes and social insurance foroccasional working days in the previouscountry of residenceNORMA REYNOV, CONVINUSRecruitment from abroad and subsequent relocation to Switzerland requires significantly moreeffort from HR than simply drawing up a Swiss employment contract. In practice, residence permits,income taxes, and social security are so closely interwined that an isolated approach can quicklylead to incomplete considerations and regulations. Companies and future employees should,therefore, include all relevant aspects in their planning at an early stage. In addition to theemployee's origin, this also includes the future employee's specific family situation as well as anyforeign working days (remote work).It is clear that HR managers need to consider a variety of aspects when hiring employees fromabroad and support the new employees accordingly. Future employees relocating to Switzerlandmust also at least fundamentally familiarize themselves with the legal peculiarities and potentialchallenges in a cross-border context and recognize the pitfalls. The following text provides an initialoverview of this.1. Legal aspects1.1 Work permitsWork permits are essential. At least for foreign nationals working in Switzerland. These can be veryeasy to obtain (e.g. for EU citizens who simply register with the relevant municipality after movingto Switzerland and before starting to work), somewhat more complex (e.g. for cross-bordercommuters who only want to move to Switzerland part-time and still maintain a residence abroad)or a real challenge (e.g. for third-country nationals).6convinus.com
BEST PRACTICESwiss HR managers know this well enough because, for example, in addition to the time-consumingprocess of proving that no other qualified person has been found on the Swiss or EU labor market,third-country nationals also have to provide a whole series of other formal documents.And if the employees also work partly in their country of origin, further clarifications are required.Is that even possible? Which work permit is the right one? What income tax and social securityaspects need to be considered?1.2 Income TaxesThe foreign employee will be subject to Swiss withholding tax upon moving to Switzerland andtaking up employment there. The situation becomes more complicated if the employee onlypartially relocates to Switzerland and/or the family remains abroad (for the time being). In thiscase, a number of special considerations must be taken into account in order to determine the taxliability in the specific individual case. For example, Swiss companies must know exactly where theemployee is working (Switzerland or abroad) and what effects this may have on the withholding taxcalculation (e.g. withholding tax on the entire salary vs. calculation based on Swiss working days).Employees who move to Switzerland and whose family join them later also have to deal with anumber of questions in order to optimize their tax situation as far as possible or at least not paysignificantly too much tax. In most cases, double taxation agreements (DTAs) regulate whether partof the income remains taxable in the country of origin, especially if the family continues to livethere or home office work is carried out across the border.If a person resides in two countries, they may be subject to tax obligations in both. It is essential tocarefully review the tax regulations in each country and assess whether exemption or creditmechanisms are available to prevent double taxation.1.3 Social securityIn principle, employees who move to Switzerland from abroad and take up a local employmentcontract here are fully subject to Swiss social insurance. However, as is so often the case, there areexceptions: Anyone who works regularly or temporarily in their former country of residence despitebeing employed locally in Switzerland - for example because their family has not yet moved withthem - may in individual cases trigger far-reaching consequences for their insurance status. In suchcases, it is advisable to clarify at an early stage whether and to what extent the days worked abroadaffect the social insurance obligation in Switzerland.7convinus.com
Expat policy 
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