Swiss employment glossary

Swiss law itself does not prohibit a Swiss employee working remotely from another country. The constraints come from the intersection of three separate rules that all apply at the same time:

• Where you are tax resident, which determines where income tax is owed.
• Which country's social-security system covers the work, which determines AHV, Pillar 2, and unemployment insurance.
• Whether your physical presence in another country triggers tax obligations for your employer (the "permanent establishment" question).

A multilateral agreement that entered into force on 1 July 2023, signed by Switzerland and most EU/EFTA member states, formalises the rules for cross-border telework. The headline number: an employee resident in a participating EU/EFTA country who works for a Swiss employer can perform up to 49.9% of their working time from their country of residence without changing the social-security regime. Below 50%, social security stays in Switzerland (AHV, Pillar 2). At 50% or more, it shifts to the country of residence.

The agreement applies in both directions. A Swiss resident working for an employer in a participating EU/EFTA country can also use it. It applies only to telework (working from home or a co-working space in your country of residence), not to client visits, conferences, or temporary postings, which are covered by separate rules.

A signed A1 certificate, processed via the Swiss compensation office, confirms the social-security regime under the framework. Some employers and authorities require it before a cross-border arrangement begins.

Tax residency in Switzerland is determined by physical presence (typically 183 or more days per year), the location of your primary registered residence (Wohnsitz), and the centre of your "vital interests" (family, work, social ties). Sub-90-day stays abroad generally do not shift Swiss residency. Longer stays may, depending on the destination country's own residency rules.

Tax residency drives where you pay income tax. Switzerland has double-taxation agreements (DTAs) with over 100 countries, which generally mean the same income is not taxed twice. But the rules are country-specific and depend on factors including the type of income, where the work was performed, and how long you spent in each country during the tax year.

The default international rule: social security is paid in the country where the work is physically performed. Working from abroad for a Swiss employer can, in principle, shift you out of AHV and Pillar 2.

The EU-Switzerland framework (above) is the main mechanism for keeping Swiss social security while teleworking from EU/EFTA. Outside EU/EFTA, Switzerland has bilateral social-security agreements with around 50 countries (including the United States, Canada, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Israel, the Philippines, several South American and Balkan states). These agreements typically cover specific cases such as short "posting" periods of up to 5 or 6 years.

For long-term remote arrangements outside the EU/EFTA where no bilateral agreement applies, Swiss social security generally cannot be maintained, and the employee would need to be enrolled in the host country's system. This is one reason "fully nomadic" arrangements at Swiss companies typically restructure the employment relationship.

"Permanent establishment" (PE) is a tax-law concept: an employer can be deemed to have a taxable presence in another country if an employee performs work there habitually. A PE in another country triggers obligations such as corporate tax registration (and possibly tax on a portion of the company's profits attributable to that country), VAT registration in some cases, and local payroll obligations.

The OECD model treaty's traditional PE test was 183 days of physical presence. Tax authorities in several countries have, in recent years, examined home-office arrangements at lower thresholds, particularly when the role is senior or revenue-facing. This is why Swiss employers care: an employee freely working from another country can create real legal and tax exposure for the company, regardless of the employment contract terms.

This is the main reason employers set explicit limits on time spent working abroad, even when they are otherwise fully remote-friendly.

Among remote-friendly employers tracked on Remotli, common approaches include:

• A primary residence requirement. The employee remains a Swiss tax resident with an official Swiss address.
• A maximum number of days per year that can be worked from abroad. Most commonly 30 to 90 days. Some companies require approval beyond a threshold; others trust the employee to stay within the limit.
• Restrictions on which countries are eligible. Often EU/EFTA only, sometimes a defined whitelist that aligns with countries where bilateral agreements or the EU-Switzerland framework cover social security.
• Structured cross-border arrangements via the EU-Switzerland 49.9% framework, allowing a part-time work-from-EU pattern (for example, residing in France or Germany while working for a Zurich-based employer).
• Fully nomadic arrangements supported by a smaller set of employers. These typically require restructuring the contract via an Employer of Record arrangement that ends Swiss social-security coverage, in exchange for full geographic flexibility.

The exact policy is set per company. Listings on Remotli show each company's stated remote policy where available. Filter for fully remote or remote-friendly roles to narrow further.