Can I work for a Swiss company
from Canada?

1. Social security

Canada is outside the EU/EFTA area, so neither the 25 % rule nor the 49.9 % telework ceiling applies. Switzerland has a bilateral social-security agreement with Canada instead.

These agreements typically cover initial posting arrangements of up to about five years, with extensions possible by mutual agreement of the authorities; the equivalent of the A1 certificate is a certificate of coverage issued under that treaty. Living in Canada permanently and working for a Swiss company from there is a different case from a posting, and one to put to the employer and its compensation office.

2. Tax

Where you are tax resident decides where income tax is owed. A Canadian resident working from Canada is normally taxed there on that income. Physical presence in Switzerland of 30 days or more while working can itself make you Swiss tax resident, so on-site days count. Switzerland and Canada have a double-taxation agreement, which settles which country may tax the income when both claim it.

The "183-day rule" people quote comes from the OECD model tax treaty and concerns where someone counts as resident, not where it is cheaper to pay. Many countries also have a 90 or 183-day local registration trigger that runs alongside the social-security question.

3. The employer’s side

An employer can acquire a taxable presence ("permanent establishment") in Canada if an employee habitually works there for it. There is no clean numeric test; the OECD model treaty speaks of a fixed place of business through which the business is partly carried on, and the OECD's 2025 Commentary treats a home office used 50 % or more of working time over twelve months as a possible fixed place of business. The type of role matters more than the day count: a sales lead closing deals from Canada exposes the employer to more risk than an engineer writing code.

Listings on Remotli show the location text the employer published. Treat it as the employer's stated hiring zone and ask which employment form sits behind it. The policy patterns the guide lists are the usual answers: a primary-residence requirement in Switzerland, a yearly cap on days abroad, an EU/EFTA whitelist, structured EU residence under the 49.9 % framework, or an employer of record.

What to ask before applying

1. Does the listing name a hiring zone, and is Canada in it?
2. Which employment form does the company offer for residence in Canada: Swiss contract or employer of record?
3. Is this a posting with an end date, or permanent residence in Canada?
4. Is the salary paid in CHF or in local currency, and who carries the exchange-rate risk?

What the board says right now

Remotli does not store a structured hiring zone, so this is a text signal: of the 243 roles in the default view, 66contain “EU”, “Europe”, “European” or “EMEA” in their location and 13contain “Worldwide”, “Anywhere”, “Global” or “International”. Start with the fully remote roles and read the location text on each card; a listing that says “Switzerland” can still be open through an employer of record.

Reviewed 8 September 2026. The full rules, with glossary: Working from abroad on a Swiss contract.