A posting in an EU/EFTA country or in a country with which Switzerland has signed a bilateral agreement on social security (signatory state).
If an employer headquartered in Switzerland sends an employee for a limited period of time to work (or carry out an assignment) in an EU/EFTA country, or any another country with which Switzerland has concluded a bilateral agreement on social security*, that person remains subject to Swiss social security legislation during the posting.
The employee in question and their employer must submit a joint request for a certificate of posting and hand it in to our Compensation Fund Office.
On receipt of this document, our Compensation Office will check whether the legal requirements of a posting have been met and, if that is the case, will issue either an official certificate for a maximum 24-month period (a European A1 form), or a certificate with a validity period in keeping with the requirements of the host country (a signatory state).
In the case of an EU/EFTA country, if a period of 24 months is still insufficient, the employer can submit a posting extension request to the Federal Social Security Office (OFAS) which will negotiate a special agreement with the competent authority in the host country.
If at the start of the posting it can be reasonably anticipated that a period of 24 months will not suffice for carrying out the work, the employer can submit a long-term posting request or a posting extension request to the International Affairs department of the Federal Social insurance Office along with a letter explaining why the worker’s mission requires more time.
As soon as the mission abroad is terminated, the employee and the employer should jointly inform our Compensation Office.
A posting in Switzerland on behalf of an employer whose headquarters are in an EU or an EFTA country, or in a country with which Switzerland has signed a bilateral agreement on social security (signatory state).
If an employer headquartered in an EU or an EFTA country, or any another country with which Switzerland has concluded a bilateral agreement on social security, sends an employee to work (or carry out an assignment) in Switzerland, that person remains subject to their home country’s social security legislation and is exempt from paying social security* contributions in Switzerland.
The employee and employer in question should submit a joint written posting request to the social security authorities of their home country (be it in the EU/EFTA or in a signatory state). The authorities in question will have to provide a formal certificate. As soon as the employee arrives in Switzerland, the local employer will have to forward this certificate to our Compensation Fund Office. This exemption from paying social security contributions in Switzerland will be determined according to the bilateral conventions.
* Countries with which Switzerland has signed a social security bilateral convention are: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, ex Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (expectation new conventions : Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia), India, Israel, Japan, Macedonia, Philippines, Quebec, San Marino, Turkey, Uruguay, USA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
LEAFLETS OF THE FEDERAL SOCIAL INSURANCE OFFICE :
10.01 - Salariés travaillant ou domiciliés à l’étranger et les membres de leur famille (Only in french)
10.01.1 - Rectification Mémento 10.01 – Salariés à l’étranger et les membres de leur famille (Only in french)
10.02 -The voluntary old-age, survivors' and disability insurance scheme
880 - Leaving Switzerland and moving to an EU or EFTA member state
OTHER DOCUMENTS :
3.1 - 11670 - Application in relation to posting abroad, extension or long-term posting
