As the year is drawing to a close, we look at how immigration has shaped Switzerland’s political, economic, and social discourse in 2025.
The topic of immigration has fuelled heated debates and controversies in Switzerland throughout the year.
The major issue among them – and one that will also remain in 2026 – is the hard-right proposal to drastically limit the number of foreign nationals allowed to be employed and live in Switzerland once the country’s population reaches 10 million.
READ ALSO: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
This initiative – launched by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) – is expected to be voted on in a referendum in June 2026 and several major polls have indicated that it has a fair chance of being approved by the voters.
As for elected officials, MPs have stated, almost unanimously (with the exception of the SVP), that such a law would be detrimental to Switzerland’s economy.
READ ALSO: Swiss senators reject plan to cut immigration
There are some other immigration-related issues that made news in Switzerland in 2025:
No voting rights for foreign nationals
In local referendums held in November, voters in two cantons refused to give voting rights to their longterm foreign residents.
The vast majority of voters in the cantons of Vaud (63.6 percent) and Appenzell-Ausserrhoden (72.8) rejected the moves to grant cantonal voting rights to foreigners living in their areas.
As in previous such attempts in other cantons, the main reason cited for the high rejection rate was that voting is for Swiss citizens only, and foreigners wishing be granted this right should become naturalised.
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And speaking of Swiss citizenship, two positive developments have occurred in 2025
One is that Basel-City is set to reduce its naturalisation fees.
The cantonal parliament voted in December in favour of lowering the fees for Swiss citizenship or – in some cases – abolishing them altogether.
Anyone under the age of 25 will no longer pay cantonal and communal fees, and will therefore only have to pay a 100-franc federal fee.
People on low incomes will also be exempted from fees.
Costs for adults aged 25 and over are also being cut: the new price is 900 francs instead of 1,750 francs until now.
The other piece of good news, at least for those living in Zurich, is that certain municipalities within the canton have eased one of the requirements for obtaining citizenship.
Concretely, some communes in Zurich are relying less and less on personal interviews with applicants as part of the Swiss citizenship procedure.
Instead, they prefer to assess the candidate’s integration from letters of motivation – personal statements explaining why they would like to become a Swiss citizen, and detailing their appreciation for Swiss values, way of life, and society in general.
READ ALSO: Why are Zurich authorities skipping naturalisation interviews?
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Thumbs up for integration
A recent study indicates that, by international comparison, foreign nationals in Switzerland “have a good level of education, a very high employment rate, and actively strive to learn a national language.”
Responding to the study, the Federal Council acknowledged that, “on the whole, integration into the labour market is working very well in Switzerland,” pointing out that “the employment rate of immigrants is 77 percent, one of the highest in the OECD. Nearly half of these individuals hold highly skilled jobs, which is also a high figure internationally.”
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And while we are on the subject of wages…
Government figures published in November revealed that salaries of some foreign residents who hold permit B are quite a bit higher than those with C permits – and even exceed the income of Swiss citizens.
Why is that?
It all comes down to this: top (and best paid) management positions in multi-national companies go to US and UK citizens who, as nationals of third countries, work in Switzerland under a B permit.
“B permits are often linked to specialised or senior roles for which there are sometimes too few candidates on the Swiss market,” Samuel Mete, Senior Director for Adecco told The Local.
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What awaits foreign nationals in Switzerland in the new year?
New debates and rules are on the horizon. You can find out more about them here:
READ ALSO: What immigration changes await foreigners in Switzerland in 2026 and beyond?