Apply for a Service providers from Switzerland visa
Guidance for those working for a company based in Switzerland and your employer needs you to work on a pre-existing contract in the UK.
Overview
You can apply for a Service Providers from Switzerland visa if you work for a company based in Switzerland and your employer needs you to work on a contract in the UK. The contract to carry out work in the UK must have been signed and started before 11pm on 31 December 2020.
If you are a Swiss national, you can also apply to the route as a self-employed service provider if you are based in Switzerland.
If you are employed, your employer can only send staff to the UK for 90 days per calendar year across all employees and contracts, including weekends and bank holidays. It is your employer’s responsibility to make sure you and any other staff who need to work in the UK do not collectively exceed the 90-day limit. If you are self-employed it is your responsibility.
Who can apply
To apply to this route, you must provide evidence that you are:
- employed by a company based in Switzerland (this applies to all nationalities) or
- (if Swiss) self-employed and based in Switzerland
- 18 years of age or older
How long your visa will last
Your visa will last for whichever period is shortest:
- the end date of the contract to work in the UK
- the end date of your work contract with your Swiss employer (if you are on a fixed-term contract)
- the day before your right to live in Switzerland expires if you are a non-EEA citizen or a Croatian national
- 31 December 2025
If your visa expires and you still need to provide services in the UK, you can re-apply for another Swiss Service Providers visa if you meet the criteria. You cannot re-apply if the work contract itself has expired.
Fees
There are no fees for your application under this route.
You do not need to pay the immigration health surcharge for this route.
What you can and cannot do
You can:
- provide services in the UK for up to 90 days each calendar year (you must only work on the relevant contract or contracts)
- enter and leave the UK multiple times during the visa period
You cannot:
- bring any family members with you (‘dependants’)
- work more than 90 days in a calendar year – you may have to work fewer if there is another employee also working on the same contract
- work for any reason other than that for your visa (including self-employment and voluntary work)
- study
- get public funds
- get medical treatment on the NHS (other than in an emergency)
- marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership
- live in the UK for extended periods of time or make the UK your main home
- extend your stay
- switch between visas whilst in the UK
Documents you’ll need to apply
You will need to provide scanned copies of documents which show:
- proof of identity
- proof of your right to work in Switzerland
- proof of your employment (or self-employed) status
- that your employer is based in Switzerland
- that the contract you will be working on was signed before 11pm on 31 December 2020
- that work had begun on that contract before 11pm on 31 December 2020
- that you need to travel to the UK to work on the contract
- (if you are not an EEA or Swiss national) evidence you have been working legally in Switzerland for a minimum of 12 months before you apply to the route, such as payslips or a Swiss residence card.
Proof of identity
If you are a Swiss national, you must provide your passport or national identity card.
If you are any other nationality you must provide your passport.
Your right to work in Switzerland
If you are a Swiss or EEA national (except Croatian nationals), you do not need to provide any evidence of your right to work in Switzerland, although if you have a Swiss residence card you may submit a scanned copy.
If you are a Croatian national, you need to submit a scanned copy of your Swiss residence card or work permit.
If you’re not an EEA or Swiss national, you need to submit a scanned copy of your Swiss residence card or work permit.
Employment or self-employed status
If you are employed on a permanent or fixed-term contract, you need to submit a scanned copy of that contract.
If you are a Swiss national and self-employed, you must provide evidence that you are registered as self-employed with the appropriate tax authority in Switzerland (such as a tax return or other form of formal correspondence with the tax authority).
If you’re not an EEA or Swiss national, you must show evidence that you have been working in Switzerland for a minimum of 12 months before you apply. Accepted forms of evidence include payslips or evidence of holding a Swiss residence permit for that period of time.
Employer’s presence in Switzerland
Your employer must be based in Switzerland. You can show this using a scanned copy of any official correspondence between your employer and their canton.
Signing date of the contract to carry out work in the UK
You must provide a scanned copy of the contract that you intend to work on in the UK, which shows the date it was signed. This can also be an electronic copy.
Evidence that work on the contract started before 11pm 31 December 2020
You must show that you, or a co-worker, travelled to the UK at least once to work on the contract before 11pm on 31 December 2020, unless the work contract is clear that regular or frequent travel is not required.
The following are examples of evidence you can use as proof that work began before 11pm on 31 December 2020:
- receipts of travel or accommodation used while in the UK
- a Van der Elst visa or Swiss Posted Worker Certification held in the last 12 to 36 months (if it relates to the same contract in the UK)
- evidence that a co-worker has held or holds a Service Provider from Switzerland visa
Evidence will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
For contracts signed on or before 1 March 2020
You may not need to provide evidence that you or a co-worker travelled to the UK to work on a contract if your travel was cancelled due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
You should provide evidence if you were able to travel to the UK. You may also show evidence of cancelled travel tickets between Switzerland and the UK or bookings for accommodation in the UK during 2020.
Evidence is considered on a case-by-case basis.
For contracts signed between 2 March 2020 and 31 December 2020
You do not have to provide evidence that you or a colleague physically travelled to the UK to start work on the contract before 31 December 2020.
You may submit evidence such as:
- proof of cancelled travel or accommodation bookings
- written agreement (including email) for the contract to be worked on remotely as an interim solution, or for the contract to be temporarily paused (not cancelled).
Evidence that you need to travel to the UK
If you’re employed by a company:
You need a signed letter from your employer, written by someone with authority to prove why you need to work in the UK. The letter can be electronic. The minimum level of acceptable seniority includes a senior manager, Head of Human Resources, or the most senior staff member with responsibility for human resources.
The letter must show:
- the letter writer’s title and role in the company
- a copy of the contract to work in the UK
- details of why you need to travel to the UK to work
- that you have the necessary qualifications to work on the contract
- that the company has not provided services in the UK for more than 90 days in the last calendar year
Apply
You must apply online for a Service providers from Switzerland visa.
You’ll need to have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre as part of your application. Some visa application centres (VACs) charge for their services.
Find out how to get your visa decision faster - this depends on what country you’re in. Check if your visa application centre offers faster decisions and other services.
After you apply
You can withdraw your application by following the online guidance on how to cancel a visa, immigration or citizenship application.
If you need to change something in your application after you’ve sent it contact UK Visas and Immigration.
You can ask to withdraw your application by contacting UKVI.
After you get a decision
If your application is successful, you will receive a vignette in your passport, or attached to a form (if you are a Swiss national who applied using your Swiss national identity card).