WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/W/22 
17 September 2004 
 (04-3925) 
Council for Trade in Services  
Special Session Original:   English 
 
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM SWITZERLAND 
 
e-Work Permits in Switzerland: www.workpermits.zh.ch  
  
The following communication, dated 13 Septembe r 2004, from the delegation of Switzerland 
is being circulated to the Members of the Council for Trade in Services. 
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1. Switzerland would like to share with the Counc il for Trade in Services its experience on 
Mode 4 procedures. This contribution is meant to stimulate discussions on accompanying measures 
that enhance the effectiveness of market access a nd national treatment commitments under Mode 4. 
I. RATIONALE  
2. The current GATS negotiations have shed light on the crucial importance of Mode 4 in our 
services economy.  In this regard, not only is it important that Members undertake new commitments 
during this Round, but also that these new commitments – as well as the existing ones – be implemented in the most efficient, transparent, predictable and lean way. Measures to reach this 
objective are not only in the interest of the service supplier, but also of utmost importance for the host 
country's economy. Business practices such as "just-in-time" manufacturing service provision have 
steadily increased the speed of transactions. Transf er of technology and exchange of knowledge – 
factors that may be decisive to be awarded a cont ract or to settle a business – may require the prompt 
transfer of resources from anywhere in the world.  Speed of procedure that handles work permit 
applications plays a central role in this regard. Switzerland therefore believes that the availability of 
lean and efficient procedures to handle the supply of services under Mode 4 is a trump card to location promotion. Zurich – in the heart of Switzerland's most important business area – has been 
aware of this fact and has recently implemented a di gitalised desk for the processing of work permits. 
It is a pioneer within the vaster project of "e-gove rnment". The case of Zurich is the more relevant, as 
it deals with more than one out of five applications  in Switzerland. The residual four-fifths are spread 
over the 25 remaining cantons. 
3. The purpose of this paper is to complement th e issues tabled by other Members that intended 
to improve the actual use of market access and national treatment commitments made by Members. 
These proposals led to stimulating discussions in th e Council for Trade in Services. Switzerland is 
aware of the fact that improved procedures are only one element of a set of relevant accompanying measures. TN/S/W/22 
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II. ILLUSTRATIVE CASE: E-WORK PERMITS 
A. T
HE SWISS IMMIGRATION SYSTEM  
4. Switzerland is among the countries with the highest  quota of foreigners in comparison to its 
permanent population: 20 percent of the overall popul ation are foreigners. Its current foreign work 
force accounts for 25 percent of the active population, with 75 percent of them working in the services 
sector. Switzerland has a long history in this regard. The political structure is a superposition of three 
levels: the Confederation, the cantons and the communes, shaped very much by decentralised 
competencies.  Entry and stay of foreign services s uppliers are dealt with at the cantonal as well as the 
federal level. For entry, the competency lies with  the Confederation, whereas the cantons decide on 
the stay and residency of foreigners. The cantonal d ecisions have to be submitted to the Confederation 
for final approval. Hence, work permits are handled  by the cantons, whereas visa applications are the 
competency of the central government. This pape r concentrates on the part of the work permit 
application process that interacts directly with th e applicant. There is not a unified process among the 
cantons. The canton of Zurich, where the bulk of applications are submitte d, is a good example how 
procedures can be streamlined. 
B. ZURICH 'S E-WORK PERMITS – "WORKING IN ZURICH WITHIN TEN CLICKS " 
1. "e-Work Permits" in a nutshell 
5. The Canton of Zurich has newly developed a dig italized desk for work permits. The system is 
applied across the board for all types of work pe rmits and thus not particularly designed for GATS 
permits. It enables the service providers to apply fo r a work permit in a swift and easy way by using 
modern information and communication technologi es. The application has been certified by  
"e- comtrust",1 an international initiative for confid ence-building measures in e-commerce and 
independent certification agency. 
2. Who can apply 
6. Three types of users can register and obtain a username and a password : 
• an individual private person applying for a work permit, 
• a person responsible for managing work  permits procedures in an entity, 
• a lawyer representing an entity vis-à-vis the authorities in respect of applications for 
work permits. 
 
3. What are the benefits 
- to the applicant 
7. The applicant makes on-line contact with the competent authority. The digitalized desk 
services are available daily and around the clock all over the world. The site is well documented on 
procedures, is up-to-date and informs the applican t about the required documentation. Forms can be 
downloaded directly by the applicant. The site, as  well as the forms, are available in English and 
German. Furthermore, applicants can check the status  of their procedure (status tracking) or modify 
their data at any time during the process. Such a process not only has the advantage of sparing time, 
but also remarkably improves access to informati on and hence enhances transparency and reduces 
discrimination between services providers that rely  on their own capacity and those that draw on 
specialised agencies or representatives. 
                                                      
1 www.e-comtrust.org.  TN/S/W/22 
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- to the authorities 
8. The use of only one communication medium (the  Internet) allows the efficient management 
of work permit applications. Consequently, the numb er of administrative steps is concentrated and 
less burdensome. It is worth mentioning that, as a result, there are significant cost savings due to 
reduced interaction costs between administrative un its. It also alleviates the human resources work 
and frees room for more substantive work.  
- to both 
9. It helps to reduce the costs, to smooth th e administrative procedures and to reduce the 
duration of the application process. Security and data protection are guaranteed (trust mark2  
e-comtrust license award).  
4. How does the permit procedure work 
10. "e-Work Permits", www.workpermits.zh.ch , allows applicants/firms/legal representatives to 
submit applications for work permits either in Ge rman or English directly via the Internet. "e-Work 
Permits" is a workflow application;  data is entered step by step in screen forms. A self-explanatory 
procedure guides the applicant through each step . Yet, should any questions arise, assistance is 
available online or by phone. Paper applications ar e still possible, but digital applications are treated 
on a preferential basis, as the former have to be digitalised before treatment. 
11. The application procedure is divided in thr ee steps: 1) submission of the application; 
2) examination by the cantonal Office for Ec onomy and Labour; and 3) examination by the 
Immigration Office of the canton of Zurich. 
12. The following services are ava ilable to the applicant : 
• register as an applicant or firm or legal representative, 
• enter and transmit application data a nd supplementary documents by e-mail, 
• receive supplementary documents by e-mail, 
• inquire about the status of one's application (status tracking), 
• maintain or fine tune one's profile data. 
 13. Steps one and two – if documentation is complete – are processed within 48 hours by the 
authority. The whole work permit procedure, incl uding the federal level, should normally not exceed 
two to three weeks. Yet, this digitalized proce dure does not only speed up the process, but is also 
highly relevant in terms of tran sparency, guiding the applicant th rough the process and, within the 
application, providing all necessary forms. Thus, th roughout the world, it puts all its users on an equal 
footing. 
III. ASSESSMENT  
14. The e-Work Permit has already proved its value. It has attracted 37 per cent of the applicants 
since it has been launched, in March 2003. The canton expects that this percentage will top 40 percent 
by the end of this year. The result is not only promising in statistical terms. The feedback the authorities received from the business world was very positive. Yet, the merits of the system go 
beyond the operational aspects: the image a loca tion conveys around the globe is crucial for its 
                                                     
 
2 "The trust mark is a registered trademark awarde d to companies, which allow their online activities to 
be monitored by an independent Internet legal specialis t according to legal criteria. Compliance with all of the 
legal standards for online activity must be fulfilled in  order to receive a trust mark." (cf. http://www.e-
comtrust.org/main_e.html). TN/S/W/22 
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promotion as a world-class business centre. Certainly,  this kind of achievement confers a very 
innovative and modern image on the location of Zu rich and hence increases its overall attractiveness 
for doing business. Finally, "e-Work Permits" is a top-promoter of efficient and transparent public 
services.  Switzerland is convinced that the success of Zurich's "e-W ork Permits" is self-explanatory 
and invites other Members to consider actions of this type. 
 
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