Swiss 90-day notification procedure: who files and when?

Direct answer: when is the 90-day notification procedure available?

A Hungarian EU citizen may use the notification procedure for employment by a Swiss company lasting no more than three months, or for a posting or self-employed service from an EU/EFTA country lasting no more than 90 actual Swiss working days per calendar year. This is not work without administration: the responsible party must file the correct online notification on time. Longer employment or services beyond the limit require another permit route.

Three different situations

• Swiss employer and a contract of up to three months: the Swiss employer notifies the Hungarian employee no later than the day before work begins.

• Posting by an EU/EFTA company: the foreign employer files for the posted worker; separate 90-day limits apply to the business and the worker.

• Self-employed service provider established in the EU/EFTA: the provider files personally when the notification conditions are satisfied.

The current SEM notification page defines the eligible categories and links the competent cantonal authorities. Employment by a Swiss business is measured as up to three months; cross-border services are measured as up to 90 actual working days in each calendar year.

Which deadline applies?

• For a Swiss employer, notification is due no later than the day before the first working day.

• For a posting or foreign self-employed service, the normal advance-notification period is eight days.

• In general service sectors, up to eight service days in the calendar year may be notification-free.

• Construction and related trades, gardening and landscaping, hotels and catering, business and household cleaning, security, itinerant trades and the sex industry require notification from the first day.

The eight notification-free days and the eight-day advance-filing rule are separate rules. Verify the sector, total duration and work canton before treating an assignment as notification-free.

How are the 90 working days counted?

Count actual working days in Switzerland within the calendar year. For postings, separate limits apply to the posting company and each worker. If a business sends three people on the same five days, the company uses five days, while each person uses five days from their personal limit. A different employer does not restart the worker’s personal limit.

Maintain a dated assignment record and correct or cancel the notification when plans change. The 2026 SEM user guide explains the current online procedure.

Who files and where?

1. Classify the work as Swiss employment, a posting or a self-employed cross-border service.

2. Check nationality, establishment, contract length and planned Swiss working days.

3. The Swiss or foreign employer files for employees; a self-employed provider files personally.

4. Start through the official SEM entry point or EasyGov and retain the confirmation.

5. For an exception, urgent case or unclear sector, obtain written guidance from the authority in the work canton.

The official SECO application helps distinguish a notification from a permit and links to the EasyGov filing process.

Regulated professions and posted-worker conditions

A regulated activity may require an additional professional declaration to SERI. The official SERI FAQ covers EU/EFTA service providers who live and work outside Switzerland, practise a regulated profession for up to 90 working days and have no Swiss employment contract.

For posted employees, the SECO summary of the Posted Workers Act requires Swiss minimum conditions for pay, work and rest time, holidays, occupational health and equal treatment. Acceptance of an immigration notification does not prove that every employment-law obligation has been met.

When should you use L, B or G instead?

• Swiss employment lasting more than three but less than twelve months generally requires L EU/EFTA.

• Swiss employment lasting at least twelve months or indefinitely generally requires B EU/EFTA.

• A genuine principal residence abroad, Swiss work and return at least weekly may point to G EU/EFTA.

• Cross-border services beyond 90 working days fall outside the simplified free-movement framework; cantonal authorisation is discretionary rather than guaranteed.

Common mistakes

• “Work without a permit for 90 days” is misunderstood as work without notification.

• Three months of Swiss employment is treated as identical to 90 service working days.

• The eight notification-free days are applied to every sector.

• Business and personal day limits are not tracked separately.

• The immigration notification is confused with the vacancy-reporting Stellenmeldepflicht.

Related next steps

Start with the Hungarian permit selector. For longer Swiss employment use the L permit or B permit guides; for genuine cross-border commuting use G; for later settlement use the C permit guide.

Last factual review: 3 August 2026. The authority in the work canton handles the filing; employment law, tax, social-security and professional requirements must be checked separately for the case.