UK-Switzerland deal eases services trade, targets £5.2bn export boost
The UK has secured a permanent services mobility agreement with Switzerland that removes work permit friction for professionals, targeting a £5.2bn long-term increase in exports.
The UK has signed a trade agreement with Switzerland that permanently establishes rules for cross-border services and removes economic needs tests for employee transfers of up to five years. Trade Secretary Peter Kyle called it "the most significant services trade deal the UK has ever negotiated". The agreement replaces a temporary 90-day services mobility arrangement that had been scheduled to expire in 2029.
For the professional services sector, the deal removes a layer of administrative friction in a market worth over £30bn in annual bilateral trade. Lawyers, accountants and architects will be able to provide services in Switzerland for up to 90 days without requiring a work permit. More critically for corporate planning, the removal of stringent economic needs tests for intra-company transfers of up to five years gives UK-based firms greater operational certainty when deploying staff.
The government estimates the agreement will increase UK exports to Switzerland by £5.2bn annually in the long run. Switzerland currently ranks as the UK's sixth-largest services export market, making regulatory alignment a high-value target for policymakers. Approximately 800,000 Britons visit the country each year, a flow of business travellers that will also be smoothed by the introduction of e-gate access at Zurich airport by the end of this year.
British passport holders will be able to use the automated gates at Zurich, with Geneva and Basel expected to announce their own timetables shortly. Mobile roaming charges will also be scrapped for travellers and professionals moving between the two countries. Swiss citizens already have access to e-gates at UK airports.
The agreement follows recent trade deals struck with the US, India, the Gulf Co-operation Council, South Korea and the EU. It is also being announced as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer enters his final weeks in office ahead of his replacement by Andy Burnham.
Separately, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has discussed the impending EU Entry/Exit System with European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The two officials agreed to work towards the smoothest possible border checks ahead of the busy summer travel period.
