Switzerland - USA Switzerland signs trainee agreement with the USA

On Friday, Switzerland signed a new agreement with the USA on the exchange of trainees and young professionals. The agreement is intended to facilitate the mobility of these individuals between the two countries for a limited period of time.

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced on Friday that the trainees and young professionals would be able to expand their skills in their field of study or profession and deepen their specialist knowledge. The agreement comes into force at the end of November and applies to Swiss nationals between the ages of 18 and 35. It replaces an agreement from 1980.

According to the SEM, participants must either be in education or have a professional or university degree. People who do not meet these requirements are also eligible for an exchange, provided they can prove that they have a certain amount of professional experience.

Participants from both countries receive a temporary residence and work permit for a period of twelve months, which can be extended by six months.

Switzerland has also concluded such stagiaire agreements with other countries, including Argentina, Japan, South Africa and Indonesia. Since the first stagiaire agreement was signed in 1936, around 40,000 Swiss nationals have completed a work placement abroad, the SEM wrote. A good 58,000 foreign trainees have got to know the Swiss working world.

SDA