https://en.comparis.ch/comparis/press/sparnews/artikel/2013/04/ventilklausel.aspx
05 April 2013 - Moving to Switzerland
"Switzerland is planning to make immigration more difficult for foreign workers from the European Union. More precisely, with help of the so-called "shut-off" clause the number of resident permits for citizens of all 25 EU countries should be temporarily limited, though only until the end of May 2014. For the first time, immigrants from Germany, France and Great Britain would be affected.
A decision by the Swiss Federal Council is expected next Wednesday, April 10. Political observers expect that the government will make use of the shut-off clause. This is embedded in the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, which Switzerland agreed to with the EU in 2002. Starting June 2014, however, this may still be applied only to Romania and Bulgaria.
This would not be the first time that Switzerland employs the shut-off clause to regulate immigration. For citizens from eight eastern European countries, the number of B resident permits (valid for five years) will again be temporarily limited on May 1, as will possibly the L-permits for short-term residents.
What is new is that on June 1 the shut-off clause may for the first time be expanded to include the other 17 EU nations. A fundamental prerequisite is that the number of newly issued permits lies at least ten percent above the average over the past three years. In current numbers this means that the threshold of 56,268 B-permits from the beginning of June 2012 until the end of May 2013 should be surpassed since 39,131 permits were already issued during the first eight months. The upper limit of L-permits might also be reached.
And what would the shut-off clause mean for potential newcomers? If the Federal Council places a cap on immigration, 53,710 B-permits would be issued for the "old" EU countries and, if applicable, 54,664 L-permits. In 2012 about 27,000 people immigrated from Germany alone. To be clear, already issued resident permits will retain their validity."
