site.btaSwitzerland Lifts Restrictions on Bulgarians' Movement, Employment and Establishment

104 POLITICS - SWITZERLAND - BULGARIA, ROMANIA - RIGHTS

Switzerland Lifts Restrictions
on Bulgarians' Movement,
Employment and Establishment


Sofia, May 17 (BTA) - Effective June 1, 2019, the nationals of Bulgaria and Romania will enjoy a full freedom of movement, employment and establishment in Switzerland. They will thus have the same rights as the rest of the EU citizens (with the exception of Croatia) and will be able to reside freely in Switzerland if they have a job, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

This became possible after the Swiss Federal Council adopted a decision on May 15 abolishing the residence quotas for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals in the territory of the Confederation. The decision amends the implementing Regulation on the application of the Agreement between the EU and Switzerland on the free movement of persons. Protocol II to that Agreement, which provided for a maximum transitional period of ten years, has been in force since June 1, 2009 and expires on May 31, 2019.

According to Swizterland's migration authorities, some 11,600 Bulgarians were permanently resident in that country by the end of 2018. RY/LG
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