Switzerland and the EFTA Countries

Author(s) : Thomas Straubhaar

Source : http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-349-23352-6_14

Abstract:

It was only at the end of the 19th century that Switzerland became a country of immigration. Immigration remained practically free until the early 1960s, when the stock of foreign residents in Switzerland approached one million people, or more than one eighth of the total population. In 1970, a global ceiling system was introduced with a view to stabilising the share of the foreign population. It turned migration policy in Switzerland into an increasingly restricted and regulated bargaining process between administration, employers and interest groups. In December 1992, Switzerland’s forthcoming membership of the European Economic Area was rejected by public referendum.