Swiss work and residence permit regulations

Author(s) : Thomas Bär

Source : http://www.jstor.org/stable/40684976

Abstract:

A booming post-World War II economy induced Swiss industry to import cheap labor from the surrounding countries rather than to rationalize its plants and equipment. Consequently, Switzerland’s foreign population totalled a full 16% at the end of 1969, i.e. 971,795 foreigners against approximately five million Swiss citizens. This high percentage of aliens, in turn, created a mass of political problems aggravated by a severe housing shortage and sizable deficiencies in our infrastructure. Earlier immigration legislation had somewhat retarded but not stopped the increase of the non-Swiss population. A large segment of the Swiss population developed strong nationalistic tendencies, and a vote was forced on a proposal to reduce drastically the number of foreign workers in Switzerland.