Service Providers from Switzerland – 21 reasons why it is probably the most pointless visa in the world.

From 1 January 2021, the then UK Government opened a new visa called the Service Providers from Switzerland visa (‘SPS’) with much fanfare from the then International Trade Secretary and former Prime Minister; Liz Truss. It was part of a package to “help lay the groundwork for an enhanced UK-Switzerland trading relationship in the future”. The visa is supposed to allow employers, companies or the self-employed execute service contracts with UK parties. 

That sounds like a very good idea. The UK and Switzerland have a very good trading relationship and anything to reduce barriers will only lead to a stronger trading relationship. Has it worked? Unfortunately not.  

Almost 4 years on from the announcement a mere 21 (that’s twenty-one) visas have been issued, of which only 8 (yes, eight) were issued to Swiss nationals, according to a recent Freedom of Information request I made. To put that into context, in the 12 months ending June 2024, there were 2.1 million UK visitor visas granted. In the same period, an average of 5 SPS visas. It is likely that more civil servants worked on the SPS rules than have actually applied for it. 

It is not difficult to understand why the SPS visa has failed to lay the groundwork for a trading relationship of the future when you look at the key requirements to get an SPS visa:

1. They can only spend up to 90 days per calendar year on this visa
2. They cannot bring family members or do other work in the UK
3. They need to show their work is in Switzerland and the contract they will work on was signed before 1 January 2021 (almost 4 years ago)

If the new Labour Government want to grow the UK economy and are looking for easy ways to increase trade opportunities with international trading partners then the SPS visa is ripe for modernising. 

Remove the requirement to have a service contract in place over 4 years ago and expand the definition to include other industries. Allow other work to be done whilst in the UK that are ancillary to the contract and consider opening it up to other countries. This will certainly increase the number of applicants in this visa category, which in turn should lead to more trade deals in the UK without offering a long-term right to live in the UK. 

If the UK wants an enhanced trading relationship with Switzerland that benefits both countries, it has to do better than this. 

Immigration law and policy is subject to regular change. If you have any questions, please contact Paul McCarthy.