How much easier it is to immigrate to Switzerland if you are an EU citizen?

Question

I am a non-EU citizen by jus soli and a jus sanguinis citizen of Italy, though not recognised.

I currently live and study in France and I will obtain a diploma from an engineering school from here.

My long-term plan is to settle and work in Switzerland.

I have the option to recognise my Italian citizenship this summer, although it is a very costly one (both in terms of money and time). Since regardless of EU or not EU passport I will need a visa, I would like to know how easier holding an EU passport would make me be hired/settle in Switzerland.

I certainly know it is easier if you have an EU passport, and I can't expect an answer on "much easier" or something, so I would like to see the reasons why it would be easier, so I can evaluate the subjective part of the question on my own.

Answer 1

It's a lot easier from a legal standpoint. EU freedom of movement applies in Switzerland and the main requirement to obtain a work permit is simply having a job offer. Employers are free to hire any EU citizen without having to justify this choice. By contrast, employers must prove that they could not find anyone locally before hiring a third-country national.

Note that technically, you don't actually need a visa as an EU citizen. You can enter Switzerland and apply for the permit there (or go back and forth without a visa).

Answer 2

Like Relaxed already said, it is a lot easier. There are contingents for third-country working permits. Besides that those contingents are quite small, smaller companies usually do not have the experience to make use of those contingents. Even for bigger companies, you would need to have some heavily sought-after qualifications.

Answer 3

After a long while, I would like to add my answer to this question. While Relaxed's answer is excellent from the theoretical point of view, I feel I should add a little bit more on the "practical" side, more or less in accordance with tobltobs' answer.

In practice, unless you are a top-level manager with years of experience or a really valuable asset, immigration without an EU passport is virtually impossible. EU candidates provide an adequate pool of talent for most companies (specially in the SE industry) and the troubles of hiring a third-country national for a junior or mid level are just not worth it. In fact, the majority of the companies (in my Junior experience) will flat out reject on the screening stage anyone without an EU passport. It is far more important to have an EU passport to immigrate to Switzerland than it is to immigrate to other EU member states.