Law Society welcomes extension of Swiss-UK travel agreement

UK professional service providers may continue to travel to Switzerland for a certain period without a short-stay permit

The extension of the Swiss-UK professional services travel agreement was today (22 November) welcomed by the Law Society as good news for lawyers and law firms doing business in Switzerland.

Lawyers and other UK professional service providers can continue to travel to Switzerland for up to 90 days a year without a short-stay permit, after the two countries agreed to extend their Services Mobility Agreement (SMA) until the end of 2025.

Law Society vice president Nick Emmerson said: “The three-year extension to the travel agreement for people providing professional services, which had been due to expire at the end of this year, means solicitors of UK nationality can continue flying in and out of Switzerland for up to three months a year under similar conditions to those which were in place before the UK left the single market.”

The Law Society has lobbied for this outcome since the UK and Switzerland announced they were in negotiations regarding new trade arrangements earlier this year.

Emmerson also commented on the new free trade agreement being negotiated between the countries: “Switzerland and the UK are also about to start negotiating a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and discussing new arrangements for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

He said the Law Society believed the SMA provisions should be incorporated into a new FTA, so as to be extended indefinitely to the benefit of both countries.

"There are further benefits for the legal sector of another temporary agreement: the UK-Switzerland Citizens’ Rights Agreement of 2018, which gives UK lawyers the ability to register to practise under their home title in Switzerland permanently”, said Emmerson.

“They can also requalify as Swiss lawyers after three years of registration and continuous practice in the country (see Citizens Rights Agreement Articles 29-33). We believe these provisions should be extended beyond their current expiry date of 2024.”

The Law Society has said it believes it is vital for UK trade negotiators to put legal and other professional services at the forefront of ongoing and forthcoming trade discussions due to the economic importance of the sector, both in its own right and in its role as a facilitator of all international business transactions.

The regulator has recommended UK trade agreements being negotiated around the world should seek the ability for UK lawyers to do the following:

• Advise clients on home-country laws and public and private international law;
• Provide advice through commercial presence for firms, temporary practice (fly-in fly-out), establishment rights for individuals, as well as digital provision;
• Have a clear, transparent and proportionate path to requalification into the host state profession;
• Represent and advise their clients in arbitration, conciliation and mediation in international proceedings; and act as arbitrators, mediators and conciliators;
• Partner with, employ and be employed by local lawyers.