During President Guy Parmelin’s state visit to New Delhi on 5 October 2026, Switzerland and India concluded a long-negotiated Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) and a separate agreement on exchanges for young professionals. The MMP will grant multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years and allow stays of six months per visit for students, researchers and business professionals. It also creates a framework to cooperate against irregular migration and human-trafficking and to expedite the return of overstayers. The dedicated young-professionals scheme will initially authorise 300 graduates from each country per year to take up 12-month paid placements, with the quota capable of rising to 500 if demand proves strong. Both accords dovetail with the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the EFTA states, which entered into force one year ago. Swiss officials emphasise that easier legal pathways will reinforce TEPA’s goal of doubling bilateral investment and creating more than one million Indian jobs over 15 years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his part, highlighted that Swiss infrastructure and life-science expertise will be essential for India’s smart-city and manufacturing ambitions, while the new visa flexibilities should boost Swiss project teams’ ability to move staff rapidly. For Swiss multinationals, the pact answers a persistent talent-mobility headache. Until now, specialists dispatched from Zurich or Basel had to navigate India’s complex employment-visa regime and could not undertake short consulting stints on multi-entry visas. Once the MMP is ratified by both parliaments—expected in early 2027—companies will be able to rotate experts far more easily and avoid costly work-permit renewals. Swiss universities likewise expect to attract more Indian PhD candidates thanks to a clearer path to post-study research stays. Compliance managers should note that the agreement also introduces joint verification mechanisms. Swiss and Indian authorities will exchange real-time data on visa overstays and on licensed recruitment agencies, a first for Switzerland outside Europe. HR teams will need to ensure they report secondments accurately to avoid being black-listed under the information-sharing provisions. Ratification will still require cantonal consultation in Switzerland, but the Federal Department of Justice and Police has already signalled political backing. Given the continuing shortage of ICT and engineering skills, observers expect the quotas for young professionals to be filled quickly—especially in Zurich’s fintech sector and the increasingly AI-focused research clusters around Lausanne and Geneva.
