UK-Swiss Mutual Recognition of Qualifications

Mutual recognition of professional qualifications between Switzerland and the UK will continue indefinitely beyond 2024.

On 14 June 2023, the highly anticipated agreement was signed by Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Swiss Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin. This significant accord serves to officially recognise and validate professional qualifications obtained in the United Kingdom within the borders of Switzerland.

The Swiss agreement means the UK and Switzerland will recognise each others’ professional qualifications, so UK architects will not have to requalify to work in Switzerland, and vice versa, when the interim arrangements expire at the end of 2024.

Instead, UK architects will have to complete an application for recognition and will receive a decision within four months.

Applicants will not need to be UK nationals to be recognised as architects in Switzerland, as long as they hold a UK architectural qualification.

The deal will also safeguard the autonomy of UK regulators to independently set and maintain standards and decide who is fit to practise, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

The standalone agreement will become the first government-to-government recognition of professional qualifications following Brexit.

The agreement is expected to greatly enhance the trade relationship between these two countries by fostering increased collaboration and economic growth.

The UK and Switzerland are among the world’s leading service economies, with their services sectors each representing over 70 percent of GDP for both economies.

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