How is self-employment assessed differently from being an employee?

For ordinary employment of a third-country national, employers must respect the priority of domestic and EU/EFTA workers and justify the specific hire. The test centres on filling a particular post that could not be filled locally.

For self-employment the focus shifts to whether your business will bring a lasting positive impact to the Swiss labour market and economy, and whether it is financially viable and well-founded. The emphasis is on overall economic contribution rather than labour-market priority for a single job.