Bilateral agreements

Switzerland has concluded bilateral agreements in order to coordinate certain areas of its social security system, specifically OASI and DI, with non-EU/EFTA states.

The majority of these bilateral agreements refer to several areas of social security and contain provisions on the coordination of benefits. A few agreements, so-called posting agreements, contain only provisions dealing with the posting of employees to another state and the reimbursement of contributions.

In general, bilateral agreements, the oldest of which have been in force since the 1960s, are aimed at facilitating geographical and professional mobility within the states concerned, by ensuring better coordination of the various social security systems.

In most cases, each bilateral social security agreement is supplemented by an administrative arrangement that defines the details of its application.

It should be noted that, before the AFMP and the revised EFTA Convention entered into force, Switzerland was already linked to some EU and EFTA countries through bilateral social security agreements.

States covered

Switzerland is linked through a social security agreement with each non-EU/EFTA state listed in the table below.

Albania	Montenegro
Australia	North Macedonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Philippines
Brazil	San Marino
Canada/Quebec	Serbia
Chile	South Korea
China	Tunisia
India	Türkiye
Israel	United Kingdom
Japan	United States
Kosovo	Uruguay

Persons covered

The bilateral agreements apply to nationals of the two contracting states who are or were subject to the social security legislation of one or the other of these states, as well as to their family members and survivors. Occasionally, they also apply to third-country nationals. Similarly, refugees and stateless persons, as well as their family members and survivors, are included in the personal scope of the majority of bilateral agreements.

Areas covered

Bilateral agreements always cover the following social security areas:

old age,
death (survivors' benefits),
disability.

Some bilateral agreements also cover the following areas:

illness,
occupational accidents,
family allowances (federal regulations in the area of agriculture).

Principal effects in the area of OASI/DI

1. Equal treatment

In principle, covered persons enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same obligations as nationals from the other contracting state, by virtue of the legislation in that state.

In other words, as regards OASI/DI, one state is in principle obliged to accord the nationals of the other contracting state the same treatment as its own nationals.

2. Applicable legislation

In principle, covered persons are subject to a single set of social security legislation.

Thus, persons in gainful employment are, in principle, subject to the legislation of the state in which they exercise that activity. A temporary posting to another state constitutes an exception to the principle of affiliation based on work location.

3. Benefits exporting and one-off payments

Most bilateral agreements provide for ordinary OASI/DI pensions to be exported anywhere in the world.

Ordinary DI pensions at a rate lower than 50% remain restricted to the territory of Switzerland.

Some bilateral agreements can provide for a lump-sum benefit, a reimbursement of OASI contributions or a transfer of OASI contributions to a foreign social security scheme.

Lump-sum benefits

Reimbursement of contributions

Transfer of contributions

4. Cooperation

The contracting states are required to assist each other in implementing bilateral agreements.

5. Submission of benefit applications

Applications for benefits must be submitted to the social security institution of the responsible contracting state, depending on the place of residence. In the case of applications for OASI/DI pensions submitted to the foreign social security institution, that institution is responsible for passing on the application to the Swiss Compensation Office or the DI Office for people living abroad.

Request for a foreign benefit

Request for an old-age pension from Switzerland

Request for a survivors' pension from Switzerland

Request for a disability pension from Switzerland

6. Assessment of eligibility and calculation of pension

Each state has its own social security system and defines the conditions (retirement age, minimum contribution period, disability assessment, etc.) and the calculation basis for allocating benefits in accordance with its legislation.

In Switzerland, a minimum contribution period of one year is required for ordinary OASI pensions; for ordinary DI pensions, this period is three years.

Conditions for and calculation of Swiss old-age pensions

Conditions for and calculation of Swiss survivors' pensions

Conditions for and calculation of Swiss disability pensions

Where provided for under a bilateral agreement, contribution periods abroad can be included if the contribution periods in Switzerland are not sufficient to confer eligibility for a DI pension.

Provided the conditions for payment are met, Switzerland pays a pension calculated on the basis of insurance periods in accordance with its legislation. Persons who have been insured in more than one state may claim a partial pension from each of these states.

Overview of main benefits and special provisions in bilateral agreements

Main benefits
State	Ordinary pension	Lump-sum benefit	Reimbursement of contributions	Totalisation DI-insurance
Albania	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Australia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Brazil	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Canada/Quebec	Yes	No	No	No
Chile	Yes	Yes	No	No
China	No	No	Yes	No
India	No	No	Yes	No
Israel	Yes	Yes	No	No
Japan	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Kosovo	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Montenegro	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
North Macedonia	Yes	Yes	No	No
Philippines	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
San Marino	Yes	Yes	No	No
Serbia	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
South Korea	No	No	Yes	No
Tunisia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Türkiye	Yes	Yes	No	No
United Kingdom	Yes	No	No	Yes
United States	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Uruguay	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Special provisions
Albania	Possible to totalise contribution periods in third-country states linked to Switzerland by a social security agreement providing for totalisation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Possible to totalise contribution periods in third-country states linked to Switzerland by a social security agreement providing for totalisation.
Canada/Quebec	Possible to conclude agreements with individual Canadian provinces (e.g. agreement with Quebec).
China	Posting agreement
India	Posting agreement
Israel	OASI/DI pensions paid to Israeli beneficiaries only if resident in Switzerland or Israel. In the event of aggravation of disability, pensions corresponding to a percentage of at least 50% remain unchanged for persons residing abroad.
Kosovo	Possible to totalise contribution periods in third-country states linked to Switzerland by a social security agreement providing for totalisation.
Montenegro	Possible to totalise contribution periods in third-country states linked to Switzerland by a social security agreement providing for totalisation.
Serbia	Possible to totalise contribution periods in third-country states linked to Switzerland by a social security agreement providing for totalisation.
South Korea	Posting agreement
Türkiye	Possible transfer of Swiss contributions to the Turkish social security system. Possible to include Turkish contribution periods when calculating ordinary DI pension, provided there is no overlap with Swiss periods. In the event of aggravation of disability, pensions corresponding to a percentage of at least 50% remain unchanged for persons residing abroad.
United Kingdom	With regard to the relations with the United Kingdom, under the Agreement on Citizens' Rights of 25 February 2019 aimed in particular at guaranteeing acquired rights, nationals of the United Kingdom, Switzerland or an EU Member State continue to be covered by the AFMP if they have exercised their right to free movement before 1 January 2021, irrespective of the date of occurrence of the insurance case. The main benefits and special features of the agreement with the United Kingdom, please refer to the link below: United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU (Brexit)