Unprecedented companies commerce deal unveiled as UK seals settlement with Switzerland

• Services deal estimated to extend UK exports to Switzerland by £5.2 billion yearly in the long term 
• Separate initiative paves method for British travellers to make use of Swiss e-gates, making journeys faster and simpler  
• In a primary, the UK and Switzerland intend to scrap roaming prices for travellers 

British attorneys, accountants, architects and different service suppliers are set to profit from the UK’s most important commerce deal for companies ever following an settlement made between the UK and Switzerland at present.

The new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is estimated to unlock £5.2 billion a 12 months in extra UK companies exports to Switzerland in the long term.  

Switzerland is the UK’s sixth largest companies export market with over £30 billion in bilateral companies commerce in 2025. With companies contributing to 81% of UK financial output and 83% of employment, the settlement will assist help the sectors crucial to delivering development, funding and long-term financial resilience. 

In addition to the FTA, and a win for the 800,000 annual UK visits to Switzerland – UK nationals will quickly be capable of use Swiss e-gates, serving to enterprise travellers, employees and holidaymakers transfer extra shortly by way of passport management and keep away from prolonged queues when visiting Switzerland.  

Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated:

Whether you’re rising a enterprise or travelling for work, this settlement is about making life simpler and creating extra alternative for individuals throughout the UK.

It means British companies will discover it simpler to promote their experience in considered one of our most necessary markets in Europe, supporting jobs and funding right here at dwelling. British individuals will even be capable of get pleasure from utilizing their cell in Switzerland with out additional roaming prices, and alongside the FTA, they may quickly even have faster journeys by way of Swiss airports.

This landmark settlement is the sixth commerce deal we’ve secured in two years and can open up new alternatives for British companies and assist drive development throughout the nation

Trade Secretary Peter Kyle stated: 

This is essentially the most important companies commerce deal the UK has ever negotiated. It will carry large advantages to British enterprise and shoppers and comes after a slew of offers with the US, Europe, the Gulf, South Korea and India.

This deal will imply quicker journeys by way of the border, cheaper cellphone use for households and enterprise travellers to Switzerland, and new alternatives for British companies promoting their world-class companies abroad.

Further advantages embody an intention to embody surcharge-free worldwide cell roaming within the FTA, so vacationers and enterprise individuals would be capable of use their telephones in Switzerland as a part of their common cellphone contract, with out additional roaming prices.   

The new provisions additionally embody visa-free journey for as much as 90 days a 12 months to Switzerland for UK companies professionals. UK companies will be capable of switch individuals to work in Switzerland for as much as 5 years, with out being topic to stringent financial wants assessments making it simpler to safe Swiss work permits for UK graduates in areas like finance, insurance coverage and consultancy.   

The deal will give UK companies larger certainty to plan, make investments and develop, together with by locking in future Swiss liberalisation on companies commerce so British companies mechanically profit from future easing of buying and selling guidelines, placing Britain forward of worldwide rivals. 

This deal is essentially the most important commerce settlement for companies concluded by the UK and can reinforce our standing as a worldwide companies superpower, serving to the world’s second-largest companies exporter unlock new alternatives in key Industrial Strategy sectors together with finance, skilled companies, life sciences, inventive industries and digital applied sciences.   

The FTA will help small companies and scaling tech companies by serving to to cut back paperwork, supporting digital funds and eradicating boundaries comparable to necessities to find some back-office features in Switzerland.

Exports to Switzerland supported 171,400 jobs in 2022, in the meantime companies exports to Switzerland supported 144,800 jobs, with the settlement anticipated to help alternatives throughout all 4 nations, from monetary companies hubs to rising digital {and professional} companies companies. 

The upgraded settlement builds on the federal government’s wider commerce agenda, following latest offers with the US, India, the GCC, South Korea and the EU, and can transfer in direction of signature and implementation topic to the standard parliamentary scrutiny. 

Jon Holt, Group Chief Executive KPMG UK and Switzerland:

Having led the merger of KPMG’s UK and Swiss companies in 2024, I’ve skilled firsthand the good thing about collaboration between these two extremely developed service economies. For KPMG it has meant quicker, co-developed AI adoption, deeper functionality and crucially being higher positioned to assist firms with cross border M&A and funding exercise.

An enhanced UK–Switzerland settlement is a extremely strategic step, enabling nearer alignment in key sectors comparable to monetary {and professional} companies making it simpler for individuals to work seamlessly throughout each markets. This deal will lock in market entry, cut back regulatory friction and improve certainty, giving extra firms larger confidence to take a position and in the end help the long-term development of the UK economic system.

Brian Batista, Skyscanner CEO stated: 

At Skyscanner, we welcome the conclusion of the UK–Switzerland Free Trade Agreement. As a UK headquartered firm serving hundreds of thousands of travellers, together with as considered one of Switzerland’s main journey platforms, we see super worth within the settlement’s robust digital commerce outcomes.  

By defending the free stream of knowledge and stopping future information localisation necessities, the deal supplies us with the knowledge to make long-term selections with confidence as we proceed to develop and serve travellers.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor for West Yorkshire stated:

This deal is nice information for West Yorkshire’s world-class companies economic system. From the Northern Square Mile’s monetary {and professional} companies companies to scaling tech firms, higher entry to the Swiss market will help our firms develop and export extra. It will assist appeal to extra funding into our thriving area and can strengthen alternatives for West Yorkshire companies to succeed on the worldwide stage.

The City UK CEO, Miles Celic OBE stated: 

This is a gold normal free commerce settlement for companies. It units a brand new benchmark for what could be achieved between two bold companies economies and underlines the UK’s power as one of many world’s largest exporters of companies.

The FTA enhances and builds on the Berne Financial Services Agreement and can help funding, increase the UK’s worldwide competitiveness and strengthen confidence within the UK-Switzerland financial partnership for many years to return.

William Wright CEO Closed Door Security stated:

We are enthusiastic about this new commerce deal as it can allow us to supply our cyber safety companies from the Outer Hebrides with none boundaries, whereas assured our business-critical mental property is protected. We additionally conduct on-site penetration assessments so having the ability to journey extra easily to Switzerland is vastly necessary for us and can make delivering transactions with our purchasers a lot simpler.

Notes to editors 

Statistical sources 

• Services modelling – ‘UK services exports to Switzerland estimated to increase by £5.2 billion a year in the long run’: DBT, UK-Switzerland enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA): technical be aware. July 2026 
• Second-largest service exporter: UNCTAD BPM6 exports and imports of goods and services 2024 
• Services commerce: ONS, UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted – Office for National Statistics. October to December 2025 version. 
• Jobs supported by exports to Switzerland: These estimates are based mostly on OECD Trade in employment (TiM) database, March 2026. These measure workers instantly and not directly supported by exports i.e. employees employed in exporting companies and in different home companies supplying inputs to the exporting companies. These estimates are based mostly on a variety of assumptions and modelling, so needs to be interpreted with warning. 
• With companies contributing to 81% of UK financial output and 83% of employment –ONS, GDP output approach – low-level aggregates – Office for National Statistics. 2025 information. Gross worth added (GVA) in kilos hundreds of thousands, present costs, UK, seasonally adjusted. Released June 2026. ONS, EMP13: Employment by industry – Office for National Statistics. 2025 information. Released May 2026. 
• 800 thousand visits – ONS, Travel trends estimates: UK residents’ visits overseas – ONS desk 13. Released 26 August 2025. Non-business visits cowl all different visits other than companies – vacation visits, associates/household visits and miscellaneous visits.