Those who want to start working as a sex worker in the canton of Glarus and are looking for a „permit“ are usually looking in the wrong place. There is no prostitution permit in Glarus, no registration form for sex workers, no cantonal specialist office where you register before you start working. However, if you are a foreign national – and that applies to a large part of the industry – you still encounter a strict, time-limited, penalty-backed reporting requirement. It does not come from the canton, but from the federal government: the reporting procedure for short-term employment.
This article breaks down precisely this procedure, because in Glarus it effectively plays the role that a prostitution law plays elsewhere. It determines whether a work week is legal or not. And it is regularly misunderstood – especially on one point: there is not one deadline, but two. If you use the wrong one, you work illegally without realizing it.
Why „permit“ means something different in Glarus
The starting situation is quickly explained. Glarus is one of the cantons without its own sex work or prostitution law. Special laws with reporting or permit requirements for sex workers and salon operators are found mainly in the large cantons – Zurich, Bern, Basel-Stadt, Lucerne, Geneva, Vaud, Ticino, Fribourg. Glarus has never taken this path; what this looks like in detail and what legal bases apply instead is outlined in the overview of the canton without its own sex work law.
This results in a shift that needs to be understood: in Glarus, sex work is not regulated as sex work, but through general legal fields. The work location is regulated through municipal building and zoning law. Income through social security and tax law. And access to employment through foreign nationals law. That is precisely where the only requirement sits that is truly relevant on a daily basis for many sex workers in Glarus – and it has a calendar.
For Swiss citizens and persons with Category C residence permits, this part is simply not an issue. They register nothing, they need no confirmation, they can start on Monday. For them, only the issues of taxes, social security and work location remain. So if you’re reading with a red passport: the following section does not concern you – but the sections on self-employment, inspections and advice do very much.
The reporting procedure: federal law, implemented in Glarus
Citizens of an EU or EFTA state may, based on the Freedom of Movement Agreement, be employed in Switzerland for up to 90 working days per calendar year without applying for a permit. Permit-free does not mean reporting-free. The engagement must be reported online in advance. You do not receive a permit, but a reporting confirmation – a distinction that matters later during inspections.
The report is submitted via the federal portal EasyGov. For this you need a single account; after that, each engagement is recorded individually. Responsible for processing in Glarus is the Labour Market Inspectorate in the Department of Economy and Interior, Zwinglistrasse 6, 8750 Glarus (telephone 055 646 66 92). This is the office that is responsible in the canton for questions about the reporting procedure and for flanking measures – not the police, not the municipality, not the migration department. Check the number and address briefly on gl.ch before calling; responsibilities and direct lines change more frequently in small administrations than you might think.
The two deadlines – this is where mistakes happen
The reporting procedure knows two constellations with different lead times:
- Self-employed service providers and posted employees: at least eight days before work begins. The self-employed person or the sending company files the report. Working before the eight days have passed is expressly not permitted – even if the report has already been sent.
- Starting employment with a Swiss employer: at latest the day before work begins. Here the employer reports, not the employee.
If a self-employed sex worker wants to travel to Glarus for a few days and registers on Thursday for Friday, she has missed the deadline – even if everything else is correct. This is the most common, most expensive, and most avoidable mistake in the entire procedure. In practice, this means: the travel plan must be finalized at least nine days in advance, otherwise it doesn’t work. Spontaneous short trips are incompatible with the self-employed reporting procedure. For emergencies such as repairs or accidents, an exception to the eight-day rule exists – it is not tailored to sex work scenarios.
90 working days are a national account
The second misunderstanding is geographical in nature. The 90 working days are not a Glarus quota. They apply per person and calendar year for all of Switzerland. If someone works in St. Gallen in spring, Zurich in summer, and Glarus in autumn, they deduct from the same account with each engagement.
For sex work in Glarus, this is particularly important because many stays are short and mobile. The canton has around 41,000 residents and is in the catchment area of Zurich, St. Gallen, and Chur; Glarus is for many a stop on a tour, not a fixed location. The same logic characterizes other small cantons – how closely rotation, reporting deadlines, and short stays are linked is shown by the comparison with the situation at the Gotthard in the canton of Uri.
When the account is exhausted, you cannot simply switch to the neighbouring canton. Then the next level applies: the permit requirement.
Self-employed or employed: the switch that changes everything
When registering, you must decide – and this decision is not a mere formality; it is substantively reviewed by the authorities. What matters is not what is written on the form, but how you actually work.
Self-employment requires working at your own economic risk, setting prices yourself, deciding on working hours and clientele yourself, and not being subject to instructions. The canton of Bern, for example, explicitly states in its practice that self-employed activity in the erotic industry is only recognized for persons who provide their services outside an establishment and do not take instructions from third parties. This is Bernese practice and not automatically Glarus law – but it shows how strict the review can be.
This results in an uncomfortable reality: if you work in a salon with fixed opening hours, preset prices, and a requirement to be present, you may not meet the criteria for self-employment – even if the business model is based on „room rental.“ In that case, the operator would actually be the employer, with all the consequences: reporting by them, social security contributions, payroll statements. This distinction is not only relevant to foreign nationals law; it also determines social security status and tax obligations; this is discussed in detail in the article on how the compensation office asks about income and not the service.
Important to know: recognition as self-employed by a compensation office and the foreign nationals law classification are two separate reviews. One does not replace the other.
Those who have no access to the reporting procedure at all
The notification procedure is open to nationals of EU and EFTA countries. For third-country nationals without an existing right of residence in Switzerland, this route is not available. And there is no replacement either: The cabaret dancer statute, which previously provided a specific short-term residence permit for women from third countries working in the sex industry, was abolished effective January 1, 2016, through a partial revision of the admission regulation. The federal government justified this by saying that the statute no longer fulfilled its protective function and actually facilitated exploitation.
Since then, there has been no separate admission category for sex work in foreign nationals law. Anyone from a third country can legally work in sex work in Switzerland if they have a right of residence with permission to work for another reason — for example through family reunification, a settlement permit, or recognized refugee status. Tourist status is not sufficient. Employment during a visa-free tourist stay is undeclared work, regardless of the industry.
This is the point where the most nonsense circulates in forums and group chats. If you’re unsure which category applies to your situation, clarify it before arrival at the Migration Department, Postgasse 29, 8750 Glarus (phone 055 646 68 90) — or anonymously at a specialist office, more details below.
Over 90 Days: From Notification to Permit
Anyone who wants to work more than 90 working days per calendar year leaves the notification procedure and enters a permit procedure. The process then looks different:
- Registration in your residential municipality. Since the 2011 merger, Glarus has only three municipalities: Glarus Nord, Glarus, and Glarus Süd. Moves must be reported to the residents’ office within 14 days.
- Application to the Migration Department. For EU/EFTA nationals with self-employed activity, a residence permit B EU/EFTA is provided.
- Proof of self-sustaining self-employment. Depending on the case, evidence is required such as rental contracts for business premises, accounting records, bank statements, a business plan, or confirmation from the compensation fund of self-employed status. Collect these documents from the beginning, not only after the 90 days are already used up.
Anyone working as an employee must register with their residential municipality before starting work; the permit is issued by the cantonal Migration Department.
And one more component that is often forgotten: A residence permit says nothing about whether work is permitted at the chosen location. That is decided by the municipal building and zoning law of the respective municipality — the topic of the post below on why a room is not yet a workplace. Two green checkmarks from two different authorities is the minimum here.
Who is Responsible for What in Glarus
| Matter | Responsible |
|---|---|
| Notification procedure up to 90 working days, flanking measures | Labour Market Inspectorate, Zwinglistrasse 6, 8750 Glarus |
| Residence permit over 90 days, third-country status | Migration Department, Postgasse 29, 8750 Glarus |
| Residence registration and deregistration (14 days) | Residents’ Office Glarus Nord, Glarus, or Glarus Süd |
| AHV enrollment, recognition of self-employment | Compensation Fund Glarus |
| Workplace, zoning conformity, change of use | Building Department of the municipality where located |
| Criminal offences, danger, violence | Cantonal Police Glarus, emergency 117 |
There is no single office that coordinates all of this. If you want to clarify everything at once, you’ll need to call at least three desks.
What the Notification Procedure Explicitly Does Not Provide
A notification confirmation is an admission document, not social security protection. This became concrete during the pandemic: In 2021, it was decided that sex workers in the notification procedure have no entitlement to short-time working compensation. Anyone working in the notification procedure is thus largely without protection in crises — sick leave allowance, accident coverage, and retirement provisions must be organized independently.
Similarly, notification does not replace the obligation to pay taxes. Short-term employment without residence in Switzerland is generally captured through source tax. Income is subject to documentation requirements, even if paid in cash. A simple income journal with date, location, and amount — without customer data — is the cheapest insurance against a later discretionary assessment.
Inspection and Oversight: The Status in 2026
Whoever regulates employment subject to notification also inspects it. In Glarus, this happens through several channels: the Labour Market Inspectorate as part of flanking measures and combating undeclared work, the cantonal police through environment checks, and the municipalities through building law.
The political position on this is current. The SP group filed the interpellation „Reality Check Prostitution in Glarus“ on November 3, 2025, and asked for figures on businesses and sex workers, indications of human trafficking, police interventions, and support services. The government council answered the motion at its meeting on February 3, 2026. Key statement: The risk of human trafficking in connection with prostitution is assessed as low in the canton; existing laws, regular inspections, awareness-raising, and cooperation between police, justice, and specialist services have a preventive effect. What is in this answer and what is conspicuously missing is detailed in the reality check on the government response.
For practice, this means: Inspections do take place, but they don’t ask for a prostitution permit, which doesn’t exist. They ask for ID, notification confirmation, residence title, AHV enrollment, and the building law compliance of the location. If you have these four points in order, you have little to fear.
Free Advice
Glarus does not have its own cantonal specialist office for sex work. The nearest specialized point of contact is MariaMagdalena in St. Gallen, the specialist office for sex work in Eastern Switzerland (phone 058 229 21 67). Advice there is free, confidential, and independent of immigration status — also by phone and in several languages.
Within the canton, Victim Counseling Glarus at Bahnhofstrasse 13 in 8762 Schwanden (phone 055 646 67 36, [email protected]) is available for those affected by violence, coercion, or exploitation — free of charge, under confidentiality, and with no reporting obligation. Since May 1, 2026, the national victim assistance number 142 is also available around the clock. In case of acute danger, 117 still applies.
That sex work is also negotiated politically in Glarus is shown by an information event of the Women’s Center Glarus on May 16, 2024, at the Anna Göldi Museum in Ennenda, which addressed the Nordic model. If you seek advice, you should know from what perspective the advice is given — and you may ask about it.
In Brief
- Glarus has no prostitution permit and no cantonal registration of sex workers.
- The actually binding reporting requirement is under alien law: the registration procedure for EU/EFTA nationals, up to 90 working days per calendar year, online via EasyGov.
- Eight days notice for self-employed activity, one day when taking up employment with a Swiss employer. Confusing the two is the most expensive mistake.
- The 90 days apply throughout Switzerland per person, not per canton.
- Third-country nationals have no access via the registration procedure; the cabaret dancer status was abolished as of 1 January 2016.
- Beyond 90 days: registration in Glarus Nord, Glarus or Glarus Süd within 14 days, thereafter permit application with the Migration Department with proof of self-sufficient income.
- Right of residence and workplace are two separate questions: the municipality’s building law determines where work may be carried out.
This text is an editorial classification and does not replace legal advice. Binding information is provided exclusively by the responsible authorities: the Labour Market Inspectorate for the registration procedure, the Migration Department for residence and permits, the local registry office of the municipality of residence for registration, and the building authority of the municipality where work will be carried out. A brief telephone call before the first week of work is cheaper than any renegotiation afterwards.