Le Matin.
Airlines that bring foreigners to Switzerland without valid travel documents, will be fined under new rules from 1 October 2015. The new rules, which were ratified by the Swiss federal council on 2 September 2015, are designed to reduce the number of asylum requests.
© Yulan | Dreamstime.com
The new measures apply to all flights landing in Switzerland emanating from outside the Schengen zone. Inattentive airlines risk minimum fines of CHF 4,000 per passenger, rising to CHF 16,000 for serious offenses.
The current rules require government authorities to prove that airline checks were remiss. The new rules shift the burden of proof and require airlines to ensure and be able to show that every passenger has valid travel documents. From 1 October, even an airline that has taken care to check, will be fined if an illegal immigrant is found among their passengers. Exceptions have been made for scenarios such as hard-to-detect falsified documents.
In the future Swiss border authorities will be able to automatically access information on passengers travelling to Switzerland. They will also be able to demand information on certain passengers on particular flights. If airlines fail to provide this information they will risk fines of CHF 4,000 to CHF 16,000 per flight.
Full article in Le Matin (in French)
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook 
