In 2017, 8,499 asylum seekers in Switzerland were given emergency financial assistance costing CHF 64 million, according to Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
© CalypsoArt | Dreamstime.com
For new asylum seekers, emergency financial support lasted an average of 137 days.
The total number receiving emergency financial assistance fell by 18% compared to 2016. The cost was also down by 9%, less than the number of people, something explained by the longer average length of time on emergency welfare, which rose from 122 to 137 days.
Last year, 3,068 people from this group were considered long term welfare recipients.
During 2017, 31% of new asylum seekers were from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Algeria, Irak or Afghanistan.
More on this:
SEM press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
