In 2017, the canton of Geneva launched a programme called Operation Papyrus to issue residence permits to undocumented foreigners living in the canton.
Not all undocumented foreigners qualified for the scheme. Only those able to prove ten years of residence, if they had no children, or five years of residence if they had children, were able to apply. They also had to show they could support themselves financially.
During the scheme, which ran from February 2017 until the end of 2108, 2,390 people out of an estimated 13,000 illegal residents were issued with official residence permits according to the canton. Permits were issued to 1,403 family members (676 parents and 727 children), 24 couples and 939 single people.
One aim of the programme was to remove potential downward wage pressure in sectors employing large numbers of clandestine workers, notably domestic workers. A report on the impact of the scheme on domestic wages was inconclusive on this point because the authors said they could find no data on the flow of illegal migrants into and out of these sectors. They did however point out that the percentage of regularised domestic workers paying social security taxes rose from 41% to 85% six months after being issued with a permit.
A key criticism of amnesties such as this is moral hazard. In this case, an expectation that a similar operation in the future might encourage illegal migration. However, this is hard to measure and was not covered in the report.
More on this:
Geneva government press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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