Switzerland’s Federal Council plans to lift all travel restrictions and re-establish free movement of persons across the Schengen area no later than 6 July 2020 and possibly as early as mid June, it announced today. If the epidemiological evolution allows, restrictions on entering, working and living in Switzerland will be lifted for all Schengen states […]
Coronavirus: unmarried couples can cross between Austria, Germany and Switzerland
On 15 May 2020, the Swiss government announced that the borders between Switzerland, Germany and Austria are to open again for unmarried couples in long-term cross-border relationships from midnight. These borders are also open for those wishing to visit relatives or attend important family events. Restrictions will also be lifted for people who own a […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland sets date for fully reopened borders with Germany, Austria and France
On 13 May 2020, Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland’s ministerial head of police and justice, said Switzerland is aiming to fully reopen borders between Germany, Austria and France on 15 June 2020. After discussions with her counterparts in these three countries she said there was a common will to return to normal as quickly as possible including […]
Steep drop in asylum requests in Switzerland
Recent figures show a steep decline in the number of people applying for asylum in Switzerland during the coronavirus crisis. During April 2020, 332 asylum requests were made in Switzerland, 65.5% fewer than in March 2020 and 70.3% fewer than during April 2019, according to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). The main originating countries […]
Becoming Swiss: municipalities with high and low naturalisation rates
When it comes to gaining Swiss citizenship, where you live matters. Some municipalities have high rates of naturalisation while some have not granted citizenship to a single person since 1992. A recently published study by researchers at Geneva University (UNIGE) looks at naturalisation rates by municipality between 1992 and 2017. The municipalities of Rueyres (VD), […]
Swiss government bans large gatherings
In a press release this morning, Switzerland’s federal government announced a ban on all events involving more than 1,000 people. “In view of the current situation and the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Council has categorised the situation in Switzerland as ‘particular’ in terms of the Epidemics Act. Large-scale events involving more than 1000 […]
Geneva regularises nearly 2,400 illegal immigrants
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 […]
Geneva would like to offer Assange refuge
The canton of Geneva could ask Bern to issue a humanitarian visa to Julian Assange, the 48 year old WikiLeaks founder, according to the newspaper Tribune de Genève. Jean Rossiaud, a member of the canton’s parliament and the Green party, is behind the project. Last week he confirmed on Swiss television that he had met […]
Strasbourg calls on Switzerland to repatriate children of jihadists
Last week a majority of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) formally called on the leaders of member nations, including Switzerland, to repatriate the children of their jihadists nationals held in camps in Syria and Iraq. PACE, a 47-nation organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, called on member States to actively repatriate, rehabilitate and (re)integrate these […]
Dual nationality in Switzerland – nearly 1 in 5
In 2018, 18.1% of Swiss citizens 15 years old or older living in Switzerland held another nationality, according to figures recently published by the Federal Statistical Office. Over 8 years this percentage has risen by 4.3 percentage points. In 2010, the same percentage was 13.8%. The percentage in 2017 was the same as in 2018. […]
