In the second quarter of 2018, the number of jobs in Switzerland rose to 5.048 million, a 2.1% increase on the second quarter of 2017. Regions rising the most were Lake Geneva (+3.0%), north west Switzerland (+3.0%), central Switzerland (+2.4%) and Zurich (+2.1%). Rises in job numbers in eastern Switzerland (+1.6%), Mittelland (+1.3%) and Ticino […]
Poorly integrated foreigners will soon risk losing their permits
Last week, the Federal Council looked again at residence permits and adopted new rules, which were accepted by parliament in 2016, according to the newspaper Le Matin. The new rules, which will be introduced at the beginning of 2019, will help foreigners integrate and remove permits from those who don’t. To aid integration, the special […]
No handshake. No Swiss passport.
Last week, the commune of Lausanne rejected a couple’s application to become Swiss after they refused to shake hands with officials of the opposite sex, according to a report by Keystone-ATS published in Le Matin. Their application was rejected on the grounds that this attitude does not respect the equality of men and women, a […]
Swiss farm job programme for asylum seekers a success
A new programme, based on a pilot project which ran for three years, has been launched. The programme will help asylum seekers to work on Swiss farms. Five Swiss cantons have signed up to the programme, which offers asylum seekers entry level farming apprenticeships. 12 have already signed up to start in August. The five […]
Swiss municipality forced to grant citizenship to Iranian refugee
Becoming a Swiss citizen is a three layered process. Once certain requirements have been met, such as sufficient time in the country, evidence of integration, the ability to financially support oneself, and mastery of the local language, applications pass through three layers of approval: municipal, cantonal and federal. An application can fail at any one […]
Drop in emergency benefits paid to asylum seekers in Switzerland
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). 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 […]
Residency permit rejection overturned for children of man on welfare
Last week, Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court (FAC) overturned a decision by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Switzerland’s immigration department, to not issue residence permits to the children of a man who had received welfare while training, according to RTS. SEM decided the man was not well integrated because he had received welfare. FAC said […]
EU migration into Switzerland down significantly in 2017
Net migration into Switzerland from the EU was down by 11% last year, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). In 2017, a net 31,250 people from the EU and EFTA moved to Switzerland. And, with a 4% decline in the number arriving over the five months to May 2018, the fall looks […]
Swiss government rejects nationwide burka ban and presents counter proposal
Last week, Switzerland’s federal council, or cabinet, said it was against the vote to ban burkas nationwide. Instead it prefers a targeted approach. Last year enough signatures were collected to launch a federal vote on whether to introduce a ban across all of Switzerland. The federal council thinks the decision should remain largely in the […]
Vote to end free Swiss-EU migration gets enough signatures
Organizers of a vote to limit immigration into Switzerland from EU and EFTA nations, had until 18 July 2019 to collect 100,000 valid signatures. Last week, almost one year ahead of the deadline, the Swiss People’s Party announced that they had collected 125,000 signatures. Surprised by how quickly the signatures were collected, Swiss People’s Party leader […]
