A couple who refused to the shake hands with those interviewing them during their citizenship application, has withdrawn their appeal challenging its rejection, according to the newspaper Le Matin. Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand, a local politician who interviewed the couple last spring told Keystone-ATS that the couple’s application was rejected by a majority of the municipality of […]
Swiss politicians might soon have to declare dual nationality
Swiss parliamentarians could soon be required to show any other nationalities they hold on the official parliamentary website. The idea was supported by 15 members of a 22-member parliamentary commission looking at it, according to RTS. The initiative was launched by Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) member Marco Chiesa and has stated aim of improving transparency. […]
Vote against laws restricting religious clothing in public office divides Geneva
In Switzerland, religion is a cantonal matter. Cantons decide on the relationship between religion and politics. This has created a patchwork of different systems across Switzerland. In April 2018, the government of Geneva introduced new rules designed to further protect religious freedom and preserve religious neutrality in its public institutions, known as laïcité or secularity laws. Laïcité […]
Internal EU letter says grant no concessions to Switzerland
An internal EU commission letter says that without a framework agreement Swiss-EU agreements granting access to the EU single market will only be changed if it is in the EU’s interest, according to the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) and the Keystone-SDA news agency. The letter dated 10 January 2019 and signed by Martin Selmayr, […]
Renewal of Swiss residence permits now depends on good behaviour and integration
From 1 January 2019, the rules around renewing Swiss residence permits are different. The change, decided last year, grants renewals only if certain requirements are met. These include respect for the constitution and its values, respect for public order, participation in economic life1 or education, and competency in the local language. Language competence will be […]
Swiss residence permits to be replaced with new cards the size of a credit card
The government decided last month that the paper residence permits currently issued to some foreigners are to be replaced by forgery-proof cards the size of a credit card. Chips will not be included on the new cards. The required legal changes will be complete by 1 April 2019. The card will contain the permit holder’s […]
Swiss prison rate one of world’s lowest
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office released the latest Swiss prison figures. In 2017, the total incarceration rate was 81 per 100,000, down from 83 in 2016. Switzerland’s rate is a far cry from the 656 per 100,000 found in the US. In a world ranking of 222 countries, Switzerland comes in 162nd lowest. In […]
German couple bequeaths fortune to Swiss municipality
The municipality Vilters-Wangs in the canton of St. Gallen, received a legacy of around 8 million francs recently. The estate of a German couple includes their house, securities and an art collection, which will be put on display next summer in the Kunstmuseum in St. Gallen. The town of Vilters-Wangs has a population of around […]
Fewer foreigners commuting to Switzerland for work
In the third quarter of 2018, around 312,000 foreign residents commuted to work in Switzerland. In 2017 the figure was around 317,000. Cross-border workers in SwitzerlandInfogram This near 2% drop is the first since 2002. In 2002, there were only around 162,000 crossing into Switzerland to work, roughly half (52%) of today’s number. The fastest […]
Nearly half of Swiss residents in Geneva have more than one nationality
Across all of Switzerland, 17.3% of Swiss over 15 have more than one nationality. However in Geneva, the figure (45.0%) is close to half. No other Swiss canton comes close. The next highest are Ticino (29.2%), Vaud (27.6%) and Neuchâtel (26.7%). The German-speaking cantons of Basel-City (23.8%), Zurich (20.5%) and Zug (15.3%) are next. Of […]
