An initiative, designed to end the “influx” of cross-border workers into Geneva, has failed to get enough signatures. In Switzerland, changes to the constitution or law can be presented to voters if enough signatures can be collected. Votes can be organized at commune, canton and federal levels. In Geneva, cantonal initiatives aimed at changing the […]
Geneva – school ramadan recommendations spark outcry
The canton of Geneva takes the separation of state and religion, or laïcité, seriously. Article 3 of Geneva’s constitution, states that the government and its institutions should be secular, religiously neutral, not pay clerical salaries or subsidise any religious activity, while maintaining relations with religious communities. In 2016, the canton’s public schools were sent a […]
British man shows challenges of getting Swiss citizenship
A British man who has lived most of his life in Switzerland missed out on Swiss citizenship recently when he failed his citizenship test. Anyone with children in the Swiss school system will know how tough Swiss marking can be. 94% does not get you the top grade of 6 in a school test. It […]
Switzerland – jobs that must soon be offered to locals first
From 1 July 2018, Swiss employers must present certain jobs to unemployed workers in Switzerland before offering them to foreigners. The requirement kicks in when unemployment for particular job types reaches 8% – this threshold will fall to 5% on 1 January 2020. Last week, the list of jobs with unemployment of 8% or more […]
Go-ahead given for new mosque in Schaffhausen
According to the newspaper Blick, the administration of the Swiss town Schaffhausen has given the go-ahead for the construction of a new mosque in the town. Construction of the 12 metre high building, with a creche and separate rooms for men and women, will start this summer. It is expected to cost CHF 1.5 million […]
Refugees in Switzerland who return home to face tougher treatment
Switzerland is set to get tougher on refugees who return to their home country. Swiss law already strips someone who voluntarily does this of refugee status. Anyone voluntarily returning home is assumed to no longer be persecuted in that state and therefore no longer in need of refugee status. This week a States Council commission […]
Becoming Swiss – Vaud publishes new general knowledge questions
Times change and so have the requirements for becoming Swiss. On the 1st of January 2018 the process got tougher. New language requirements, the need to have a C-permit and more questions on applicants’ knowledge of Switzerland are the main changes. Every commune (Gemeinde) and canton (Kanton) has its own particularities when it comes to […]
Swiss cantons to get more money for refugees. Not everyone is happy.
Switzerland’s federal government has decided to increase the amount it gives cantons for each refugee, which includes accepted refugees and asylum seekers. Currently, it provides a one-off payment of CHF 6,000. Soon this will increase to CHF 18,000, according to the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). At the same time, federal assistance to […]
Deporting foreign criminals – Geneva leads in French-speaking Switzerland
Geneva expelled more than half of all the foreign criminals deported from French-speaking Switzerland in 2017, according to statistics published by the association of police and judicial chiefs for French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. In October 2016, a new law on deporting foreign criminals came into force, the result of a vote organized by the Swiss […]
Geneva – new initiative to curb cross-border workers
The Mouvement Citoyens Genevois (MCG) wants employers to show that they cannot find a local candidate before employing a foreign national living in a border country, in Geneva’s case mainly France. Supplementing the article in Switzerland’s federal constitution on mass immigration, the initiative dubbed “Frontaliers : stop!” will require employers to show that there are […]
