A recent study on the migration backgrounds of Swiss residents shows just how international Switzerland’s population is. The percentage of foreigners in the population at the end of 2016 was 25%1. However, when the definition is expanded to include everyone with a migration background, it rises to 37%. The extra 12% includes naturalised Swiss citizens, except […]
A third of Switzerland’s population mistrusts Islam, according to survey
Recently, the Swiss federal statistical office published preliminary results of a survey on Switzerland’s attitudes toward foreigners, which included questions on nationality, race, language and religion. The survey, which questioned 3,000 people across Switzerland, was designed to take the pulse of multicultural coexistence in Switzerland, a nation which is home to people of more than […]
Imam accused of hate speech loses Swiss asylum
An imam, accused of hate speech, who came to Switzerland from Libya 1998, and was granted asylum in 2001, has been stripped of his refugee status. Abu Ramadan, 64, who lives in Nidau, Canton Bern, has returned to Libya on a Libyan passport 12 times since 2013. The large number of trips over an extended […]
Swiss canton of St Gallen bans full veil
Tribune de Genève. Yesterday, the cantonal parliament of St. Gallen adopted a law banning the covering of faces in public spaces. The law, aimed at those who threaten public security and religious and social peace, follows a debate sparked by a ban on wearing veils at a school in the town of St. Margrethen in […]
How receiving welfare can put your Swiss residency permit at risk
A recent example, reported in 20 Minuten, shows how even foreigners who have lived in Switzerland for many years can be forced to leave if they end up reliant on government welfare. A mother and her 17 year old daughter recently found out the hard way. Switzerland’s constitution allows people to be stripped of their residency […]
Three Swiss cantons demand higher foreign work visa quotas
Geneva, Zurich and Basel-City are calling for an increase in the annual work visa quotas granted by the federal government in Bern. These cantons have already exhausted the number of permits they were granted for the year. The cantons argue that they need foreign workers and the visa cap is limiting economic growth. The visa […]
Swiss feel threatened by Islam, according to survey
A survey conducted by SonntagsBlick reveals a rising fear of Islam in Switzerland. 38% of the 1,003 people surveyed say they feel threatened by Muslims in Switzerland. This percentage is more than double the 16% recorded in a similar survey in 2004. Önder Günes, a spokesperson for the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland, told Blick […]
Swiss commune fighting to have accused hate preacher expelled
20 Minutes. According to reports in the Tages-Anzeiger and by Swiss broadcaster SRF, the Swiss commune of Nidau wants the canton of Bern to expel a Libyan imam who has preached hate. The preacher has reportedly called for the destruction of all enemies of islam, including christians, jews, hindus, Russians and shiites. The man arrived in […]
At least one catalan terror suspect spent time in Switzerland
Le Matin. According to Tages-Anzeiger, at least one of two of the suspects in the recent Spanish terrorist attacks, Mohamed Hychami and Younes Abouyaaqoub, spent time in Zurich in 2016. Fedpol, Switzerland’s federal police, confirmed this information, which was published by Spanish media. Polizeiaktion in Barcelona: Mann mit Sprengstoffweste niedergeschossen. https://t.co/jzMYtg1Kzy — Tages-Anzeiger (@tagesanzeiger) August […]
Halal and kosher meat might fall under proposed Swiss animal cruelty import restrictions
20 Minutes. A motion adopted by Switzerland’s parliament on 7 June 2017 proposes halting the import the meat of mistreated animals. The work of Matthias Aebischer, a socialist member from the canton of Bern, was originally focused on foie gras, frogs legs and fur, but there are now suggestions his motion might include animals slaughtered […]
