If you have ever wondered how much employees in Switzerland get paid you can check with the online tool Salarium, created by the Swiss government. The information is compiled from a database of numbers from a salary survey done in 2014. After entering five required bits of information: region, business sector, occupation, professional position and working hours, the […]
Survey shows how foreigners feel about Switzerland
How foreigners feel about Switzerland depends largely on where they come from and why they came, according to survey due for release next year. The survey, entitled ‘On the Move‘, questions seven groups: Germans, Austrians, French, Italians, British, Spaniards, Portuguese, North Americans, Indians, West Africans and South Americans. For 53% of foreigners, Switzerland is the […]
Another Swiss citizenship application rejected in vote in small town in Aargau
In Switzerland, citizenship applications can be rejected by town councils if the applicant is not deemed to be fully integrated. In large communes (French) or Gemeinde (German), such as big cities, the process is quite administrative. You sit tests and if you pass you get a green light. In some small towns however decisions can become […]
Foreigners more likely to be working than Swiss
Statistics released today show that at the end of 2016 there were 5.0 million people working in Switzerland out of a population of 8.4 million, an activity rate of 58.4%, or 68.6% if those under 15 are excluded – the activity rate is the percentage of a population working full time. Of those not working […]
Still problems with forced deportation in Switzerland
20 Minutes. The Swiss government recently released a report on the forced repatriation of foreigners. The document sets out problems with the process, in particular the use of balaclavas and guns by the police, the way deportees are restrained, and the separation of families. The national commission for the prevention of torture, the commission behind the report focused […]
Minister criticises Swiss vote against international courts
20 Minutes. On Wednesday Simonetta Sommaraga, federal councillor and head of the federal department of justice and police, publicly denounced the referendum launched by the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) to put Swiss law ahead of international law. The plan dubbed the initiative for self-determination passed the 100,000 signature threshold last year. It was officially submitted […]
Swiss towns with the most jihadists
Tribune de Genève. The results of an investigation by the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger show where those identified as jihadists are based. Statistics published in May 2017 by Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), show an estimated 88 individuals motivated by jihad had travelled from Switzerland since 2001. 74 are thought to have gone to Syria and Iraq, 13 to Somalia and 1 […]
New figures reveal British racing to apply for Swiss citizenship
According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, the number of British citizens applying to become Swiss has risen sharply. The steepest rise was in the canton of Vaud, where the number rose 71% in 2016. 473 applied in 2016, compared to 276 in 2015. In Geneva the number rose 60% from 90 to 145. In 2015, there […]
New initiative to keep foreign workers out of Switzerland
Le Matin. On 15 June 2017, one day after kicking off the job of collecting the signatures required to call a referendum, the text for a new plan to limit access to Switzerland’s job market was presented to the Swiss government. Before a Swiss popular vote or referendum can be launched 100,000 valid signatures must be collected […]
Swiss government wants better access to criminal records of EU citizens in Switzerland
20 Minutes. On 12 June 2017, Switzerland’s parliament agreed to look at improving criminal record checks of EU nationals moving to Switzerland, but it wants a solution that avoids complicating relations with Brussels. One possibility would be for Switzerland to join the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) programme which allows EU states to exchange information on […]
