20 Minutes. Oberwil-Lieli, a commune in the canton of Aargau, that decided in June 2016 to pay CHF 290,000 to avoid taking refugees, has now decided to offer accommodation to a christian family of five from Syria, that has been given provisional entry. The accommodation will be offered from 1 January 2017. The town’s council has […]
Swiss government announces more checks on foreign workers
Yesterday, the Swiss government said it would step up checks on foreign workers. The new plans are designed to increase the effectiveness of controls and include more funding and better training for those tasked with the job. The number of checks is expected to rise 30% from 27,000 to 35,000 per year. 7-step guide to […]
Two parents working sharply reduces risk of child poverty in Switzerland
A recent publication by the Swiss federal statistics office shows there were around 73,000 children suffering from poverty in Switzerland in 2014. Poverty is defined by depravation calculated based on responses to a list of 18 questions1. These responses are used to determine actual poverty and the risk of poverty. Overall Swiss child poverty rates […]
Swiss towns want to ban the distribution of the Quran
Le Matin. According to Le Matin, recent German government action against salafistes is pushing the Swiss authorities to act. According to Tages Anzeiger, some Swiss towns have already taken action. The town of Brugg in the canton of Aargau banned distribution of the Quran in 2012. “It seems that radical islamists were behind it” explained the town’s […]
First refugees from Greece arrive in Switzerland
Tribune de Genève. Switzerland welcomes the first 28 refugees from Greece, as part of the EU programme to resettle refugees across nations party to the EU agreement on refugees, known as the Dublin Regulation. According to Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), they were moved from Greece to Switzerland late last week. 112 asylum seekers from […]
Swiss against recognising islam as an official religion
20 Minutes. According to a poll taken by the newspapers Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung, only 38% of those polled thought it would be a good idea to give islam the same status as christianity and judaism in Switzerland. Of those in support, 18% said yes, while 20% were somewhat in favour. The remaining 62% were against or […]
Cross-border worker numbers surge despite declining immigration
At the end of September 2016, 314,000 foreign residents were crossing the border to work in Switzerland. This represents around 6% of Switzerland’s workforce1. Swiss statistics office numbers show a rise of 3.5%, or 10,500 people since 30 September 2015. The largest numbers and growth were seen in the number of French residents working in Switzerland. […]
Number of people banned entry to Switzerland for security reasons more than triples
20 Minutes. By the end of September this year, Switzerland’s Federal office of police (Fedpol), had banned 97 people from entering Switzerland, compared to 28 across the whole of 2015. A spokesperson for Fedpol told the news service ATS that the rise was largely related to war and conflict in the middle east. Many of the […]
“Neo-Nazi” concert planned near Lausanne
Tribune de Genève. Recently, there has been a spate of gatherings in Switzerland, described by the Swiss press as ‘neo-Nazi’. After a large gathering in Unterwasser, and a smaller one in Kaltbrunn, both in the canton of Saint Gallen, the Blick newspaper revealed late last week, there were plans for a third, near Lausanne on 5 November […]
Swiss cabinet rejects referendum to undo immigration restrictions
By August 2015, a group determined to create a fallback plan should Switzerland’s government fail to negotiate a deal with the EU, had gathered enough signatures to hold a referendum. Their initiative, known as RASA, would give voters a chance to decide whether to repeal the changes made to the constitution by the February 2014 vote to […]
