Statistics published yesterday show a drop in net foreign migration into Switzerland of 18.3% over the first nine months of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015. The drop was driven by a 6.9% decline in immigration, combined with a 4.7% increase in emigration. The number arriving from the EU and EFTA countries dropped by […]
Swiss fact: Zurich has Switzerland’s sixth highest percentage of foreign residents
In 2015, 25.5% of Switzerland’s population were foreign, or one in four. However, foreigners were not spread evenly across the country. The canton with the highest percentage of non-Swiss living within its borders was Geneva, where 42.1% of the population lived without a Swiss passport. Next on the list were the cantons of Basel-City (36.2%), […]
More Swiss visas for non-Europeans in 2017
20 Minutes. Visa quotas for non-EU workers will rise next year. The increased quotas will include 3,000 B-permits and 4,500 L-permits, 1,000 more than this year. These limits are still lower than in 2014, when Swiss politics turned against the free movement of workers from the EU. 2014 quotas of 3,500 B-permits and 5,000 short-term L-permits, […]
From Saturday, foreigners breaking the law risk expulsion
Tribune de Genève. A new law to deport foreign criminals comes into force on 1 October 2016. Geneva’s judiciary fears an explosion in the number of cases. In 2010, a referendum put forward by the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), was accepted by 52.9% of voters. This Saturday it comes into effect. This means anyone who […]
Swiss-based imam approves of niqab ban
20 Minutes. According to 20 Minutes, Bern-based imam Mustafa Memeti approves of the Swiss parliament approving a plan to ban full veils across the nation. Others are still unsure. Yesterday, Switzerland’s National Council accepted, with 88 votes for and 87 votes against, to ban the wearing of burkas and niqabs nationwide. The imam’s comments and those from […]
Swiss parliament votes in favour of nationwide burka ban
Today, Switzerland’s parliament voted, by a slim majority, to accept the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) text banning the wearing of burkas across all of Switzerland. The text, accepted by 88 votes to 87, is the same as the text used for a similar ban in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, that went into force on 1 July […]
Tough new Swiss rules on residency permits make it through parliament
Switzerland’s National Council, or parliament, voted in favour of strict new rules on Swiss residency permits last week. The project, which was started at the beginning 2014, looked like it might come to nothing after it was sent back for review after the successful 9 February 2014 vote to restrict mass immigration. Only a few […]
School authority confirms sanctions against pupils refusing to shake teacher’s hand
Le Matin. In April this year a secondary school in Therwil, not far from Basel, exempted two school pupils from the customary Swiss handshake between teachers and pupils. Because their teacher is a woman, the two male pupils requested an exemption on religious grounds. After triggering a wave of indignation, the decision was reversed. In response, the parents […]
Plan to limit Swiss immigration by offering jobs to locals first
20 Minutes. A Swiss parliamentary commission thinks it has found a way to implement controls on immigration. On 9 February 2014, Swiss voters decided by a slim majority of 50.3% to adopt new rules on immigration. The Swiss government has three years to implement the changes and the deadline is fast approaching. The biggest stumbling […]
Proposed integration laws rejected by Swiss government commission
20 Minutes. A government commission has rejected proposed laws designed to improve the integration of foreigners in Switzerland, with 12 votes against, 9 for, and 2 abstentions. By early 2014, the Swiss National Council and Council of States had made good progress on the project. Then, following the successful popular vote in February 2014 to […]
