Tribune de Genève. Teachers in the Swiss canton of Basel-Landschaft will soon have the right to demand school children shake their hands. Under new rules, the parents of children who don’t comply could face fines as high as CHF 5,000. In addition, the dispensation, granted to two muslim pupils at Therwil secondary school earlier in the […]
Government close to removing Swiss nationality for the first time
Le Matin. Bern has started the process of stripping an individual of their Swiss nationality for national security reasons. The move is the first in half a century. The week before last, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) launched a procedure to remove Swiss nationality from a 19 year old man from Winterthur, reported the Tages-Anzeiger last […]
Swiss cabinet member walks out over immigration clash
24 Heures. Last week Swiss federal councillor Simonetta Sommaruga walked out of parliament after being harshly criticised by members of the Swiss people’s party (UDC/SVP) during a debate about extending the free movement of people to Croatia. Under the terms of the European Union agreement on the free movement of people, Switzerland is required to […]
Confusion surrounds start date of tighter Swiss naturalisation rules
GHI. Expected to come into force on 1 January 2017 across the country, confusion now surrounds the date the new rules will take effect, reports the Geneva weekly newspaper GHI. Bernard Gut, director of Geneva’s population and migration office (OCPM), told RTS in early March the new rules would be applied from 1 January 2017. Now […]
Prayers in Geneva airport cafeteria spark anger
GHI. Muslim bag handlers at Geneva airport have been stopping work several times a day to pray in a common area, and it has been causing friction, reports the Geneva weekly newspaper GHI. “It’s incredible. Last January we reported that some of our colleagues were regularly praying in the common room, but it has continued […]
10 facts about Switzerland’s illegal immigrants
A recent study by the Swiss state secretariat for migrants (SEM) estimates that there were 76,000 illegal immigrants or san-papiers living in Switzerland in 2015. The 88 page document presents some interesting facts about this elusive group. 1. Most arrive undeclared or on tourist visas Across the country, 63% slipped over the border without declaring their presence […]
Big change in the number of asylum requests in Switzerland
Switzerland’s administration says migration remains volatile and unpredictable. Making reliable forecasts for 2016 is impossible given the number of hard to influence factors impacting on migration routes. The first quarter of 2016 saw 8,315 asylum requests in Switzerland, around 45% fewer than the final quarter of 2015. The 1992 requests in March were down almost […]
Migration crisis: 2,000 soldiers to cover Switzerland’s borders
Tribune de Genève. In the event of a large increase in migrants flowing to Switzerland, around 2,000 soldiers must be ready to help border control staff, said Switzerland’s federal council, or cabinet, on Wednesday. The federal council has asked the Swiss department of defense to prepare for such an event. Last Thursday, Bern, the cantons, towns and communes […]
Family involved in school handshake refusal applies for Swiss nationality
The Basler Zeitung, has learned that the family of the two brothers who refused to shake the hand of their female teacher at Therwil secondary school, in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, has applied for Swiss nationality. The brothers, 14 and 15, requested exemption from handshakes for religious reasons and the school’s administration granted it, according […]
Muslim pupil in Geneva refuses to be touched by teacher
Le Matin. The controversy continues. Last week, two muslim pupils at a secondary school in Basel refused to shake their teacher’s hand. On Sunday, the Swiss broadcaster RTS, revealed a similar case at a school in Geneva. The incident occurred at the beginning of 2015 during a gym class. The teenager, who had recently converted […]
