A documentary, called The Schwarzenbach Years (Les Années Schwarzenbach), recounts Swiss disdain for foreigners in the 1970s. Clear parallels can be seen between then and now. The film will be shown at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva on 9 March 2016 at 14:30. Last weekend Last Sunday, close to 59% of Swiss voters rejected […]
Foreigners scramble to apply for Swiss passports
Le Matin. Towns in the canton of Zurich have been overwhelmed with citizenship applications over the last few weeks. Some like Uster have seen applications increase 5-fold. What’s behind this sharp spike? According to the Tages-Anzeiger, the recent initiative due for vote on 28 February 2016, that could see over 10,000 foreign criminals deported from […]
Swiss vote to automatically expel foreign criminals. Sensible or perverse?
In 2010, 52.9% of Swiss voters agreed that foreigners convicted of certain crimes should be deported. Following the vote, in March 2015, Switzerland’s parliament approved laws enacting the measure. The Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), the vote’s organiser, cried foul, claimed the new laws watered down the original text, and proposed a more rigid formulation that voters […]
Swiss asylum requests dropped in January
Statistics released today show the number of asylum requests fell by nearly a quarter in January, compared to December. A total of 3,618 applications were lodged during the month. The largest number, 1,224, came from Afghanistan, followed by Syria (488), Iraq (367) and Eritrea (233). The Swiss State Secretariat of Migration said that numbers typically drop during […]
Swiss approach to preventing Cologne-like sex attacks ahead of carnival
Ahead of the Luzern carnival, which runs from 4 to 9 February 2016, the canton has produced a six page flyer featuring pictograms, covering subjects such as gender equality, religious tolerance, democracy, rule of law and rules around social interaction. The Swissinfo video below explains that the flyer is intended to inform foreigners about western behavioural norms […]
Should migrants be forced to learn the host country’s language?
Le Matin. According to The Times, migrants in Britain who failed to improve their English would lose the chance to remain there as part of a drive to bring Muslim women into mainstream society. Speaking to the British newspaper Prime Minister David Cameron announced a £20 million fund for teaching female muslims to speak English. He wants to bring […]
Bern wants to ease Swiss refugee work rules
Le Matin. The Swiss minister of Justice Simonetta Sommaruga wants refugees better integrated into the Swiss job market. Under proposed changes the special 10% tax currently applied to those on certain refugee visas will go. In addition, procedures for employing refugees will be simplified. The Swiss Federal Council (Cabinet) will submit these proposals, designed to remove […]
Top 10 places where Swiss emigrate
There is no shortage of news on the number of foreigners living in Switzerland in local Swiss media. However, many Swiss also live abroad. In addition, some countries on the list receive significantly more Swiss than Switzerland receives of their citizens, as statistics released on 25 January 2016 show. In 2015 there were over 760,000 Swiss living beyond […]
Swiss People’s Party (UDC) leaders quit one after the other
Le Matin. Yesterday, Toni Brunner, president of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), announced he would quit as the party’s president on 23 April 2016. Then today the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick, reported that Christoph Blocher also plans to resign from his post as one of the party’s several vice presidents at the same time as its president. Brunner, who described Blocher […]
Swiss vote to tighten asylum rules on track for June
Le Matin. Changes to the laws around asylum in Switzerland are currently working their way through Switzerland’s parliament. The Swiss Peoples Party (UDC / SVP) does not like some of the changes and has now collected enough signatures to launch a referendum against them. The controversial changes include free legal assistance and new powers that will […]
