Tribune de Genève. In the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland, more than one of four workers lives across the border. Numbers have doubled since 2002 when Switzerland agreed to open its job market to EU citizens. By the middle of 2015 there were over 62,000 EU-based workers, mainly from Italy, crossing the border to […]
“Foreign conflicts must not be settled here”
20 Minutes. Conflict between Turks and Kurds in Bern over the weekend provoked a strong reaction from Swiss politicians. According to the newspaper 20 Minutes, violence broke out between Turkish and Kurdish marchers in Bern leaving 22 hurt, including four police officers and a police dog. In the video below a car can be seen […]
Airlines to face big fines for transporting illegal immigrants
Le Matin. Airlines that bring foreigners to Switzerland without valid travel documents, will be fined under new rules from 1 October 2015. The new rules, which were ratified by the Swiss federal council on 2 September 2015, are designed to reduce the number of asylum requests. The new measures apply to all flights landing in […]
Syrian refugees not coming to Switzerland
24 Heures. Refugees crowd onto platforms in Hungary, Austria and Germany while the situation remains relatively calm in Switzerland. In August, Switzerland recorded 3,899 asylum seekers, 3 more than July. Of these only 401 were from Syria. Most were from Eritrea (1,610), followed by Afghanistan (461). So why is the Swiss situation so different to […]
Fewer migrants expected in Switzerland in second half of 2015
More refugees are arriving at Switzerland’s Eastern borders daily, yet Switzerland is not the primary destination for refugees travelling via the Balkans. According to the State Secretariat for Migration, the number of people seeking Swiss asylum is even expected to drop in the second half of the year. The State Secretariat for Migration projects that […]
Government makes getting a Swiss passport harder
20 Minutes. In June 2014, Swiss citizenship requirements were tightened allowing only those with permanent residency permits (e.g. a C permit) to apply, excluding anyone on a different permit such as a B permit. Yesterday the federal council issued a proposed ordinance which tightens requirements further. People receiving social assistance and a wider range of […]
Swiss immigration initiative RASA gets required number of signatures
Tribune de Genève. On 9 February 2014 a slim majority of 50.3% of Swiss voters called for an end to open immigration from European Union (EU) nations. Since then Switzerland has been engaged in difficult discussions with EU negotiators who say that Switzerland’s EU deals, which include trade, must come as a package and cannot […]
Southern European arrivals surpass German migrants into Switzerland
24heures. According to the newspaper 24heures fewer Germans and more Spanish, Italians and Portuguese are moving to Switzerland. These southern Europeans are more likely to move to Italian speaking Ticino and the French speaking lake Geneva regions. They are putting downward pressure on salaries in these places, in particular areas with high numbers of cross-border […]
UDC wants an immediate halt on asylum
20 Minutes The newspaper 20 Minutes reported that the UDC (SVP) presented a motion in the Swiss parliament for an immediate moratorium on asylum. The UDC demand follows a move in Austria last week to stop examining asylum demands to spur other EU members to make more effort to welcome refugees. The UDC’s demand includes […]
Swiss immigration vote: no impact on top university enrollments
According to Tribune de Geneve, the Swiss vote on 9 February 2014 is not hurting enrollments at top universities in Switzerland as some had predicted. The two prestigious Swiss science universities, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, had record enrollments in 2014. Up by 1.8%, 28,537 students and doctoral […]
