Last Saturday morning, a queue of traffic stretched 14 kilometres from the northern entrance of Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel, according to RTS. At its peak, waiting time reached 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Gotthard tunnel is the main road link between Zurich and Milan. The obvious alternative is the San Bernardino pass. Normally this route […]
Drop in emergency benefits paid to asylum seekers in Switzerland
In 2017, 8,499 asylum seekers in Switzerland were given emergency financial assistance costing CHF 64 million, according to Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). For new asylum seekers, emergency financial support lasted an average of 137 days. The total number receiving emergency financial assistance fell by 18% compared to 2016. The cost was also down […]
Swiss meat processor, Bell, invests in synthetic meat
This week, Bell, a Swiss meat processor, announced an investment in Dutch synthetic meat start-up Mosa Meat. Mosa Meat, a leader in the market of cultured beef, was co-founded by Mark Post of the University of Maastricht, who is considered to be the global pioneer in the production of cultured meat. Rather than a meat […]
Residency permit rejection overturned for children of man on welfare
Last week, Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court (FAC) overturned a decision by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Switzerland’s immigration department, to not issue residence permits to the children of a man who had received welfare while training, according to RTS. SEM decided the man was not well integrated because he had received welfare. FAC said […]
Rising psychiatric admissions in Switzerland linked to Netflix series
Around 40 young people have been admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Zurich after watching the controversial Netflix television series 13 Reasons Why, according to RTS. The series, launched in March 2017, tells the fictional story of a 17 year old who leaves behind recordings explaining why she took her own life. Zurich hospital says […]
Swiss air traffic control strike cancelled
An air traffic control strike scheduled for 23 July 2018, has been cancelled, according to RTS. The air traffic control union Skycontrol and Skyguide, the company that employs air traffic controllers at airports in Geneva, Sion, Bern and Lugano, restarted talks on Tuesday with help from CRCT, the canton of Geneva’s labour relations organisation. In […]
Air traffic control strike planned in Switzerland
On Tuesday, the union Skycontrol, presented a plan for a strike in July. Skycontrol represents some workers working for the air traffic control company Skyguide, which operates at airports in Geneva, Sion, Bern, and Lugano. The strike would run from Monday 23 July until Friday 27 July 2018. A tweet from Skycontrol sets out the […]
High fire danger in certain parts of Switzerland
Currently, fire risk is high in central Valais, Ticino, parts of Graubunden and St. Gallen, according to Switzerland’s government. The warning comes with a call not to light fires outside. Current warnings in these regions are at level 4 out of 5, which means burning matches, flying sparks from barbecue fires and lightning will very […]
EU migration into Switzerland down significantly in 2017
Net migration into Switzerland from the EU was down by 11% last year, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). In 2017, a net 31,250 people from the EU and EFTA moved to Switzerland. And, with a 4% decline in the number arriving over the five months to May 2018, the fall looks […]
The large tax differences between Swiss cantons
In Switzerland, tax is largely determined by the canton of residence. The range of tax rates is wide. In 2017, a single person earning CHF 100,000 paid only CHF 7,592 in the canton of Zug but CHF 19,233 in the canton of Neuchâtel, more than 2.5 times as much. Someone married with children earning the […]
