Top 10 Facts About Refugees in Switzerland The closure of the popular migration route via the Balkans border on March 9, 2016, led to a rapid increase in the number of refugees in Switzerland as they immigrated to Germany. Refugees have been entering Switzerland through Ticino, and a report estimates there are 5,760 illegal residents in this region. Switzerland’s Asylum Act grants “recognized refugees” asylum, temporary protection if needed, public social assistance and the ability to become a permanent resident after having resided in the country for 10 years. Refugees in Switzerland granted the B permit are noted as “recognized refugees,” defined as people who “‘in their native country or in their country of the last residence are subject to serious disadvantages or have a well-founded fear of being exposed to such disadvantages.'” The Asylum Act imposes required social assistance. Consequently, the council of Rekingen, a municipality in the canton of Aargu, Switzerland, proposed that residents should not rent properties to refugees. The proposal stems from the fear that B permit refugees will rely on social welfare benefits and ruin Rekingen financially. Refugees in Switzerland who apply for asylum must complete processing at a reception center to be considered legal. However, 20 to 40 percent of refugees assigned to reception centers evade the monitoring system so that they may migrate to Germany. According to Swiss legislation, they are thus illegal immigrants. Some parts of Switzerland have reported that the number of refugees who left the reception centers soon after arriving is between 50 to 90 percent. They concluded that refugees are using Switzerland for transit instead of asylum. On February 9, 2014, Switzerland adopted the Controlling Mass Immigration Initiative. The initiative introduced annual quotas for accepting refugees and amended the social security benefits of immigrants seeking employment. The annual quotas instilled by the Controlling Mass Immigration Initiative has stirred controversy in the village of Oberwil-Lieli. Oberwil-Lieli’s mayor originally rejected the quota because his residents believe assistance should be done “on the ground,” preferring to lessen the threat in the refugees’ native countries rather than make Switzerland a popular asylum. For example, residents of the village raised 370,000 francs to support Greek refugees. Eritreans make up the largest portion of refugees in Switzerland. About 34,500 Eritreans have fled their homes as a result of violent conflict with Ethiopia. Switzerland has so far accepted refugees who illegally exited Eritrea given they apply for asylum. However, reports show that many refugees use their allowed 21 days of holiday to visit Eritrea34, undermining their claim to asylum. This revelation led to a discussion about Switzerland’s lax rules for refugees. Subsequently, the appeal to strengthen the rules for Eritrean asylum seeking did not receive approval. Most refugees immigrating from Italy to Germany pass through Switzerland. However, Federal Border Guards consistently transfer migrants who did not apply for asylum to Italy. In 2016, authorities sent over a thousand refugees seeking asylum back to Italy. The deportees included several hundred unaccompanied minors and many refugees with family in Switzerland. In September 2015, an amendment to the Asylum Act granted asylum seekers free legal advice and representation in the procedure. It also made a legal duty out of caring for the needs of especially-threatened refugees.

The Swiss authorities do not expect a large influx of Afghan refugees despite a recent rise in the number of people crossing the border in recent months, mostly illegally. This content was published on November 11, 2021 - 13:13November 11, 2021 - 13:13 The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) calculates that more than 1,500 Afghan refugees have entered Switzerland this year, with numbers picking up substantially since August – the month the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. But most refugees are believed to have fled Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover and have spent time travelling to Europe and staying in other countries before arriving in Switzerland. Most of the new arrivals have entered via the eastern canton of St Gallen, which borders Austria. Police picked up 632 refugees in October and 446 the previous month, according to official statistics. In April, the number was 54. Many of the new arrivals are minors and officials believe they are attempting to transit to other countries given the low number of refugees claiming asylum in Switzerland. Some Swiss media outlets speculate that the recent influx could be the result of rumours among refugees that Austria will not let them stay – which the Austrian authorities deny. The Swiss authorities are coordinating with Austrian counterparts to send refugees that arrived illegally in Switzerland back to Austria. The phenomenon has prompted the rightwing Swiss People’s Party to demand that the government takes action. In response, SEM says it does not expect Afghan refugee numbers to increase substantially in the short-term, but to pick up at a more sustainable rate over the next few years. In August, ministers said there are no plans to accept large numbers of Afghan refugees into Switzerland. To read more: Afghan refugee numbers pick up in Switzerland - SWI swissinfo.ch