Asylum law (Switzerland)

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The Swiss asylum law is the international legal obligations of Switzerland to the Geneva Convention by. The basis for the Swiss asylum system is the Asylum Act (AsylG) .

Asylum procedure

Swiss asylum law recognizes the recognition of an asylum seeker as a refugee or provisional admission to Switzerland, in which the removal of a foreigner who is not recognized as a refugee is waived - for whatever reason. Temporarily admitted persons can stay in Switzerland as long as the provisional admission is not canceled. After your temporary admission has been revoked, you may be asked to leave Switzerland within a short period of time. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) is responsible for the asylum procedure .

Foreign persons who submit an asylum application in Switzerland are referred to as asylum seekers and receive an N permit. They may - subject to a few exceptions - wait for the asylum procedure in Switzerland to end. However, they are not allowed to leave Switzerland's territory during the procedure. You can pursue a non-self-employed activity which has to be approved by the cantonal Aliens Police Authority. During the first three months after submitting an asylum application, however, asylum seekers are not yet allowed to work. If a negative decision is made in the first instance within this period, the canton can refuse permission to work for a further three months. Persons whose asylum application is approved are referred to as recognized refugees . The refugees recognized by Switzerland can apply for a travel document for refugees from the SEM , but not the temporarily admitted persons, who are not allowed to leave Switzerland like the asylum seekers.

If refugee status is not granted, expulsion from Switzerland may be waived under certain circumstances for reasons of international law, humanitarian or enforcement reasons; in this case, temporary admission will be ordered for one year (this is extended or revoked annually). Rejected asylum seekers must leave Switzerland within a period set by the Federal Office for Migration. Definitive admission with the status of recognized refugee is only granted to asylum seekers who meet the criteria of Art. 3 Asylum Act (AsylG) of Switzerland and who can demonstrate this in accordance with Art. 7 AsylG. Close family members of a refugee (spouse and children) are also recognized as refugees. Refugees from civil war regions or women who are at risk of genital mutilation are usually temporarily admitted.

Admitted persons are entitled to social assistance , but not asylum seekers with a legally rejected asylum application and an expired departure deadline. They would now only be entitled to so-called emergency aid, which is limited to food, shelter, clothing and the most basic medical treatments. Rejected asylum seekers have to leave the country within a specific, short period of time. If a rejected asylum seeker is unwilling or unable to reveal his identity, he can be detained in deportation custody under certain conditions.

In the last few years the problem of the so-called Sans-Papiers or "paperless" emerged. This French term is used for foreigners without a valid residence permit, but this does not have to mean that they have no identity papers at all. Many sans-papiers have been living illegally in Switzerland for years; some work without a work permit, black and underpaid.

development

year Asylum applications
1999 47,513
2000 19,750
2001 21,854
2002 26,987
2003 21,759
2004 15,061
2005 10,795
2006 11,173
2007 10,844
2008 16,611
2009 16.005
2010 15,567
2011 22,551

In 2005, 10,795 people applied for asylum in Switzerland. Depending on the statistics, around 2% to 5% of these are “recognized” refugees. In addition, there is a considerable (and also differently specified) proportion of z. B. Civil war refugees who receive temporary admission. The remainder are asylum seekers who have been refused refugee status or temporary admission to Switzerland.

The originally liberal Swiss asylum law was tightened as a result of the referendum on September 24, 2006 - with a turnout of 48.91%, the proposal to amend the Asylum Act was accepted with 67.8% of the votes cast: Asylum applications from applicants without valid ones are now accepted Identity papers are generally no longer received - which is referred to as a non- entry decision (NEE) - unless the asylum seeker has no papers for excusable reasons, or the alleged persecution does not turn out to be obviously unfounded and relevant to asylum. This criterion was created to persuade asylum seekers to hand over valid travel documents to the asylum authorities.

On September 28, 2012, the possibility of submitting an asylum application to the Swiss diplomatic mission abroad was abolished . It is still possible to apply for a humanitarian visa .

In December 2012, the regulation on the issuing of travel documents to foreigners was revised. According to Article 9 of this Ordinance, asylum seekers and temporarily admitted persons may only receive a travel document or a return visa in narrowly defined cases.

Political discussions

The issue of asylum and foreigners is a polarizing and emotional issue in Switzerland (at the same time as the adoption of the amendment to the Asylum Act on September 24, 2006 , the voters also approved the new Aliens Act ): While right-wing circles, especially the SVP , consider tightening up as necessary, In order to curb “ asylum abuse ”, left-wing circles such as the SP , aid agencies and churches fear negative consequences of tightening for refugees who are actually at risk. The FDP and CVP see the change as an opportunity to integrate “real” asylum seekers faster and better and at the same time to fight abuse more effectively.

On June 9, 2013, a referendum was held on the amendment to the Asylum Act of September 28, 2012. The change includes further tightening of asylum law, in particular the abolition of the embassy procedure and the exclusion of conscientious objection and desertion as grounds for asylum. It was adopted by a large majority (78.4%). As part of the embassy procedure, around 46,000 people applied for asylum in Swiss embassies abroad between 1980 and 2012, of which 2,600 were granted protection in Switzerland (around 80 people per year).

A reform of the asylum law was adopted by parliament in September 2015, and the new regulation received the approval of 66.8 percent of Swiss people in a referendum on June 5, 2016.

criticism

Critics complain that there is a risk of wrong decisions in the asylum procedure, such as in the sensational case of the Burmese Stanley Van Tha . The European Union saw or sees the European Convention on Human Rights being violated, which the Federal Department of Justice and Police denied at the end of 2012. It is unclear to what extent the exclusion clauses (Article 32 (3)) come into play; Depending on how it is interpreted, Article 32 (in which identification is required) contradicts the Convention on Human Rights. The sometimes long process times are also criticized across parties.

Offers for refugees

In Switzerland, the Swiss Refugee Aid coordinates legal advice centers in many cantons.

In addition, evangelical circles have set up a counseling center for refugees who are persecuted for the sake of their Christian faith.

See also

Web links

On the vote on September 24, 2006:

On the vote on June 9, 2013:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Apply for asylum in Switzerland - www.ch.ch. In: ch.ch. Retrieved December 20, 2019 .
  2. ^ BFM: Commented asylum statistics ( Memento from October 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 243 kB), 10/19 [data from 1999-2011]
  3. ^ BFM: Commented asylum statistics ( Memento from October 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 243 kB), 10/19 [data from 1999-2011]
  4. ↑ AS 2012 (2012-2415), pp 5359-5364
  5. ↑ Art. 9 Reasons for Travel , Ordinance on the Issuance of Travel Documents for Foreign Persons (RDV) of November 14, 2012 (as of March 1, 2017)
  6. ↑ This is how the people decided - Switzerland: Standard - tagesanzeiger.ch. In: tagesanzeiger.ch. June 9, 2013, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  7. ↑ January Jirat: Asylum Act: The Federal cynical. In: woz.ch. March 6, 2014, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Ulrich Kober: Quality is convincing: Swiss people are voting for the new asylum law. In: bertelsmann-stiftung.de. June 6, 2016, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Matthias Daum: Asylum law in Switzerland: Jagged, but fair. In: zeit.de. May 12, 2016, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Martin Müller: Asylum procedure: dossiers remain lying around for too long - observer. In: observer.ch. March 13, 2012, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Useful addresses - SFH / OSAR. In: www.fluechtlingshilfe.ch. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013 ; accessed on December 20, 2019 .
  12. ↑ A new advice center for religious refugees - a haven for those persecuted by religion. In: livenet.ch. June 14, 2012, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Home. Religious Freedom Working Group. Official website. In: agr-glr.ch. Retrieved December 20, 2019 .