The majority of asylum-seekers who left a federal departure centre near Zurich have vanished without a trace, the Swiss government concluded after testing accelerated asylum measures over 15 months.
A total of 649 asylum-seekers were admitted to the Embrach departure centre between the time of its opening in March 2017 and early June 2018.
The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said on Wednesday that 309 out of the 503 asylum-seekers who left the centre did so in an uncontrolled manner. In other words, the authorities have no knowledge where they went after the centre.
That figure corresponds to around 61% of all departures. The federal departure centre in Embrach was part of a pilot project in which the federal authorities, along with the procedural centre in Zurich, tested the new Asylum Act.
The changes to asylum legislation will come into force at the beginning of 2019. They are the outcome of a 2016 vote, in which the government gained public backing to reform and speed up asylum procedures in Switzerland.
The departure centre is the final stop for asylum-seekers who have not been allowed to stay in Switzerland. Asylum-seekers are sent there to wait for repatriation to their home country, transfer to a third country, or a Dublin member state.
Switzerland implements the Dublin convention which stipulates that the country of initial entry is responsible for the asylum process.
Nationwide, there were a total of 2,378 of uncontrolled departures between January and May 2018, according to the SEM’s asylum statistics. This corresponds to 36% of all departures.
Some 2,801 departures were listed as ‘controlled’, which included independent departures from Switzerland, repatriations, and transfers to other nations.
SEM classed a further 1,472 cases as “other departures”.
By introducing these departure centres, the Swiss government hoped to ensure that rejected asylum-seekers are returned directly to their countries of origin.
The government plans to establish a total of 18 federal asylum centres nationwide.
The location of some 13 of them has already been established, three are still controversial and a further two are currently under review, the SEM told the Swiss News Agency.
swissinfo.ch/ln
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
The citizenship obstacle course facing spouses of Swiss Abroad
Automated driving on Swiss motorways is theoretically possible from March
This content was published on
It will be theoretically possible to hand over the steering wheel to technology but no such system has been submitted for official approval yet.
Heated atmosphere at Swiss rally against AfD politician Alice Weidel
This content was published on
Around 250 people demonstrated "against the right" and the German AfD politician Alice Weidel on Saturday afternoon in Einsiedeln.
This content was published on
The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
This content was published on
The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
This content was published on
Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Ethiopians rally in Bern to protest deportation deal
This content was published on
In April, for the first time in five years, Ethiopia announced it was ready to receive back citizens whose asylum applications in Switzerland had been rejected. This policy change is an outcome of an agreement between the African state and the EU. To be readmitted, the persons concerned must be recognised as Ethiopian nationals. If they…
A life in limbo for Switzerland’s F permit holders
This content was published on
“Living in Switzerland with an F permit is like living in limbo,” say four asylum seekers who have been 'provisionally admitted' to the country.
More than 800 crimes committed in Swiss asylum centres
This content was published on
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has reported that 813 criminal offences were committed in Swiss asylum centres in 2017.
Deal seeks to integrate refugees in Swiss job market
This content was published on
The Swiss government has agreed to triple its financial contribution to help boost the integration of refugees into the labour market.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.