“In view of the persistently low number of new asylum applications, the Federal Council has decided not to allocate the financial resources to extend 45 temporary posts in the SEM,” a spokeswoman for the Federal Department of Justice and Police confirmed to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
SEM has 1,100 employees, about half of whom work in the asylum department. The cuts represent about 8% percent of that department’s team. Employment contracts due to expire at the end of 2020 will not be extended. This summer, SEM will inform its temporary employees whether or not their contracts will be terminated.
In 2015, some 40,000 people applied for asylum in Switzerland – as many people as work for the federal government. In 2019, there were 14,000 asylum seekers. The reason is tighter European border controls. This year, the coronavirus pandemic has reduced the flow of migrants everywhere.
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Asylum seeker requests in Switzerland hit 12-year low
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Most asylum seekers (2,899) came from Eritrea, with Afghanistan (1,397), Turkey (1,287) and Syria (1,100) also featuring prominently among applicants. In March of last year, Switzerland introduced new laws dealing with asylum seekers, speeding up the majority of requests from 400 days to 140 days. Most of the simpler asylum cases are now dealt with…
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The Council of Europe has recommended that Switzerland grant legal resident status to those who cannot return to their country after six years.
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The Swiss asylum policy was streamlined in last March to accelerate the procedure, but critics have raised serious objections.
Aiding illegal immigrants remains a crime in Switzerland
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