A painting by children staying at the Pasture asylum centre in Balerna in southern Switzerland, October 2, 2020.
Keystone / Francesca Agosta
The number of asylum requests in Switzerland this year is due to surpass the pre-Covid level, the authorities say. Further increases are expected in the coming years.
This content was published on
1 minute
SRF/sb
Last year, asylum requests fell by almost a quarter to 11,041 owing to the pandemic and border restrictions. In 2019 there were 14,269 requests.
As border controls are eased, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) expects the number of applications to rise to around 15,000 in 2021, and for further increases over the next few years.
“We can’t give any specific figures yet, but we expect an increase in applications,” Lukas Rieder, SEM spokesperson, told Swiss public television, SRF, on Wednesday.
Over the past 12 months requests have mainly come from people from Afghanistan, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Iraq and Syria. The SEM now expects a rise in applications, especially from North and West African countries.
The SEM says financial pressures related to the pandemic are pushing many Africans to emigrate. As soon as Covid-19 measures are further lifted in countries of origin and along migration routes, there will be an increase in migration to Europe, especially from 2022 onwards, it told SRF.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
Why cars still reign supreme in ‘rail-nation’ Switzerland
Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather
This content was published on
The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.
Compensation for Syrian after pregnant wife denied help on Swiss train
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Court has partially upheld the appeal of a Syrian family being deported from Switzerland to Italy in 2014. The man now also receives compensation.
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall in Switzerland causes traffic chaos and accidents
This content was published on
The heavy snowfall late on Thursday and during the night into Friday led to traffic chaos and many accidents in many regions of Switzerland.
Chimpanzee behaviours passed down through generations
This content was published on
Some of the complex behaviours of chimpanzees have been passed down and refined over generations. These include the combination of several tools for foraging.
More than 600,000 rounds of Swiss sniper ammunition reach Ukraine
This content was published on
Sniper ammunition from Swiss P Defence reached Ukraine via a Polish company in July 2023, reported SRF Investigativ on Thursday, citing official information.
Switzerland launches national digital inclusion alliance
This content was published on
The Swiss government launched the Swiss Digital Inclusion Alliance on Thursday with the goal of giving as many people as possible access to digital services.
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
Covid-19 pandemic leads to 23% drop in asylum requests
This content was published on
The number of asylum requests in Switzerland fell by almost a quarter (23%) to 11,041 people last year, according to annual statistics.
This content was published on
The head of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Mario Gattiker, told the newspaper BlickExternal link on Monday that the drop in applications had saved his office CHF160 million ($181 million) last year. Many countries, including Switzerland, shut down or tightened their borders in 2020 to try and contain the spread of the virus. Transport…
Asylum seeker requests in Switzerland hit 12-year low
This content was published on
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…
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.