Swiss parliament debates family reunification for rejected refugees
National Council does not want family reunification for temporarily admitted persons
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss parliament debates family reunification for rejected refugees
“Provisionally admitted foreigners” should no longer be allowed to bring family members to Switzerland, the House of Representatives said on Tuesday. The issue will now be debated in the Senate.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Nationalrat will keinen Familiennachzug für vorläufig Aufgenommene
Original
The decision regarding temporarily admitted persons – the status refers to rejected asylum seekersExternal link who cannot return to their home country for some reason – was taken during an extraordinary session on the subject of asylum.
The motion, proposed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, was accepted by 105 votes to 74, with nine abstentions. The government had argued against the idea, recalling Swiss obligations to the fundamental right to respect for family life.
Temporarily admitted persons have no right to asylum in Switzerland and their stay in the country should therefore be short, said People’s Party spokesman Thomas Knutti. If their family were allowed to join, they would “never leave Switzerland again”, he claimed – the country is “simply too attractive”.
Justice Minister Beat Jans argued that the motion would have little effect: the right to family life is enshrined in the Swiss constitution and has been repeatedly recognised by the Federal Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The hurdles for family reunification for such people are in any case already high, he added.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dos
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Thailand and Indonesia attract Swiss tourists 20 years after tsunami
This content was published on
Twenty years after a catastrophic tsunami in Southeast Asia, the region is again a top destination for Swiss, including at Christmas.
Swiss forests better equipped for storms 25 years after Lothar
This content was published on
Twenty-five years after Hurricane Lothar wreaked havoc in Switzerland, the country’s forests are better prepared, experts say.
Media: Swiss medical services done abroad are billed at Swiss rates
This content was published on
In Switzerland, some medical services carried out abroad are still billed at Swiss rates, despite costing less, RTS reports.
This content was published on
Sophie Hediger, a member of the Swiss national snowboard cross team, has died in an avalanche in Arosa. She was 26 years old.
This content was published on
Several Swiss films exceeded the 100,000 admissions mark worldwide in 2024 and received widespread praise at international film festivals.
Swiss Alpine resorts covered in white gold for Christmas
This content was published on
Many areas at low altitudes in Switzerland are enjoying a blanket of snow. In the mountains, intense precipitation has delighted skiers.
SWISS makes emergency landing in Austria after smoke in cockpit
This content was published on
Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) made an emergency landing of an Airbus in Graz, Austria on Monday evening after engine problems.
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.