Immigration to Switzerland has been declining since 2014 with this trend continuing in 2017. According to national statistics, about 138 000 persons immigrated to Switzerland on a permanent basis – including 25 200 status changes. Immigration declined about 4% in comparison with 2016, although per-capita immigration remains high in international comparison. With emigration showing a slight increase, net migration declined markedly, by 12%. At around 100 000, free-mobility from the EU continues to account for the vast majority of permanent immigration. However the decline in immigration as well as the increase in emigration was more marked than for non-EU countries. At 47%, labour migration – the vast majority of the free mobility kind – accounted for almost half of the inflow, followed by family migration (31%). Germans continued to comprise the main nationality of new immigration (20 000, -1 200 from 2016), followed by Italians at 15 500 (-2 700 from 2016) as well as about 14 000 French (+300 from 2016). Germans were by far the most important nationality for emigration (14 500), with net migration of Germans at about 4 500.
In 2017, Switzerland received a little more than 18 000 asylum requests, a third less than in 2016 and the lowest level since 2010. However, on a per capita basis this is still well above the OECD average. The most prevalent nationality continued to be Eritreans, at about 3 400, in spite of a significant decline from 2016 (5 200). Other main nationalities were Syrians (2 000 requests), Afghans (1 200, less than half the 2016 figure) and Turks (900).
New asylum legislation is currently being prepared, with the objective of accelerating asylum procedures to conclude most decisions within 140 days. To this end, asylum seekers have to reside in special, newly-created federal asylum centres. In exchange for accelerated procedures, asylum seekers will obtain legal counsel to ensure that their rights are not jeopardised. The new procedure is expected to enter into force in 2019. An evaluation of a pilot in Zurich suggested quicker procedures, fewer complaints and higher returns to the origin countries.
In December 2017, the Federal government decided on the details of the implementation of a 2016 law that aimed at responding to a popular vote to limit free mobility, while maintaining the corresponding agreements with the EU and its member countries. As of July 2018, vacancies must be communicated to the public employment service if they concern occupations with an average unemployment rate of 8% or higher. In addition, for a period of five days, information about such vacancies will be exclusively available to the employment service and its clients.
As a further measure to limit inflows, in May 2017 Switzerland introduced temporary limitations with respect to the labour migration of nationals from Bulgaria and Romania. This is in line with provisions in its agreements with the EU and its member states which allow for such measures in a transition phase. This measure can be extended to another year.
Integration continues to be high on the policy agenda. This is reflected in several ongoing changes in the integration framework and in the planned change of the name of the current “law on foreigners” into “law on foreigners and integration” as of mid-2018. Other changes underway are several clarifications with respect to the required level of language knowledge for certain permits, and the grounds for making the fulfilment of an integration contract obligatory. The corresponding sanctions for non-compliance, such as a less stable permit, are also concretised. Several changes in the integration framework concern humanitarian migrants. On 1 January 2018, a special tax of 10% on wages that previously applied for asylum seekers and temporarily admitted persons was abolished and, as of July 2018, employable refugees and temporarily admitted persons under social assistance who are seeking a job will be automatically registered with the public employment service to improve their access to labour market integration measures. What is more, the current permission procedure for employment of both recognised refugees and temporarily admitted persons is to be replaced by an obligation to register such employment.
A new citizenship law entered into force in January 2018. It contains, among other changes, a reduction of duration of residency requirements from 12 years – one of the highest in the OECD – to 10 years. In exchange, eligibility criteria have been tightened with respect to the requirements to prove good integration into Swiss society and to have previously held a permanent resident permit. While Switzerland does not have birth right citizenship, from mid-February 2018 third-generation young foreigners who were born in Switzerland – as well as their parents – can benefit from a facilitated procedure for naturalisation.
