Author
Refugees with asylum (status B)
Recognised refugees with asylum receive a residence permit called B-permit.[1] This permit is issued for a year and then prolonged every year (as long as there is no reason for terminating the refugee status) by the responsible canton. Recognised refugees with asylum have a right to have this permit issued and prolonged. If there are reasons to withdraw the refugee status, the right to have the permit issued and prolonged is withdrawn. In 2022, asylum status and B-permits were granted to 4,816 persons,[2] including those afforded in cases of family asylum.[3] On 31 December 2022, there were a total of 56,941 recognised refugees with a B-permit in Switzerland.[4]
Temporary admission (status F)
Persons granted temporary admission receive an F-permit.[5] Technically this is not considered a real permit of stay, but rather the confirmation that a deportation order cannot be carried out and that the person is allowed to stay in Switzerland as long as this is the case. The concept of temporary admission is legally designed as a replacement measure for a deportation order that cannot be carried out because of international law obligations, humanitarian reasons or practical obstacles. This means that there is a negative decision, but the execution of this decision is stayed for the duration of the legal or humanitarian obstacles. Consequently, the F-permit has a number of relevant limitations: for example, persons with an F-permit are only allowed to travel outside Switzerland in exceptional cases, under restrictive and limited circumstances. Also, family reunification is only possible after a waiting period of 3 years, and under the condition that the person is financially independent and has a large enough apartment. The F-permit is issued for one year and then prolonged every year by the responsible canton, unless there are reasons to end the temporary admission. The Swiss Refugee Council is advocating for the replacement of the temporary admission with a “positive” status.[6]
In 2022, 4,689 persons were granted a temporary admission as a foreigner.[7] On 31 December 2022, there were a total of 35,829 persons with a temporary admission as a foreigner living in Switzerland. Out of these, 18,699 persons have had this status for more than seven years.[8]
There are also persons who have a refugee status but receive only temporary admission instead of asylum (in case of exclusion grounds from asylum, as Switzerland makes the distinction between refugee status and asylum). They receive the same F-permit as other foreigners with temporary admission (with the mention “refugee”), but in addition they have the right to a refugee travel document, and all the other rights granted by the Refugee Convention. In 2022, 547 persons were granted a temporary admission as a refugee. [9] On 31 December 2022, there were a total of 8,950 persons with a temporary admission as a refugee living in Switzerland. Out of these, 6,093 persons have had this status for more than seven years.[10]
The Swiss Refugee Council is not aware of systematic difficulties in the issuance or renewal of those residence permits.
Temporary protection (status S)
Swiss asylum law provides the possibility to grant temporary protection (“protection provisoire”, “S permit”) to persons in need of protection during a period of serious general danger, in particular during a war or civil war as well as in situations of general violence (Articles 66-79a AsylA). This instrument – introduced in the aftermath of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia – should enable the Swiss authorities to react in an appropriate, quick and pragmatic manner to situations of mass exodus. It was activated for the first time in the context of the war in Ukraine by the Federal Council on 11 March 2022. For further information, see annex on Status S.
[1] Article 60(1) AsylA.
[2] SEM, asylum statistics (7-40), available at: https://bit.ly/418U0Yk.
[3] This refers to persons who have been granted asylum on a derivative ground, particularly members of the nuclear family who are not entitled to their own grounds for asylum.
[4] SEM, asylum statistics (6-23), available at: https://bit.ly/44rdaeN.
[5] Article 41(2) and Article 85(1) FNIA.
[6] See Swiss Refugee Council, Nouveau statut de protection au lieu de l’admission provisoire, 22 May 2022, available in French (and German) at : https://bit.ly/3Hl2PYo.
[7] SEM, asylum statistics (7-40), available at: https://bit.ly/418U0Yk.
[8] SEM, asylum statistics (6-10), available at: https://bit.ly/44rdaeN.
[9] SEM, asylum statistics (7-40), available at: https://bit.ly/418U0Yk.
[10] SEM, asylum statistics (6-10), available at: https://bit.ly/44rdaeN.