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According to Swiss law, an asylum application can be lodged at a federal asylum centre with processing facilities,[1] an open border crossing, or a border control point at an international airport in Switzerland. An application must be lodged either at the Swiss border or on Swiss territory.[2] Any statement from a person indicating that they are seeking protection from persecution is considered as an application for asylum.[3] If the asylum application is made in front of an authority which is not responsible, the person must be referred to the authority responsible in bona fides. If a person requests asylum at the border or following detention for illegal entry in the vicinity of the border or within Switzerland, the competent authorities shall normally assign them to a federal asylum centre. The competent authority establishes their personal data, informs the closest federal asylum centre and issues a transit permit. The person has to present themself at that centre during the following working day.[4]
No specific time limits are laid down in law for asylum applicants to lodge their application, and persons are not excluded from the asylum procedure because they did not apply for asylum immediately or within a certain time limit after entering Switzerland. However, if the application is not lodged soon after the entry, authorities may demand a reasonable justification for the delay. If there is no justification and the person has no legal right to stay, a procedure regarding the illegal stay might be opened.
In February 2024, Federal Council Beat Jans announced that it would only be possible to submit asylum applications during the week.[5] The stated reason for this measure was to prevent individuals from being accommodated in asylum centres over the weekend and then leaving before their fingerprints could be taken on Monday. However, vulnerable asylum applicants, such as women traveling alone, families, unaccompanied minors, the ill, and the elderly, are still admitted on weekends. The measure was ultimately not implemented.[6]
Children under 14 years joining their parents in Switzerland do not have to lodge an application in a federal asylum centre. The cantonal authority (of the canton where the parents live) directly issues them an “N permit” (which certifies that an asylum application has been lodged and allows the applicant to remain in Switzerland until the end of the asylum procedure), after having confiscated the travel and identity papers. The cantonal authority then informs the SEM about the asylum application.[7]
If a person is in detention (criminal or administrative), it is also the cantonal authority (from the canton that has ordered the detention or the execution of a sentence) which accepts the asylum application (the same procedure applies to status S applicants). The cantonal authority establishes the personal data of the person concerned, takes pictures, confiscates the travel and identity papers and takes the fingerprints if necessary. The cantonal authority then informs the SEM about the asylum application. In case the applicant is released, they are issued an N permit by the cantonal authority.[8] Asylum applicants in detention also have a right to free legal aid which covers counselling and representation in connection with the Dublin, asylum and readmission procedures.[9]
The legal advice centre of the canton who ordered the detention of the asylum applicant, and that is mandated by the SEM, must be involved in all decision-relevant steps in the first instance proceedings (in particular, conducting hearings on the grounds for asylum, granting the right to be heard and submitting submissions that contribute significantly to establishing the facts of the case). This also applies to Dublin proceedings and readmission proceedings. The organisation of counselling interviews and interpretation costs fall under the responsibility of the legal advice centres. Such counselling sessions must take place outside the hearing of the asylum applicant organised by the SEM.
The deadlines for the accelerated procedure do not apply. When scheduling hearings, the SEM considers the availability of the legal advice centres “as far as possible”, meaning that hearings may also take place even if the legal council is not able to attend, which is criticised by the legal advice centres and the SRC. The SEM does not submit a draft decision in the case of asylum procedures in detention. The opening of the decision and the possible preparation of an appeal are not considered as decision-relevant steps, which is highly criticised by the legal advice centres and the SRC. If the SEM does not receive a signed power of attorney granting a representation mandate to the legal advice centre, the decision is opened to the asylum applicant.
Asylum applications from detention are given priority by the SEM. As far as possible, the decision shall be taken before the release from detention (Dublin procedure or national procedure). As soon as the SEM receives an asylum application from detention, it sends the applicant a letter informing them of their entitlement to free legal protection. The letter also states that legal protection is guaranteed by the legal advice centre of the canton that ordered the detention. In addition, the asylum-seeking person is informed of the possibility of waiving legal protection. If they do not receive a message from the asylum applicant within five days, the SEM assumes that they wish to make use of the legal protection. If the asylum applicant expressly waives the right to free legal protection by signing the declaration attached to the above-mentioned letter, the SEM will notify the legal advice centre concerned in writing that their legal protection mandate is ending. The signed declaration of waiver is attached to this letter. In the event of a short period of detention (less than one month), the SEM shall request the asylum applicant to return to the competent federal asylum centre after their release from detention. There they are entitled to assistance from the free legal protection in the centres (pursuant to Article 102f et seq. AsylA). Once informed, it is up to the asylum applicant and the legal advice centre to get in contact with each other and to sign a power of attorney.
84 asylum applications were lodged from people in detention in 2024.[10]
If an application is lodged at a border control point at an international airport, the competent cantonal authority establishes the personal data of the concerned person and takes a picture, as well as fingerprints to check possible matches in the automatic fingerprint identification system (AFIS) or Eurodac. The SEM is immediately informed about the application. The applicant will be channelled through the airport procedure (see Border Procedure),[11] which also provides access to free counselling and legal representation.[12]
[1] The centres with processing facilities are located in Zurich, Bern, Basel, Boudry, Chiasso and Altstätten. They are run by the SEM. A list of the federal asylum centres with their address and contact data is available here.
[2] Article 19 AsylA. The Swiss Parliament abolished the possibility to lodge asylum applications at Swiss representations abroad from 29 September 2012 onwards (see Parliament, Objets parlementaires, 10.052 Loi sur l’asile: Modification, available (in French, German and Italian) here.
[3] Article 18 AsylA.
[4] Articles 19 and 21 AsylA; Article 8(1)-(2) AO1.
[5] Media release of the 20 February 2024, available in French, German and Italian. The SRC criticised the measure: SRC, media release of 21 February 2024, SFH lehnt geplante Verschärfungen kategorisch ab, available in German.
[7] Article 8(4) AO1; Directive III Field of Asylum, Das Asylverfahren, para 1.1.1.3.
[8] Article 8(3) AO1; Directive III Field of Asylum, Das Asylverfahren, para 1.1.1.4.
[9] According to SEM, this shall also apply to persons seeking temporary protection («status S»). Further, this procedure only applies to first asylum applications, not to subsequent applications or re-examination requests.
[10] Information provided by the SEM, May 2025.
[11] Article 22 following AsylA.
[12] Article 22(3bis) AsylA.