Author
| Name in English | Number of staff | Ministry responsible | Is there any political interference possible by the responsible Minister with the decision making in individual cases by the determining authority? |
| State Secretariat for Migration
(Asylum Department) |
900 | Federal Department of Justice and Police | No |
The SEM is responsible for examining applications for international protection and competent to take decisions at first instance. It falls under the responsibility of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. The guidelines and circulars of the SEM relating to the asylum procedure are publicly accessible and can be consulted online.[1]
The SEM employs 1,610 officials, who work not only on asylum but also other areas in the field of migration such as immigration or integration. Out of them, 900 officials worked in the Asylum Department as of December 2024. 25 officials work in the COI department, 10 officials in the LINGUA department. The number of caseworkers examining applications for international protection in the six asylum regions is 320. In the headquarters in Bern, 76 officials work in the field of asylum procedures, 21 officials in the field of the Dublin regulation. Every single asylum decision is double checked by the head of unit or their deputy. There is also a Quality Management team at the main offices in Bern, but they only check a representative selection of decisions in order to improve the processes and contents of decisions, and the results of such monitoring are not public.[2]
| Where? | SEM | Asylum Department |
| Bern (Headquarter) | 1,008 | 338 |
| Federal Asylum Centre Bern | 79 | 76 |
| Federal Asylum Centre Altstätten | 81 | 78 |
| Federal Asylum Centre Basel | 92 | 87 |
| Federal Asylum Centre Boudry | 151 | 145 |
| Federal Asylum Centre Chiasso | 81 | 76 |
| Federal Asylum Centre Zurich | 106 | 100 |
| Airport Zurich | 9 | 0 |
| Airport Geneva | 3 | 0 |
Source: Data provided by the SEM, March 2025
[1] SEM, Guidelines and circulars, available in French (and German and Italian) here. A Handbook on Asylum and Return for SEM employees providing useful information on Swiss law and practice is also available online in French (and German) here.
[2] Data provided by the SEM, March 2025.