|Published on: 16th July 2026|Categories: News|
The updated AIDA Country Report on Switzerland provides a detailed overview on legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2025. It is accompanied by an annex which provides an overview of temporary protection (‘Status S’).
A number of key developments drawn from the overview of the main changes that have taken place since the publication of the update on 2024 are set out below.
(A) International Protection
Asylum Procedure
- Statistics: 25,781 people applied for asylum in Switzerland in 2025 (27,740 in 2024). The overall protection rate was 38% and the in-merit protection rate was 57%.
- Asylum Strategy 2027: As part of the Asylum Strategy for 2027, the Federal Council (Government), cantons, municipalities and cities jointly called for faster asylum procedures, quicker reduction of backlogs, greater resilience to fluctuations and a more binding approach to integration as well as legal adjustments in the area of security.
- EU Pact on Asylum and Migration: A federal resolution on the approval and implementation of an exchange of notes with the EU concerning the adoption of the EU Asylum and Migration Management Regulation and the EU Crisis Regulation was published in October 2025.
- Early dismissal of asylum applications: The early dismissal of asylum applications for failure to appear for fingerprinting was extended from the 24-hour procedure to all asylum procedures in summer 2025.
- Access to mobile data for identification purposes: Since April 2025, immigration authorities have been permitted to access applicants’ mobile data in order to verify their identity, nationality or travel routes.
- Resettlement: In April 2025, the Federal Council announced that the resettlement programme would be extended until the end of 2027. However, it committed to accepting only half of the originally planned 800 people per year. Only 49 people were granted entry in 2025.
- Country-specific policies and case law:
- Afghanistan: Since April 2025, the return of non-vulnerable men to Afghanistan may be considered reasonable if they are over the age of 18, in good health, residing in Switzerland without a family and have a stable and sustainable network of relationships in Afghanistan that can support their reintegration.
- Iran: In January 2026, the Swiss Asylum Authority (SEM) halted negative decisions and suspended the enforcement of removals regarding Iranian nationals. However, in March 2026, the SEM suspended all asylum decisions for Iranian nationals.
- Syria: A freeze on Syrian asylum cases that had been introduced in December 2024 was partially lifted in September 2025 for vulnerable people without relevant asylum claims and people who had committed serious crimes in Switzerland or posed a security threat. In May 2026, after a 16-month suspension, the SEM resumed the processing of all Syrian asylum applications.
- Greece: A 2025 judgment by the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) amended the practice regarding families with children with international protection in Greece. Recognising that the situation remained challenging for them, particularly regarding housing, the FAC required that this had to be taken into account when assessing the presumption of lawfulness and reasonableness of removal and the risk of the family facing an inhumane situation upon removal.
Reception conditions
- Asylum centres: In June 2025, a former hotel in Zurich was opened as a centre for especially vulnerable asylum applicants. In July 2025, the SEM announced that it would open three temporary centres in military facilities to handle the expected seasonal rise in asylum applications. In September 2025, the SEM reopened the underground federal asylum centre in Steckborn. The centre in Les Verrières was closed in November 2025.
- Pilot project: In December 2025, the SEM announced that it would start testing a new accommodation concept in a pilot project in federal asylum centres. Asylum applicants whose behaviour disrupted operations would be housed in a separate area within the centres on a trial basis.
- External Reporting Office: A pilot project which was undertaken 2022-2024 confirmed the need for a central, independent external reporting mechanism to enable asylum applicants and staff to report violence and fundamental rights violations in asylum centres. It recommended the creation of a nationwide, independent structure (ideally separate from the SEM), improved accessibility and communication, and rapid implementation to prevent and address abuses effectively. The ‘External Reporting Office’ is scheduled to become operational in autumn 2026.
- Living conditions of children: The accommodation of both accompanied and unaccompanied children in federal and cantonal reception centres remained challenging throughout 2025.
Content of international protection
- Statistics: Asylum status and ‘B-permits’ were granted to 7,382 people in 2025. 4,589 people were issued with temporary admissions as recognised foreigners and 416 people received temporary admission under refugee status. 5,842 temporary admissions were ceased and asylum was withdrawn in 173 cases.
- Employment: The INVOL/INVOL+ pre-apprenticeship programme was extended to 2027.
- Education: A joint four-year pilot project between the SEM and Swiss universities aimed at actively facilitating access to higher education for refugees and temporarily admitted individuals was established in 2025.
(B) Temporary Protection (‘Status S’)
- Statistics: 12,071 people applied for temporary protection (‘Status S’) in 2025 and 8,319 received it.
- Prolongation of Status S: In October 2025, Status S for people fleeing the war in Ukraine was extended until March 2027.
- Restriction of the scope of Status S: In June 2025, eligibility for Status S was restricted to people fleeing certain areas of Ukraine. The SEM identified seven regions in western Ukraine to which return is deemed reasonable: Volyn, Rivne, Lviv, Ternopil, Transcarpathia, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi.
- Temporary returns to Ukraine: In June 2025, the Federal Council announced that returns to Ukraine would only be allowed for 15 days per half year.
The full report is available here and the annex on temporary protection (‘Status S’) is available here.
For more information about the AIDA database or to read other AIDA reports, please visit the AIDA website.
