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SOCIAL BENEFITS

EXPLAINED: How applying for social benefits could see your Swiss work permit cancelled

Foreigners who receive welfare assistance in Switzerland have fuelled public discourse for many years, and are often depicted as “abusers” of the system. This is what you should know about the current rules.

Published: 26 July 2021 15:25 CEST
EXPLAINED: How applying for social benefits could see your Swiss work permit cancelled
In many cases, you must choose: social aid or residency permit. Photo by Claudio Schwarz / Unsplash

Unfortunately for many residency permit holders, there are a number of ways in which this permit can be cancelled for certain activity. 

This includes providing false information in an official capacity, committing crimes and threatening public order. 

This also includes applying for social assistance. 

Switzerland wants immigrants to be self sufficient, meaning that asking for state assistance could be an indication you will continue to do so down the line. 

The Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) provides for the possibility of downgrading or revoking the permit of a person receiving social assistance.

This means authorities may decide to downgrade permanent residence permits to temporary ones, or withdraw them altogether, if someone has applied for benefits.

The revision of FNIA in 2019 extended the consequences of social assistance even to C permit holders, meaning that sweeping rights and protections normally conferred by this particular permit in relation to long-term permanent residence could be nullified.

This would impact not only third country nationals, but also EU/EFTA citizens living in Switzerland.

To avoid these potentially tough consequences, many foreign nationals abstain from seeking financial help.

A study from Zurich’s University of Applied Sciences showed that during the shutdown in 2020, foreigners were afraid to claim social benefits due to the risk of losing their residence permit.

And RTS public broadcaster also reports that “an increasing number of foreign nationals refrain from requesting social assistance for fear of losing the right to remain in Switzerland”.

There are no official numbers on how many people actually lost their permits after applying for welfare, but the risk is definitely there.

READ MORE: ‘A feeling of belonging’: What it’s like to become Swiss

Do immigrants apply for social benefits in Switzerland? 

The rightwing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) often refers in derogatory terms to immigrants who claim welfare benefits as soon as they set foot on Swiss soil.

This stance has sparked a number of anti-foreigner referendums that the party has launched over the years.

Official data doesn’t support this stereotype of money-grabbing immigrants, but figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) indicate that most social aid in Switzerland does go to foreign nationals.

No distinction is made, however, regarding the status of the welfare recipients — whether they are refugees, asylum seekers, or permit holders.

It is important to note that this chart is from 2019 — the latest statistics available to date. They don’t reflect the higher number of people  who sought financial assistance during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

In fact, Switzerland has adopted a tough attitude toward immigrants who receive social assistance: for instance, they are excluded from applying for Swiss citizenship if they had been on welfare in the three years prior to their application.

An exception is made if the benefits are paid back in full.

READ MORE: How do the Swiss really feel about foreigners?

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For members

LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

In Switzerland, like in other countries, people sometimes lose their belongings in various places. Many ultimately find their way to their rightful owner.

Published: 19 April 2024 12:10 CEST
Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

Unlike socks that disappear in the wash, never to see the light of day again (which is a global, rather than just Swiss phenomenon), many lost items often do reappear. 

The bigger the item is, the more chance there is of it being found.

But even smaller objects like keys are often returned to their owners — it all depends on who finds them and to what lengths these people are willing to go to ensure that lost items are returned to their owners.

(Human nature being what is it is, you have more chances of being reunited your keys than with your jewellery or a wallet that still has all its contents inside).

But you may be surprised to learn that cases of exemplary honesty still exist.

One such example, in 2022, involved an envelope containing 20,000 francs found lying on a sidewalk by passersby and returned to the man who dropped it while getting into his car. 

What are some of the more unusual things people leave behind?

Each year, Uber Switzerland publishes a list of things that passengers forget in cars. 

This year, among purses, cell phones, laptop computers, umbrellas, and pieces of jewellery, drivers found in the back seats items including a purple wig, carnival mask, coffee machine, and a spatula for crêpes.

The items found on trains are even stranger. 

They include, according to the national railway company SBB, taxidermy animals, an authentic samurai sword, and a prosthetic leg (it’s not clear whether this was a spare or whether the passenger had to hop off the train).

Where should you look for the items you lose in Switzerland?

It depends on where you think, or know, you left your belongings.

Public transport

If it’s on the train, file a lost property report here. 

For the PostBus, it’s here. 

Additionally, public transport companies in your community have their own ‘lost and found’ offices, as do local police stations.

Airports

Zurich 
Geneva 
Basel 

Additionally, to maximise your chances of being reunited with your lost property, report it here.

Through this site, you can also check whether your lost item has been found and handed in at one of the offices.

If your lost item is found, must you pay a ‘finder’s fee’?

Yes, Swiss legislation says so.

No exact amounts are specified, but “the reward should be appropriate in relation to the find,” according to Moneyland consumer platform.

In principle, “a finder’s fee equal to 10 percent of the amount returned to the owner is considered an appropriate reward.” 

Also, if the process of finding out who the lost object belongs to and returning it to you generates extra expenses for the finder (such as train fare or other travel costs, for example), you have to reimburse these expenses in addition to the reward.

(By the same token, if you find and return someone else’s belongings, you can expect the same compensation).

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