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Switzerland to stop foreign domestic violence victims losing residence permits

Both chambers of Switzerland’s parliament agree that a new law needs to be created to prevent foreign women who are abused by their partners from losing their residency permits.

Published: 29 February 2024 13:16 CET
Switzerland to stop foreign domestic violence victims losing residence permits
Foreign women will be better protected against domestic abuse. Image by Diana Cibotari from Pixabay

Domestic abuse is a growing problem in Switzerland: statistics show that in 2022 (the latest available data), nearly 20,000 domestic offences were registered by the police — an increase of 3.3 percent (637 cases) in comparison to the previous year. 

Women aged 26 to 45 are most often affected, according to a study carried out on behalf of the Women’s Solidarity Federation.

The true numbers, however, are likely much higher because many incidents are not reported.

Foreign women were victims at a rate of 36 per 10,000 — double the number of their Swiss counterparts.

But many women of foreign nationality don’t report these incidents to Swiss authorities because they are afraid of losing their residence permit in the event of separation from their spouses.

“If one has to fear losing their right of residence following an abuse report, then one remains in such a relationship,” said MP Marianne Binder-Keller, one of the deputies who spearheaded the move.

“This is all the more the case for foreign populations who are even more excluded due to the language barrier,” added another MP, Mathilde Crevoisier Crelier.

This is what the MPs are pushing for

The new regulations will benefit not only victims who live with Swiss citizens or who have a C permit (as is the case currently), but also include those who currently fall through the cracks – that is, women who have a short-term residence permit (L) and those admitted on provisional basis (F permit).

The goal is not to exclude any victim, based solely on their status in Switzerland.

Opposition to the move

A minority of MPs, led by the right-wingers, are opposed to any relaxation of the law.

“We are opening an extremely dangerous door since we may find ourselves in the situation in which a person has to leave our country, and there is a spontaneous announcement that there has been domestic violence,” launched one deputy, Mauro Poggia.

Most MPs, however, vow to get the new law off the ground, though the National Council must first smooth out some discrepancies.
 
 

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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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