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IMMIGRATION

Switzerland rejects move to ease family reunification rules for naturalised Swiss citizens

The Council of States has weighed in on a bill which focused on whether naturalised or dual Swiss citizens could bring their foreign relatives from third countries to live in Switzerland. But deputies have not approved this measure.

Published: 10 September 2024 13:57 CEST
Switzerland rejects move to ease family reunification rules for naturalised Swiss citizens
MPs worry about the repercussions of allowing elderly arrivals from third countries to settle in Switzerland. Image by Nolo Laminaatti from Pixabay

With this proposed move, Swiss citizens who have become naturalised would be able to bring over their parents from a third country, provided they have sufficient financial means to live in Switzerland without resorting to social aid or seek employment, have suitable accommodation, and integrate.

The goal of the project also aimed to eliminate the discrimination suffered by the Swiss citizens compared to their EU/EFTA counterparts regarding the admission of foreign members of their family from third countries within the framework of family reunification.

As it stands now, Swiss citizens may apply for an entry permit for their non-EU/EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) spouse or registered partner, as well as for their children under the age of 18, but they can’t bring their parents to live in Switzerland.

This concerns mostly the naturalised (often dual national) Swiss citizens who may want to have their third-country parents live with them in Switzerland.

Family reunification conditions are less strict for family members of Swiss citizens from EU/EFTA states — they are allowed to bring their spouse or registered partner, any children and grandchildren under the age of 18, as well as their dependent parents and grandparents.

EU/EFTA citizens living in Switzerland have the same family reunification rights as the Swiss in terms of their (EU/EFTA) relatives they can bring to Switzerland, which includes parents.

READ ALSO: How can foreign nationals bring their family members to Switzerland? 

Now, however, this will not come about.

Unknown consequences

For the Council of States deputies, parents of Swiss nationals who live outside the EU / EFTA, will not benefit from facilitated family reunification.

MPs noted that the number of additional people who would arrive in Switzerland under this measure could not be estimated, nor could the costs that this would generate for the country’s  social security scheme.

The proposal was earlier debated in the National Council, where the narrow majority of deputies vetoed the easing of the family reunification rules, qualifying them as “unpredictable and unnecessary,” especially in terms of potentially increased immigration from third countries — which has been subject to a number restrictions.

“Therefore, adopting the project without any certainty on this point would amount to taking a leap into the unknown, which is not politically defensible.”

Deputies explained their decision not to discuss the matter further by saying that “it can’t be ruled out that this change in law could generate an unpredictable flow of new arrivals in Switzerland” — which is fuelling concerns in some quarters that Switzerland is on it is on its way, due to the influx of foreigners in recent years, to becoming a country if 10 million residents.

This parliamentary decision comes at a time when the majority of Switzerland’s residents are worried about the effect that growing immigration will have on their small country.

READ ALSO: What worries the Swiss the most about rise in foreign arrivals 

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IMMIGRATION

‘You’ve made Switzerland a sh*thole’: Foreign residents targeted by xenophobic leaflet

An anti-foreigner flyer has been sent to the homes of a number of international residents in Switzerland (and even Swiss citizens with foreign names) telling them they should leave and that they have "turned the country into a shithole".

Published: 12 September 2024 16:33 CEST
'You've made Switzerland a sh*thole': Foreign residents targeted by xenophobic leaflet

Written in English, the text reads in part: “Foreigners, you are illegal…in 2014, the Swiss voted in a referendum to stop mass immigration from the EU, but are being unconstitutionally ignored by the government because of pressure from employers and economy lobbyists!”

It also includes spiteful comments about the impact foreign nationals have had on the country which read: “You’ve turned our beautiful country into a foreigner-infested, over-populated, over-priced and culturally-estranged shit hole.”

What is striking is that the flyer is only aimed at immigrants from the EU and EFTA states (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) — evidenced by pictures of flags of Germany, France, Italy, Spain Portugal, Poland and the Czech Republic —  rather than refugees or asylum seekers.

The leaflet also warns that if foreigners don’t leave Switzerland, riots will break out in 2025.

It was posted to people’s homes but there were also unconfirmed reports that some foreigners received one at their work address.

The author’s identity remains unknown but the name “Eidg. Widerstand 78p” is printed in small lettering on the edge of the leaflet.

Experts say it is highly unlikely that the right-wing Swiss People Party (SVP) has anything to do with it.

That’s because the party does not act anonymously, and all its campaign literature is printed in one of the country’s three official languages — not in English.

And the virulent language in the pamphlet is too extremist even for the SVP.

Radicalisation researcher Dirk Baier has pointed a finger at another group, Junge Tat, the dominant organisation on Switzerland’s right-wing extremist scene.

“The fact that Junge Tat does not reveal its identity is part of its strategy,” he said.

The group in question has, however, denied any part in writing or circulating the flyers.

But it has not distanced itself from the pamphlet’s message.

“The demand for retroactive implementation of the mass immigration initiative is fair and democratic – not racist,”  they said.

What should you do if you receive the flyer?

If you are in Switzerland legally, regardless of the country you come from, you should ignore this missive, even if its contents are disturbing.

You can, if you wish, bring it to your local police precinct, but unless there are many complaints from numerous other recipients, law enforcement may not do anything about it.

In recent months a number of anti-foreigner proposals have been put forward in Switzerland aimed at limiting immigration. From an immigration or residence tax for foreigners to a ban on dual-national lawmakers, the proposals are controversial but some have wide backing.

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