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Zurich, Basel to unveil identity cards for undocumented people

Authorities in the Swiss cantons of Zurich and Basel City have announced plans to roll out a specialised identity card, which can be used by undocumented people.

Published: 17 May 2022 16:51 CEST

A clocktower in the Swiss city of Zurich. Image: Pixabay

A clocktower in the Swiss city of Zurich. Image: Pixabay

Voters in Zurich approved the move on Sunday, which required a loan of 3.2 million euros.

The decision to approve the card was narrow, with only 51.7 percent of people approving the card.

The card will confirm the person’s identity and place of residence, however it will not contain any information about origin and residency status.

The card had widespread support from all major Swiss political parties other than the right-wing SVP, which called it “worthless” and “illegal”.

In addition to making life safer for Zurich’s undocumented immigrants, the card will allow them to access a wide range of services, including council services, thereby promoting integration.

The card also makes things easier on an administrative basis for Zurich authorities.

“The Züri City Card combines previous cards on one ID card (e.g. Badi-Abo, Theaterpass), creates secure access to online services and saves costs for the authorities.”

EXPLAINED: How Zurich has simplified the Swiss citizenship process

There will however be a delay with the new card. It is not expected to be rolled out for five years due to the time it takes to create the legal framework and work out data protection and technical issues.

Basel to adopt similar card

The canton of Basel City has announced a similar measure to protect the estimated 4,000-8,000 undocumented people living in the small canton.

Called the Basel City Card, an initiative has been announced with a campaign to begin in autumn.

Like the Zurich card, the Basel edition will be put to a vote.

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Growth spurt: What Zurich needs to do to accommodate 2 million residents

At the end of 2023, over 1.6 million people lived in Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous canton.

But this number is far from static.

The population is continuing to grow — so much so, that it will reach the 2-million mark in the coming years, cantonal authorities said in a press release.

This means an increase of around 450,000 people within the next two decades — a 28-percent growth rate, which is “significantly higher than the Swiss average.”

The primary reason for this hike, accounting for 49 percent of the increase, is immigration, followed by births (44 percent) and, to a lesser degree (7 percent), people moving to Zurich from other Swiss regions

On one hand, this is good news because “it is evidence of the canton’s attractiveness and economic prosperity,” authorities pointed out.

On the other, however, this demographic evolution will create a number of new problems and exacerbate the already existing ones.

That is why “strategic decisions are needed on how to handle challenges facing various areas,” cantonal officials said.

‘Dealing with consequences’

With this ‘growth spurt,’ Zurich will experience many of the same challenges as Switzerland on the whole will, as demographers are expecting the country’s population to swell to 10 million (from the current 9 million) people in the coming years.

Just as the federal government has started to think about the best ways to prepare the country’s infrastructure for the growing numbers, Zurich’s authorities too will be “shaping this growth” and “dealing with its consequences.”

To achieve this goal, they have launched the ‘Growth 2050” project to begin in the summer, which will examine “which approach is most suitable for strategically addressing the challenges ahead,” according to the press release.

What exactly does this mean?

While the project’s findings will not be made public until 2027, authorities will have to ensure that Zurich’s infrastructure, such as housing, public transport, as well as school and healthcare systems, will not crumble under pressure, but be able to function optimally — from both the financial and practical perspectives — in the new context.

While all these areas are important, in Zurich’s case, housing appears to be a particular problem as more residents move into the canton.

With tens of thousands of foreign nationals having settled in Zurich in the past few years, for instance, affordable housing had become scarcer — a situation that has continued to deteriorate and is expected to grow worse as more residents continue to arrive in the future.

READ ALSO: Zurich hit by affordable housing shortage amid record-high immigration

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