Under the new law on foreigners, the ability of citizens from countries outside the European Union and the European Free Trade Association (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) to reside in Switzerland is restricted. This means that the tightening will also affect citizens of former Soviet Union countries. They and other immigrants can now obtain a residence permit only if they have a contract for qualified work and only if there are no applicants for that job among Swiss citizens or citizens of EU and EFTA countries.
Moreover, whereas previously immigrants could after eight years of work apply for status granting the right to long-term residence, now such chances are reduced to zero. Harsher penalties are introduced for violations such as sham marriages, undeclared work, and illegal stay in the country. The only relief for immigrants is the freedom to move to another canton if they obtain a new contract there.
Immigrants have become a big problem for a country where foreigners already make up 21.5% of the 7.3 million population, and in the most liberal cantons like Geneva, their number has exceeded 50%. Residents of cities where refugee reception centers operate even resort to civil disobedience to demand their closure. In 2005, already introduced measures to limit the influx of refugees led to a reduction in asylum applications to 19,000. This is the lowest number in 20 years. However, according to authorities, three-quarters of those arriving in Switzerland deliberately discard their documents to hide their country of origin and avoid deportation. Under the new amendments to the asylum law, from now on, asylum cases without documents will not be accepted for consideration at all. Immediately, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees accused Switzerland of violating the 1951 International Convention on Refugees. The convention obliges such cases to be examined, and the Swiss government signed it.
In the event of a refusal of asylum, social assistance will be terminated, and until deportation, such refugees will only be entitled to so-called one-time 'emergency aid' in the amount of 960 francs (?604). The period during which authorities are able to detain those resisting deportation will be increased to one and a half years.