The number of asylum applications in Switzerland increased between 2015 and 2016. This is linked to the escalation of armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In 2015, the humanitarian situation in several regions of the world became simply unbearable, particularly in the Middle East. A significant part of the population from Syria first moved to Turkey, then from there to the Greek islands, and then along the so-called Balkan route to reach Europe.
Some asylum seekers reached Switzerland this way, while others arrived in the country via the Mediterranean. In 2015-2016, the number of refugees who reached Switzerland almost doubled compared to previous years, though it did not reach the level of the late 1990s, which was characterized by truly mass immigration of people fleeing the war in Kosovo.
Since 2016, the number of asylum seekers in Switzerland has been steadily declining. In March 2016, many Balkan countries decided to completely close their borders, thereby worsening the humanitarian crisis in Greece, where tens of thousands of people were left stranded. Then the EU reached an agreement with the Turkish government to return illegal migrants arriving in Greece to Turkey.
Humanitarian organizations condemn this approach, believing that Turkey is not a safe country for refugees. According to international human rights and humanitarian NGOs, since the signing of this agreement, thousands of migrants have been living in terrible conditions in temporary camps on the Greek islands, while the Turkish government often deports people back to war zones, often without even considering their asylum applications.
The reduction in the number of asylum applications in Europe in general and in Switzerland in particular is also facilitated by the tough policy towards migrants of the new Italian government. It closes its ports to ships carrying refugees, causing them to try to reach Europe via other routes, for example, through Spain.
Conflicts and violence are not abating, and the opportunities for refugees to return home or build a new life in another country are constantly decreasing. Thus, people under threat of death will continue to fuel global migration flows. Swiss authorities cannot currently make any long-term forecasts regarding the development of the migration situation, as it is impossible to predict how the situation in conflict zones and along migration routes will evolve.
Who receives refugee status? Eritreans and Syrians generally receive refugee status or temporary residence permits. Afghans are generally accepted on a temporary stay basis.
In many cantons, empty civil defense bunkers that were converted into temporary reception centers for refugees in 2015 have been closed again. Some federal states have also sharply reduced the number of regular reception and accommodation centers for refugees. These measures are partly the result of the ongoing reform of the entire refugee reception system in the country, which will be fully implemented next spring, including the launch of accelerated asylum procedures.
To respond more effectively to migration flows, the federal government, cantons, and municipalities intend to act more flexibly in the future, adapting existing infrastructure as best as possible to the rapidly changing situation.
The budget allocated for refugees can vary significantly depending on the number of new asylum applications, the length of stay of applicants in federal reception centers, the duration and type of procedure for processing their cases, and the need to ensure the security of persons accepted as refugees.
Based on this, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (Staatssekretariat für Migration – SEM) indicates that it is impossible to calculate the average annual "cost" of staying in the country for one asylum seeker. Overall, under the SEM budget in 2017, a total of 1.6 billion francs was spent on migration, which accounted for 2.3% of total federal budget expenditures.
Marie VUYMIE.
Translation by Lyudmila Klot.