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The final figures are not yet available, but Switzerland registered around 30,000 new asylum applications last year. The Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) has further investigated hundreds of them at the request of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
In 2023, the secret service checked 610 asylum files for possible threats. This time, the NDB has not recommended any asylum applications for rejection, spokeswoman Sonja Margelist explains when asked. In the record year 2017 there were 38.
Two Ukrainians as a potential security risk
In addition, 81 Status S applications from Ukrainian refugees were checked by the secret service. The result: “In one case rejection and in one case withdrawal were recommended,” says Margelist. The year before, 82 Ukrainians were checked, without any rejection advice.
The volume of checks on Ukrainian refugees is relatively low, as there are currently approximately 66,000 status S refugees registered. The fact that the SEM sends relatively few Ukrainian files to the secret service is also due to the fact that it is mainly women and children who have fled. But that does not mean that Ukrainian refugees are not monitored at all.
According to SEM, almost all people who apply for S status are subject to identity and security checks. This includes checking persons and luggage, taking and checking two fingerprints, checking IDs and comparing them in the relevant databases.
139 potential threats since 2010
In the regular asylum area, NDB control activity has decreased slightly, although the number of asylum seekers has increased again. The NDB does not wish to comment on specific developments. In general, the migration authority sends the files of asylum seekers to the intelligence service who have indications that they may pose a risk to the internal and external security of Switzerland. The suspects are checked by querying the NDB databases and, if necessary, other external databases.
All files from certain countries in which terrorist cells are active are submitted to the NDB. Which countries are currently on this list approved by the Federal Council is secret. The asylum seekers recommended for rejection may be Islamist extremists, members of a terrorist organization or other violent criminals. Potential war criminals are also possible.
Since 2010, the Secret Service has identified a total of 139 asylum seekers as potential security risks and now two Ukrainian refugees.
Eight naturalizations denied
But last year the NDB checked not only asylum and status S files, but also 41,546 naturalization applications, and recommended rejecting eight of them – which was not the case with any applications last year.
The Secret Service also checked 6,186 applications for immigration services and recommended rejection in 23 cases due to security concerns, 15 more than in the previous year! 13 of these concerned accreditations (for example at embassies). Six residence permits and three visa applications were also rejected. Finally, there was also a refusal of access.
The NDB did not want to specifically answer the question of whether the negative recommendations were related to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Even if the authorities remain silent, it is entirely possible that the Russians will be hit by cancellations. According to the NDB, a third of Russian diplomats accredited in this country are spies.
Nearly 3 million airline passengers checked
Finally, the NDB also checked 1.46 million data records as part of the visa consultation process, resulting in two rejection opinions. This means that more than 300,000 more data records were checked than the year before.
In addition, the API (Advance Passenger Information) data records of 2.86 million people on 16,721 flights were checked. The numbers have also increased significantly in this area, by over half a million. This is because people will travel and fly more again after the end of the corona pandemic.
Source:Blick
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