Federal asylum centers under attack – a 5-point overview Spotify grows and grows: the target of 200 million subscribers

The war in Ukraine has sparked the largest refugee movement in Europe since World War II. As a result, other migratory flows receive less attention, they have not dried up. On the contrary. you gain weight

This is also noticeable in Switzerland: according to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), more asylum applications were filed in Switzerland in September than at any time since the refugee crisis of 2015.

Those seeking protection from Ukraine are not included. They are entitled to protection status S and therefore do not have to apply for asylum and are counted separately.

Wherever they come from, whether they come from Ukraine or elsewhere, the number of people migrating to Switzerland is increasing. And that puts the federal asylum centers on the attack.

As the SEM announced in a letter on Tuesday, there are bottlenecks in asylum centers in western and northwestern Switzerland – not just with beds, but with care. They are also very busy in other parts of the country.

Although extra beds and housing have been provided in all regions and new employees have been recruited, the situation remains “very tense”.

An overview in 5 points:

Why are more people migrating now?

The pandemic has weakened the economy in many places. And now the war in Ukraine is leading to rising prices. This exacerbates the situation – also in the traditional countries of origin and transit of asylum seekers.

Pressure to emigrate in these countries is increasing, both among nationals and long-term migrants – such as Afghan nationals in Iran and Turkey.

Travel has become easier again since the pandemic-related travel restrictions have been lifted. Liberal visa rules also make traveling to Europe easier. For example, it is possible for nationals of India, Tunisia, Burundi and Cuba to enter Serbia without a visa. On the other hand, they have little chance of asylum.

At the insistence of the EU and Switzerland, Serbia now wants to align its visa policy with that of the Schengen area. It should be ready by the end of the year.

Which countries of origin do they come from?

Most asylum seekers have Afghan, Algerian, Eritrean, Syrian or Turkish passports. Of the 2,681 asylum applications filed in September, 640 were from women and 2,041 from men.

Whether and for how long they stayed in a transit country such as Turkey is not documented. But many of them want to move on to France and Great Britain.

Which route do you take to Switzerland?

Most migrants travel via the Balkan route towards Central and Northern Europe. They reached Europe in several ways:

According to UNHCR figures, about as many people have crossed the Mediterranean from Turkey to Italy as from Turkey to Greece by land and sea so far in 2022.

Where can you find accommodation in Switzerland?

The federal asylum centers are very busy at the moment. That is why the army supports the federal government in housing asylum seekers.

20 objects have been put into use throughout Switzerland. Multifunctional halls in Bure JU, Thun and Chamblon VD have been converted into asylum seekers’ centers. Soon this will also happen in Emmen LU and Schönbühl BE.

The cantons must also help. Refugees normally stay in federal asylum centers for 140 days. Because they can no longer find a place there, they will be transferred to the cantons early this Thursday. The measure is provided for in emergencies in the Asylum Act.

For the cantons, this means that they must temporarily receive up to 1,000 asylum seekers per week. That’s twice as much as normal.

What’s next?

The SEM expects a total of 22,000 asylum applications by the end of the year. At the moment there are 15,681. This does not apply to the 66,620 applications for protection of Ukrainians that have been approved since the outbreak of the war.

By way of comparison, 39,523 asylum applications were submitted in 2015. If you add up the previous asylum applications and protection applications, twice as many people emigrated to Switzerland as in 2015.