19 visas issued to earthquake victims

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To date, 19 visas have been issued by the Swiss representations in Istanbul and Beirut for relatives of Swiss nationals or Turkish and Syrian nationals living in Switzerland affected by the earthquake. There are still 204 applications pending.

17 of the approved visas were issued in Istanbul, two in Beirut, as the Secretariat of State for Migration (SEM) announced at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency.

Of the pending visa applications, 167 have been received in Istanbul, Turkey. The Swiss representation in the Lebanese city of Beirut received 37 visa applications on Monday, according to the SEM.

Accelerated procedure

Anyone who has lost their home as a result of the earthquake and has close relatives in Switzerland can benefit from the so-called accelerated procedure that Switzerland has introduced for visa applications from the affected regions of Turkey and Syria. This includes spouses, parents, grandparents, children and minor grandchildren, but not siblings.

So far, the group of people has not expanded to include siblings, as the SEM called it. After the earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people, Swiss politicians called for the possibility of simplified visas for affected siblings from the earthquake zones in Turkey and Syria. Visas issued so far are valid for 90 days. (SDA)

Source: Blick