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Switzerland registers more than a third more asylum applications than in the last six months. Are we heading for a record year?
In the current asylum statistics from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), the figures speak for themselves: more than 12,000 people came to Switzerland in the first six months of this year. Compared to the first half of 2022, the total number of asylum applications has risen significantly by 43 percent – in the last ten years more asylum applications have only been submitted in the first half of 2016.
Reto Kormann, spokesman for the SEM, is not surprised by the increase in asylum applications. Of course, the increase of 40 percent is relatively high, but he expected these numbers. By the end of the year, the SEM expects a total of around 27,000 applications.
Europe-wide increase
Other European countries also felt the increase in asylum applications. For Kormann, the lifting of travel restrictions as a result of the pandemic is a possible reason. Many people who were initially stranded in Iran, Turkey or elsewhere in the Middle East moved on. But the ongoing conflicts in the affected countries also play their part, explains Kormann.
Most asylum applications this year came from people from Afghanistan, followed by Turkey, followed by refugees from Eritrea, Algeria, Morocco and Syria. The increase is particularly noticeable among people from Turkey. The majority of the refugees from this country are Kurds who have had to leave their country because of the Erdogan regime. The SEM examines each application individually to see whether the reasons for asylum have been met, says Kormann.
No emergency at the moment
Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider wanted container villages for asylum seekers, but the request failed in the Council of States. Nevertheless, there is still no emergency situation regarding the provision of accommodation, says Kormann. There are still around 4,000 places in reserve at the federal level.
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Federal Asylum Center Zurich: A man and a child on a swing.
KEYSTONE/Michael Buholzer
If the numbers continue to rise sharply in autumn, additional accommodation places would have to be made available now. “We can’t just react when the people are there,” says Kormann. The SEM is in talks with the cantons and the army. One hopes to have clarity about the number of places and facilities after the summer holidays, says Kormann.
The cantons still have almost five weeks to look for additional accommodation in order to prepare Switzerland for a possible increase in the number of migrants.