Overall, 3,130 Ukrainian refugees have found employment thanks to the special S protection status that allows them to live and work in Switzerland for a year. Nearly a quarter of them (23%) are active in the restaurant industry, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said on Thursday. In addition, 17% work in the “planning, consulting, IT” sector. Agriculture and education each account for 8% of those with the S status.
A total of 33,379 beneficiaries of this protection status were of working age in the week of August 1, according to the SEM. The share of working refugees is therefore 9.4%. However, the number of work permits issued is actually higher, as they are only registered with a delay, says the SEM.
According to the latest figures published Thursday on Twitter by the State Secretariat, 61,424 Ukrainian refugees have been registered in Switzerland since the beginning of the war; 59,411 of them have obtained the S permit.
The protection status “S” was created following the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s but it was never used until now. It allows refugees to live and work in Switzerland for a year with an option to extend if necessary.
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