The wife of a Kosovar deported from Switzerland will have to go with him, the Federal Court in Lausanne ruled on Friday. It refused to extend to her a law which in certain cases allows a foreign wife to stay in Switzerland even if her husband must leave.

The Federal Court explained that if a couple is married, a wife cannot remain in Switzerland when her residence permit depends on that of her husband, who has to leave the country.

The Kosovar in question arrived in Switzerland in 1993 at the age of ten. In 2006, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison. In 2008, he got married and went on to commit various offences.

In 2011, canton Lucerne revoked his residence permit and then refused to extend that of his wife.

The Federal Court thus confirmed this decision by canton Lucerne. It refused to extend to her a clause under the foreigners act which allows wives who are victims of domestic violence to be able to stay in Switzerland – on condition that they have separated or divorced.

Automatic deportation

The issue of what to do with foreigners who break the law is a hot issue in Switzerland.

In November 2013, cabinet urged parliament to strike a clause in an initiative calling for the automatic deportation of foreigners found guilty of a crime. Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the clause violates international law.

The rightwing proposal aims to speed up enforcement of a related constitutional amendment approved by 52% of voters in November 2010.

In order to put pressure on the government to enforce the automatic deportation, the rightwing Swiss People’s Party launched another initiative at the end of 2012 specifically aimed at speeding up the process.

The latest deportation initiative attempts to address some of the points slowing down the implementation of the 2010 law by listing, in detail, the crimes for which foreigners would be deported from Switzerland. It also seeks the automatic deportation of foreigners convicted of serious crimes regardless of whether they are repeat offenders or the specifics of the crime.

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