A safe haven

Latest news

Tama's tales Me and my mum

Tama Vakeesan was born in Switzerland to parents from Sri Lanka. She speaks with her mother who explains what it was like to leave her home country.

Tama’s Tales Let the beat go on!

Tama's friend Priya Ragu, a Swiss-born ethnic Tamil, explains how hard it is making her way in the music world without her parents' support.

Tama's Tales Under suspicion

Tama meets her friend Mondher, who is Swiss with Tunisian roots. He tells how not looking Swiss has got him into trouble.

The political debate

Crowd innovation Vote on fresh ideas to tackle immigration policy

Urs Geiser

How to break a perceived stalemate in Switzerland’s immigration policy? More than 100 ideas gathered in a crowd-sourcing project are awaiting the ...

Slow return Sending rejected asylum seekers home

When a request for asylum is rejected, the applicant is supposed to leave the country straight away. Not everybody does, and there are vast ...

The Mediterranean Sea: a mass grave The struggle to identify drowned migrants

Stefania Summermatter

Three years after the migrant boat tragedy in Lampedusa, in which 366 people drowned, relatives are still trying to identify dead bodies to ...

Fact check Are most asylum seekers economic migrants?

Geraldine Wong Sak Hoi with input from Duc-Quang Nguyen and Stefania Summermatter

As voters prepare to vote on reforms to Switzerland’s asylum law on June 5, the conservative right Swiss People’s Party has insisted that most ...

Working visit Justice minister defends asylum reforms as EU leader takes interest

Europe has taken an interest in Switzerland’s asylum reforms, with a European Union leader examining the system which will soon put to a vote ...

Workplace integration Apprenticeships for refugees get a reboot

Veronica DeVore

After testing the waters a decade ago, Switzerland wants to give refugees access to its apprenticeship system with a new national initiative.

Visual data

Year in review 2015: when the wave of migrants reached Europe

Duc-Quang Nguyen and Stefania Summermatter

Which countries have been most affected by the influx of migrants and refugees? What impact would quotas have? The answers in a series of ...

See in other languages: 9

Visual data

Asylum lottery Six graphs to understand the migration phenomenon

Duc-Quang Nguyen and Stefania Summermatter

Every day, thousands of refugees and migrants are crossing European borders, searching for protection or a better life. It is posing an ...

See in other languages: 9

Infographic

Fleeing danger Asylum by the numbers

Europe has seen an influx of asylum seekers due to global political unrest, notably the Arab Spring. As the Swiss prepare to vote on stricter ...

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View from Switzerland
Britain is the ‘laughing stock of Europe’

30th National Yodelling Festival
Making money from yodelling

Historic day
Swiss town of Moutier votes to change cantons

Success story
From refugee to lawyer

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Switzerland: How To

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Quiz app decodes daily life in Switzerland

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Asylum in Switzerland - A safe haven

Function	Example	Search result
Search for exact term	"money-laundering", "Roger Federer"	Results include exact spellings of "money-laundering" and "Roger Federer"
Search for all terms	Roger Federer	Results include "Roger" and "Federer"
Either-or search	money-laundering	Results include "money" or "laundering"
Search for one term and not the other	money -laundering	Results include "money" but NOT "laundering"
Search for word stem	sun*	Results include words with the same base like "sun", "suns", "sunshine", "sunny"
Search with placeholder for letter	wom*n	Results include all possible words: "woman", "women"

A safe haven

Latest news

Tama's tales Me and my mum

Tama’s Tales Let the beat go on!

Tama's Tales Under suspicion

Tama's Tales Tama and the #Pussyhats

Tama's Tales What our food says about us

Tama's Tales So what if I wear a headscarf?

Tama's Tales My town - ordinary but extraordinary

Tama's Tales My big fat Tamil wedding

Tama's Tales Swiss or Tamil? Caught in the middle

Success story From refugee to lawyer

Success story From refugee to neurobiologist

Asylum in Switzerland More than 9,400 minors picked up at Swiss border

Sunday papers Spy software, vanishing parishioners and violent asylum seekers

Swiss-Turkish relations Turkish diplomats seek asylum in Switzerland

Migrant information ‘Don’t come to Switzerland’ – the anti-tourism campaign

Refugee fee Swiss economists suggest charging migrants a fee

Asylum Deportation flights reach record level

A waiting game Afghan refugees find their feet in Bern

Health study Should refugees be screened for infections?

Migrant crisis Amnesty calls for more Swiss solidarity for migrants

Refugees and conflict Del Ponte urges Switzerland to welcome more Syrians

Stats Asylum requests in Switzerland tumble

Asylum seekers Cabinet wants to create new temporary admission status

Repatriations Immigration agreement signed with Sri Lanka

Asylum study Wanted: high-skilled, non-Muslim asylum seekers

Undercover revelations Report clears asylum centre personnel of wrongdoing

Criss-crossing Asylum camp to be built near Swiss-Italian border

Migrant build-up Swiss borders face increased migrant pressure

Blocked Migrants in limbo on the Swiss-Italian border

Humanitarian visas Asylum checks tightened on injured Syrians and Iraqis

The political debate

Crowd innovation Vote on fresh ideas to tackle immigration policy

Slow return Sending rejected asylum seekers home

The Mediterranean Sea: a mass grave The struggle to identify drowned migrants

Fact check Are most asylum seekers economic migrants?

Working visit Justice minister defends asylum reforms as EU leader takes interest

Workplace integration Apprenticeships for refugees get a reboot

Housing An asylum seeker’s home is his castle

Integration Syrian refugees: calling Switzerland home

Syrian refugees Can the Swiss match Germany’s generosity?

Opinion Escaping the refugee crisis

Parliamentary elections Ongoing refugee crisis fuels political debate

Asylum politics Justice minister defends Eritrean refugee policy

Asylum lottery Six graphs to understand the migration phenomenon

Dilemma Helping Syria: give more aid or accept more refugees?

Human rights ruling Justice minister cites ‘gaps’ in Dublin system

Asylum decision Strasbourg blocks Afghan family expulsion to Italy

Historic human rights case Afghan family decision is ‘change of direction’

Fleeing to Switzerland Gays face tough road to asylum

Pilot project Fast track system to soothe asylum tensions

Tighter asylum law Minister pushes for more asylum reforms

Signatures submitted Votes forced on asylum and vaccinations

Divided over asylum reform Rights groups urge fair asylum procedure

Parliamentary debate Asylum rules tightened amid leftwing opposition

Heated debate Parliament moves to tighten asylum laws

Asylum reform Paying undesirables to leave Switzerland

Additional content about the topic

Year in review 2015: when the wave of migrants reached Europe

Asylum lottery Six graphs to understand the migration phenomenon

Fleeing danger Asylum by the numbers

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