Marriage rights sought for illegal immigrants
A coalition of non-governmental organisations says Switzerland is violating the human rights of illegal immigrants seeking to marry.
The group of politicians, trade unions, churches and charities says that illegal immigrants and rejected asylum-seekers face an increasing amount of federal red tape as well as a maze of administrative hurdles that vary in each of the country’s 26 cantons.
The coalition says amendments to a federal law on foreigners, introduced at the beginning of the year, put future couples at the mercy of registrars.
It rejects a proposal by a member of the rightwing Swiss People’s Party to ban people without a residence permit from marrying.
There are an estimated 1,000 so-called marriages of convenience in Switzerland every year, but the coalition argues that the term is not clearly defined.
The panel has scheduled a meeting with federal and cantonal authorities next week.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.