The State Secretariat for MigrationExternal link received 6,113 such requests in 2017, reported newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. In comparison, there were 4,115 in 2016 and 3,072 in 2015.
According to the Dublin agreement, a person can file only one asylum application – as a rule, in the first country where the migrant was registered.
Most of 2017’s requests for Switzerland to take back asylum seekers came from Germany (2,932) and France (1,429). Switzerland approved 2,485 of these readmission applications. The migration office rejected the others on the grounds that they did not meet the Dublin agreement’s requirements.
Also under the Dublin system – Switzerland has sent 28,000 asylum seekers back to other European countries since 2008.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
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On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
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The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
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The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
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The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
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Swiss justice minister sees door opening for refugee resettlement
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European Union interior ministers met on Thursday in Sofia, Bulgaria to re-visit the thorny issue of resettling thousands of refugees from conflict-torn parts of Africa and the Middle East. Since Non-EU member Switzerland was invited to participate because it is part of the so-called Dublin agreement governing asylum policy across Europe. + Here’s how another…
Swiss-led meeting calls for better protection of refugees
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European and African states as well as the EU and the UN have agreed to improve the protection of migrants, notably the situation in Libyan detention.
ICRC hopes for consensus, resettlement deal at migration conference
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Peter Maurer told the SonntagsBlick newspaper that he finds it a shame that the world’s interior ministers are “still mostly focused on controlling migration” instead of on improving the humanitarian situation in countries like Libya, where many migrants gather in dangerous circumstances before attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. “We are especially interested…
Switzerland’s defence of the Dublin accords is not a coincidence
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Although Switzerland is not one of the main destination countries for asylum seekers, between 2009 and 2014 it was the country that transferred the most migrants to another EU state. This practice is part of the Dublin accords, signed in 1990 and adopted by Switzerland in December 2008. According to this agreement, an asylum application…
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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.