The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Foreigners to be allowed to join Graubünden police force

Two Graubünden police officers
No passport? No problem: canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland will soon be recruiting police officers who do not have Swiss citizenship. Canton Graubünden

Canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland will soon be recruiting police officers who do not have Swiss citizenship. A settlement permit (C) will be sufficient to register for the aptitude tests as an applicant for the cantonal police.

It will thus become the fifth of Switzerland’s 26 cantons – after Neuchâtel, Jura, Basel City and Schwyz – to do so.

+ A guide to Swiss work permits

The cantonal government had decided to change the recruitment procedure in order to allow the cantonal police to recruit sufficient young people, it said in a statementExternal link on Tuesday. “The high personal demands placed on police trainees remain unchanged,” it added.

The cantonal government pointed out that in order to be able to hire enough new recruits, many police forces, including in Graubünden, had adjusted or abolished various requirements such as minimum height and age in recent years.

The Graubünden cantonal police force has around 400 officers. Each year 15-25 trainees complete their training.

More

Cantonal differences

The employment of non-Swiss officers in the cantonal police force has been possible since 1996 in Basel City, the pioneer canton in this respect. Schwyz followed in 2001, Jura a year later, and Neuchâtel in 2007.

In the past ten years several other cantons, such as Vaud, Bern and Solothurn, have considered the possibility of opening their police forces to holders of a C permit, but have decided not to do so.

In canton Zurich, the city of Zurich wanted to open its police force to foreign applicants with a C permit. These applicants would then have to obtain Swiss citizenship to join the force permanently. This principle was already being in the city of Winterthur. However, the cantonal government blocked the plans of the two cities by approving a motion at the end of 2021 that said only Swiss nationals should be allowed to join the police force.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Solar aeroplane flies around the Matterhorn

More

Solar plane flies around Matterhorn

This content was published on Solar energy pioneer Raphaël Domjan and his team continued preparations for the altitude record attempt at 10,000 metres with the SolarStratos solar aircraft.

Read more: Solar plane flies around Matterhorn
Compulsory vaccination against cattle disease in Geneva and parts of Vaud

More

Vaccinations imposed for some Swiss cattle

This content was published on Cattle in the canton of Geneva and in the neighbouring region of Terre Sainte in the canton of Vaud are being vaccinated against the contagious viral skin nodule disease. The first cases of the animal disease were reported at the end of June in France, just outside Geneva.

Read more: Vaccinations imposed for some Swiss cattle
Small rockfalls occurred above Brienz GR

More

Rockfalls measured above Swiss village

This content was published on A series of rockfalls occurred above the village of Brienz between 9 and 12 July. According to the municipality of Albula, the overall situation remains tense. Several people disregarded the ban on entering the area around the village.

Read more: Rockfalls measured above Swiss village
Arosa Bergbahnen with record sales

More

Arosa cable cars celebrate record year

This content was published on Arosa Bergbahnen achieved the highest figure in its 95-year history in the 2024/25 financial year with net revenue of CHF 37 million. Arosa Lenzerheide was able to capitalise on strengths such as snow reliability and the size of the ski area in a long winter season, the company announced on Thursday.

Read more: Arosa cable cars celebrate record year
Unknown persons steal dental implants from Solothurn company

More

Dental implants stolen in million-franc raid

This content was published on Unknown perpetrators stole ceramic dental implants during a break-in at a company in Oensingen, northern Switzerland, on Tuesday night.

Read more: Dental implants stolen in million-franc raid
Rockfalls affect tourism at the Grande Dixence dam

More

Rockfalls affect tourism at tallest dam in Europe

This content was published on The Grande Dixence dam in Lower Valais is closed to visitors due to a rockfall last weekend. The nearby hotel also had to temporarily suspend operations for safety reasons.

Read more: Rockfalls affect tourism at tallest dam in Europe

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR