As of Monday 67,621 people had been granted special “S protection” status, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said. This is an increase of 458 applications compared with the previous week.
The government developed S protection status in the mid-1990s in response to the Balkan wars. The mechanism is intended to enable the rapid admission of a group of refugees, who are thus freed from long asylum procedures, including individual examinations of why they fled their country.
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Switzerland triggers unprecedented special status for Ukrainian refugees
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Victims of the war in Ukraine get a special S permit which Switzerland has never used before.
So far, the S status has been terminated for 5,344 people, the SEM said. The cases of 1,704 people from Ukraine are also being examined to determine whether to terminate their S refugee status.
Switzerland is expecting nearly 50% more asylum applications this year compared with 2021, prompting the construction of new accommodation centres and the support of the army.
Refugee crisis
The estimate of refugee numbers for 2022 has increased significantly since a forecast in October of 19,000 asylum applications and 85,000 Ukrainians on S permits. The SEM said on October 20 that it expected to receive 22,000 refugees by the end of the year, 7,000 more than 2021.
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Huge hike in refugees stretches Swiss resources
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Switzerland expects nearly 50% more asylum applications this year compared to 2021.
Since February 24, more than 7.7 millionExternal link Ukrainians have fled their country for safety across Europe. This represents the largest European refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War.
In Europe, 4.5 million people from Ukraine have applied for official refugee protection status, the SEM wrote, based on data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the EU statistics agency Eurostat.
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How the Swiss asylum system works
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Switzerland has a long humanitarian tradition but who can apply for asylum in the country and how?
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.
Swiss migration authorities struggling with ‘overlapping crises’
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The Swiss migration head says federal asylum centres are full and the situation is unprecedented since the Second World War.
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