A total of 39,258 refugees from Ukraine have been registered in Switzerland since Russia invaded its neighbour on February 24, according to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jc
Русский
ru
В Швейцарии среди украинских беженцев превалируют женщины и дети
That is 919 more than on Thursday. Of the total so far, 32,208 have been granted S protection status, SEM announced on Twitter on Friday. This special status allows them to stay in Switzerland for a year and to work in the Alpine country.
Latest SEM figures confirm that it is largely “a flight of women and children”. More than two-thirds of those granted S protection status by the end of March were women and girls, while nearly 40% of those seeking protection were also younger than 20.
Ukraine introduced martial law in the wake of the Russian invasion, which requires men aged 18-60 to stay and defend their country.
Distribution among cantons
SEM’s David Keller told the press on Thursday that the Swiss authorities would revert to a regular distribution of refugees among the 26 cantons so as to reduce the burden on some cities. Zurich, Bern and Basel, for example, have been struggling to cope with high numbers, as has canton Ticino.
Asylum seekers, as well as people with S status, cannot normally choose their canton of residence, said Keller. However, since the start of the war, many have found refuge with relatives or acquaintances. And until now, SEM has allocated to the relevant canton all those refugees who could show when they registered that they had an offer of private accommodation there.
More
More
Swiss Politics
Swiss adapt housing policy for Ukraine refugees
This content was published on
The Swiss authorities are to return to a regular distribution of refugees from Ukraine to reduce the burden notably for some cities.
Just over 5.1 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the Russian invasion, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday. The number continues to rise, but at a slower daily rate than at the beginning of the war. By far the highest number are in neighbouring Poland.
The International Office for Migration, another UN agency, said there are also 7.7 million people who have fled their homes but are still in Ukraine.
External Content
Related Stories
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Blatten: what price for preserving Swiss mountain life?
Zurich authorities want ‘no taxpayer money for terrorists’
This content was published on
Zurich cantonal parliament has voted against recognising the state of Palestine. However, it provisionally supported a motion calling for “no taxpayers' money for terrorists”.
Swiss mechanical firms struggling since before Trump
This content was published on
Swiss mechanical engineering companies are said to be one of the main victims of Donald Trump's high tariffs. However, the industry has been struggling for years.
SNB head warns of side effects of negative interest rates
This content was published on
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) takes a critical view of the reintroduction of negative interest rates. "We are aware that the negative interest rate can have undesirable side effects, for example for savers and pension funds."
EU reports 400,000 asylum applications in first half of year
This content was published on
The number of new asylum-seekers within the European Union and Switzerland and Norway fell significantly in the first half of the year.
This content was published on
We look at why and how host families in Switzerland are being “matched” with refugees, and in some cases finding each other.
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.