From January 1, 2011 someone wanting to get married in Switzerland will need a valid residence permit or visa.
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The date for the new legislation, which aims to cut down the number of marriages of convenience involving rejected asylum seekers and people living in Switzerland illegally, was set by the government on Friday.
Both parliamentary chambers last year agreed the bill, proposed by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party.
The Federal Migration Office investigates about 500 suspected sham marriages every year.
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Love may lose out under marriage law
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The Swiss People’s Party amendment to the Foreign Nationals Law would end the right to marry for asylum seekers and illegal residents in Switzerland. It aims to curb the number of marriages of convenience used by people trying to get around the law to stay in the country. Having gained the approval of the House…
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Couples are enjoying smaller, more select weddings, while new regulations allow for tying the knot in more exotic locations, including in a tropical climate at the zoo. Provisional figures from the Federal Statistics Office suggest that there were 40,000 weddings in Switzerland in 2008, around the same as in 2007. Marriages usually happen in two…
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Getting married on an alpine peak had long been a dream of Mitsuhiro Miura and Mari Miura from Tokyo. They tied the knot at the St Petronella “chapel” on the First peak near Grindelwald, at 2,168 metres above sea level. (Pictures and text: Christoph Balsiger, swissinfo)
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.