Swiss federal asylum centres have reported extremely high numbers of refugees from Ukraine registering for protected S status, a day after the move was officially approved in Switzerland.
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Afluencia masiva de ucranianos a centros suizos de asilo
State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) spokesman Daniel Bach told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Saturday afternoon the SEM was working around the clock to help refugees. It was being supported by the non-governmental Swiss Refugee Council.
“The federal asylum centres are being overrun,” he said from on site at a federal centre in Zurich.
He called on those refugees who are staying privately with friends and family to come within the next few days for the S permit, as they already have a 90 day residency permit.
External Content
Registration of displaced persons from #UkraineExternal link is ongoing in all Federal Asylum Centres. First status S granted at 9.45am in Boudry (NE). Those who are privately accommodated, please come in the next few days – you have 90 days! pic.twitter.com/o339hEmtFxExternal link
On Friday the Swiss government announced that Ukrainians fleeing the war would be eligible for a temporary S permit to live and immediately work in Switzerland, which would come into force on Saturday. The status, initially valid for a year, has never before been activated.
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On Sunday morning there were 3,117 registered refugees in Switzerland, of which 2,011 were accommodated in federal asylum centres and 1,106 privately, according to the latest figures tweeted by the SEM.
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