The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Victims of domestic violence no longer lose Swiss residence status

Fighting coup
Anyone who leaves a violent relationship will in future be considered a hardship case and will no longer lose their residence status. KEYSTONE

The Swiss parliament is providing better protection for foreign victims of domestic violence. Anyone who leaves a violent relationship will in future be considered a hardship case and will no longer lose their residence status.

After the House of Representatives, the Senate also voted in favour of a corresponding amendment to the law on Wednesday. The small chamber reached its decision by 32 votes to eight. The House of Representatives had already approved the bill in the winter session. Due to two differences of opinion, it now has to deal with the matter again.

+ Domestic violence in Switzerland: the suffering behind the stats

According to the current legal situation, victims of violence with a residence or short-term residence permit or who have been temporarily admitted are threatened with the loss of their residence papers if the marriage is dissolved. Parliament wants to change this with a series of amendments to the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act.

One of the contentious issues between the chambers is a paragraph that provides for an exception to the integration criteria in cases where the right of residence of a victim of domestic violence is extended. The Senate would like to delete this provision.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

A smartphone displays the SWIplus app with news for Swiss citizens abroad. Next to it, a red banner with the text: ‘Stay connected with Switzerland’ and a call to download the app.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Diesel oil pollutes Lake Zurich near Rapperswil-Jona

More

Diesel oil slick spreads across Lake Zurich

This content was published on Emergency crews contained the oil and began removing some of the pollution from the water’s surface, said the St Gallen cantonal police on Sunday.

Read more: Diesel oil slick spreads across Lake Zurich
Tens of thousands of people at Zurich Pride

More

Zurich Pride draws large crowds amid financial strain

This content was published on Following US President Donald Trump’s attacks on diversity initiatives, Zurich Pride fears more sponsors could pull out and is now facing financial difficulties.

Read more: Zurich Pride draws large crowds amid financial strain

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