Young undocumented migrants gain easier access to vocational training
Justice Minister Beat Jans talks to migrants employed by the "Entre deux" snack bar during a visit to various asylum-related sites in Sion last week
Keystone/Cyril Zingaro
Rejected asylum-seekers and young undocumented migrants in Switzerland will have easier access to basic vocational training from June 1.
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From this date, they will only need to have attended compulsory schooling in Switzerland for two years to be able to submit a hardship application for admission.
The government is also extending the deadline for submitting such an application from one to two years. The government has amended the Federal Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment accordingly, it was announced on Wednesday.
In doing so, the government was complying with a mandate from parliament. In December 2022 parliament adopted a motion by the House of Representative’s Political Affairs Committee, which instructed the government to amend the law accordingly.
Today, rejected asylum-seekers and young undocumented migrants must have attended compulsory school in Switzerland for five years before they can submit a hardship application. In 2022 a majority of parliament was of the opinion that the current regulation was too restrictive and made it more difficult for undocumented migrants to gain access to post-compulsory education.
It made little sense to exclude young, motivated adults with potential, who were already in Switzerland anyway, from vocational training, they said.
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