Ukraine refugees granted special rights in Switzerland until 2024

Keller-Sutter has ruled out that the Swiss government will lift the special legal status for refugees from Ukraine before next March. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The Swiss government has extended the special legal status for Ukrainian refugees and the support measures for another year.

Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said an improvement of the situation in Ukraine was not foreseeable in the near future and attacks by Russian forces, targeting infrastructure, including energy supplies, were still to be expected throughout the country.

“The Ukrainian civilian population is suffering from the ongoing Russian attacks,” Keller-Sutter said at a news conference on Wednesday. “The people are facing a cold winter.”

For the protected status S to be lifted again, a sustainable normalisation of the situation is needed, Keller-Sutter continued. A safe return for the refugees is therefore not possible.

In line with the EU

The so-called S protection status will therefore not be lifted before 4 March 2024, unless the situation changes fundamentally by then. In this way, the government wants to clarify the situation for those seeking protection, as well as the cantonal authorities, municipalities and employers.

Last month, the European Union indicated that, against the backdrop of the current situation in Ukraine, it also expected temporary protection to be extended until spring 2024.

“There’s a war on European territory,” said Keller-Sutter. “That is why a joint approach makes sense.”

So far, around 68,000 people have been granted special refugee status in Switzerland. Persons who are granted protection status S may travel abroad and return to Switzerland without a travel permit. They may also engage in gainful employment (including self-employment) without having to wait a certain period to do so, according to the State Secretariat for Migration.