Irregular migration to Switzerland halves year-on-year
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Irregular migration to Switzerland halves year-on-year
Irregular migration to Switzerland has decreased significantly. The figures from January to May show that only half as many illegal stays were recorded compared to the same period last year.
In 2024, 10,776 illegal stays in Switzerland were recorded from January to the end of May. In the current year there are 5,396, according to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS). On Tuesday, the office published the latest figures for the month of May 2025.
These were higher than in the previous month, but lower than in the same period last year, according to the FOCBS. A total of 1,467 illegal stays were recorded in May 2025. In 2024, the figure was 1,814. The largest decrease in arrests was in January 2025 with 1,165, which was 2,222 fewer people than in the previous year.
Most arrests were made in Ticino, where they were higher than in April. According to the report, Turkish nationals were most strongly represented among the migrants who entered Switzerland illegally in May.
In the area of suspected smuggling activities, the May figures of 23 cases were higher than in April with ten cases and roughly at the same level as last year. The same pattern can also be seen in handovers to foreign authorities. In May 2025, 251 people were handed over to foreign authorities. The figure was 187 in April 2025 and higher in May 2024 with 407 people.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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