Switzerland registered a total of 24,511 asylum applications in 2022, 64.2 per cent more than in 2021, the Swiss Secretariat for Migration (SEM) revealed.
According to SEM, the country registered almost 10,000 more asylum applications in 2022 than in 2021 and said the authorities expect to record around 27,000 new asylum applications for 2023, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“In 2022, 24,511 asylum applications were made in Switzerland, 9,583 more than in the previous year (+64.2 per cent). In its most likely scenario, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) expects 27,000 (± 3,000) new asylum applications for 2023,” the statement of SEM reads.
Commenting on the high number of asylum applications registered last year, SEM explained that this happened due to several reasons, including the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions, the rising prices, and increased pressure on some refugees, among others.
SEM’s data show that Afghanistan nationals filed the highest number of asylum applications in 2022. Afghans filed 7,054 asylum applications in 2022, of which 95 were family reunification applications.
Nationals of other countries filed a high number of asylum applications too. The top five list of countries whose nationals filed the highest number of asylum applications in Switzerland includes Türkiye, Eritrea, Algeria, and Syria.
According to SEM, in 2022, nationals of Türkiye filed 3,788 primary and 1,003 secondary applications, nationals of Eritrea filed 426 primary and 1,404 secondary applications, nationals of Algeria filed 1,341 primary and 21 secondary applications, and nationals of Syria filed 725 primary and 527 secondary applications.
In addition to the above-mentioned, SEM revealed that in 2022, it processed 17,599 applications and said that 4,816 received asylum in the country. As for the number of pending cases, it has been noted that the number increased by 7,801 to 12,239 compared to the previous year.
Even though Switzerland registered a high number of migrant arrivals in 2022, it has been pointed out that many people left the country too. SEM disclosed that a total of 8,333 people left Switzerland voluntarily in 2022 and stressed that the overall number of departures in 2022 increased by 205.4 per cent compared to 2021.
“In 2022, 8,333 people left Switzerland independently. One thousand eight hundred twenty persons were returned either to their home country or a third country, 1314 persons to a Dublin country. Overall, the number of departures has increased by 205.4 per cent compared to 2021,” SEM noted.
The same revealed that as part of the resettlement programme a total of 641 people entered Switzerland in 2022. Most of those who entered Switzerland under the resettlement programme were from Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan. The Federal Council of Switzerland decides on the resettlement programme every two years, and for 2022 and 2023, it has decided to take in 1,600 vulnerable refugees.
Besides the above-mentioned, the migration system in Switzerland was also affected by millions of people who fled Central Europe due to the war in Ukraine. Data show that by the end of 2022, a total of 74,959 people seeking international protection had applied for status S in Switzerland.
The status S was granted to 72,611 people in 2022, whereas 7,621 people ended their status last year.
Source: Schengen Visa Info
