Petition seeks to decriminalise help for refugees in Switzerland

NGOs, left-wing politicians and church groups have submitted a petition calling for people who help refugees in Switzerland without seeking personal gain to be exempt from prosecution, SRF reports. The petition has collected 10,000 signatures.

Caroline Meijer, president of a Jura-based aid organisation for undocumented migrants, was charged after helping a young Syrian man remain in Switzerland and submit an application on hardship grounds. He had been required to return to another Dublin country. Police searched Meijer’s home in February 2025.

Meijer was acquitted, but says even the criminal proceedings were a punishment. She wants people who help migrants without personal profit to no longer face charges.

Hundreds of helpers are convicted each year for violating Switzerland’s foreign nationals law. Anyone who facilitates an unlawfully resident foreign national’s stay in Switzerland can face up to one year in prison. Those who accept payment or act on behalf of an organisation can face up to five years.

Church support centres and organisations helping undocumented migrants can therefore face the same maximum penalties as people smugglers. David Zaugg of the Swiss Protestant Church says the legal uncertainty is particularly difficult for church workers. It is often unclear whether a parish may provide a rejected asylum seeker with a room for several weeks or whether a church social service may give the person money, he said.

Lisa Mazzone, president of the Swiss Greens, has previously tried unsuccessfully to have such proceedings abolished. She said the law particularly affects people who cannot defend themselves because they lack the necessary resources, including relatives of migrants who may be afraid to challenge it.

Parliament deliberately made altruistic assistance a criminal offence in 2008. Supporters of the current rules argue that criminal law generally also prohibits helping someone carry out an illegal act. They say enabling rejected asylum seekers to go into hiding, or allowing undocumented migrants to live and work in Switzerland, can create or prolong precarious situations.

Former Federal Councillor Ruth Dreifuss supports the petition and is optimistic about its chances, despite the parliament’s predominantly centre-right composition. She pointed to people who were punished for helping refugees cross the border during the Second World War and rehabilitated decades later. Switzerland is among the stricter European countries on the issue, SRF reports, while many other states do not punish altruistic assistance.