Switzerland plans new measures against criminal asylum seekers

Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration plans to submit a package of security measures to the Federal Council by the end of 2026 to address crimes linked to asylum seekers from North Africa, SRF reported.

More than 80 percent of North African asylum seekers in Switzerland are accused of at least one offence during their asylum procedure or after receiving a negative decision, according to unpublished figures recently reported by Blick. State Secretary for Migration Vincenzo Mascioli confirmed that the issue was real.

Mascioli said the accused asylum seekers caused “double damage”: through their alleged criminal behaviour and by harming the reputation of asylum seekers who behaved correctly. He said the latter group accounted for 96 percent of Switzerland’s asylum population.

Authorities to improve coordination

As part of the 2027 asylum strategy, the federal government and the cantons are working together to find solutions. Mascioli said existing measures against asylum seekers suspected of crimes were not yet being fully used.

Authorities should improve the way they share information and coordinate their actions, he said. In future, people held in detention pending deportation should no longer be released because they lack the documents needed to leave the country.

“We are working on very targeted measures because this is also a very specific problem,” Mascioli said. The State Secretariat for Migration plans to present the security package to the Federal Council this year.

Earlier screening proposed for asylum claims

The State Secretariat for Migration is also planning a second package of measures. Preliminary procedures would aim to reduce the number of asylum applications that are clearly unfounded.

Under the proposed system, people with no realistic prospect of receiving asylum would not enter the regular asylum procedure. They would instead be informed at an earlier stage that they were not entitled to protection and would have to leave Switzerland.

Mascioli said the procedure would target four groups: people from countries with very low protection rates, applicants whose cases were based solely on medical grounds, citizens of European Union countries and people who already held protected status in another country.

Proposal could cover 20 percent of cases

People with little prospect of receiving asylum can already go through a so-called 24-hour procedure. The proposed preliminary procedure could replace it in many cases.

The federal government expects the measure to significantly reduce pressure on the asylum system. Mascioli estimated that it could apply to about 20 percent of cases, or roughly 4,000 to 5,000 people.

Several legal questions remain unresolved, and a pilot project is planned.