Asylum in Switzerland

State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) determines whether a foreign national may enter and stay in Switzerland.

The SEM is responsible for the asylum procedure. It decides who may be recognized as a refugee, who may be granted asylum or another form of protection, and who is therefore allowed to stay in Switzerland.

You can find general information on the SEM and its work on its website, including information specific to asylum.

The Asylum Info run by the SEM also provides information about the asylum procedure, life in a Federal Asylum Centre, and life in Switzerland in general. The app is available in different languages.

Cantonal authorities

Cantonal authorities issue residence permits, provide social assistance, oversee integration measures, and enforce removal orders. The competent authority varies from canton to canton. Cantonal authorities often include migration authorities, social services and labor market authorities.

Please check the overview of the responsible cantonal migration and labor market authorities, and the contact points for integration in the cantons and cities (available in German, French and Italian).

Municipalities

Each canton is divided into municipalities, which also have certain responsibilities. The competences of the municipalities vary in each canton. For example, in certain cantons, the municipalities are responsible for the accommodation or social assistance of refugees.

For more information, please refer to cantonal authorities above.

You need to be in Switzerland to file an asylum application. It is not possible to apply for asylum if you are outside of the country.

You can ask for asylum exclusively in-person at a Swiss border post, a Swiss airport or directly at one of the following Federal Asylum Centres (FAC):

• Altstätten (Eastern Switzerland asylum region)
• Basel (Northwest Switzerland asylum region)
• Balerna-Novazzano (Central Switzerland and Ticino asylum region)
• Bern (Bern asylum region)
• Boudry (Western Switzerland asylum region)
• Zurich (Zurich asylum region)

For more information on how to apply for asylum in Switzerland, please see:

• Information provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• Information concerning the asylum procedure provided by the Swiss Refugee Council

If you are a refugee from Ukraine seeking protection, please visit this webpage for information about entry and asylum in Switzerland that applies to your situation.

UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the SEM, legal advisory offices in Federal Asylum Centres and legal advisory centres in cantons do not charge money for their services. Their assistance is always free.

At no point should you pay for any of their services. If anyone asks you for money, do not comply and seek support immediately.

Once you have applied for asylum, the SEM will examine your application through an asylum procedure to determine whether you need to be protected against persecution or other serious risks in your home country and can therefore remain in Switzerland.

If you enter Switzerland via Zurich or Geneva airport and submit your asylum application in the airport’s transit area, it will be examined under the airport procedure. If you are granted entry, you will be allocated to a Federal Asylum Centre to submit your asylum application.

If you apply for asylum at a Federal Asylum Centre, you will undergo an initial interview where the SEM will decide whether Switzerland is responsible to examine your case or not. [see below What if I already was in another European country?].

Nichteintretensentscheid | Non-entrée en matière | Decisione di non entrata in materia

The SEM can refuse to examine an asylum application on the merits, particularly if one of the following grounds applies:

• Dublin: Another European country is responsible under the Dublin Regulation [see below What if I already was in another European country?]
• You can be referred to another country to which you have an attachment, and which is considered safe*.
• You already received a negative decision on an asylum application by Switzerland or another Dublin State and have no new grounds.

*EU/EFTA countries, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Ghana, India, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Moldova (excluding Transnistria), Mongolia, Montenegro, Senegal, Serbia and the United Kingdom

If Switzerland is responsible, the SEM will examine your case on the merits.

Your case will be examined under the accelerated procedure, unless is it a complex case. You will have another interview with the SEM to determine whether you qualify for asylum. This procedure is intended, normally, to take up to 100 days. During this time, you might be moved to another Federal Asylum Centre depending on reception capacities.

The 24-hour procedure

If you are from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or Libya, your asylum application might follow the 24-hour procedure.

• It is designed to be completed within 24 hours.
• You will have the same rights as in the regular procedure. This includes the right to legal representation and free counselling.
• If your asylum request is rejected, you have the right to appeal.

Families and unaccompanied children are not placed in the 24-hour procedure.

If the SEM cannot decide on your asylum application after the interview due to unclear or incomplete information, you will enter the extended procedure and undergo further interviews. During the extended procedure, you will be assigned to a canton responsible for your accommodation and care throughout the procedure. This procedure can take up to several months.

Regardless of the procedure you will be subject to, you will have an asylum seeker’s permit (N permit) allowing you to stay in Switzerland until a decision is made on your asylum application. You can find more information about the N permit and its corresponding rights here.

If there is anything about your asylum procedure that you do not understand, please talk to your legal representative. This service is free of charge.

For more information on the asylum procedure in Switzerland, please see:

• Asylum procedure: Information for asylum seekers in the Federal Asylum Centres provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• Schematic representation of the asylum procedure provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• Explainer video provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• Information provided by the Swiss Refugee Council
• infoRefugees: 21 Questions and answers on Swiss asylum procedure provided by HEKS

The European Union’s “Dublin Regulation” also applies to Switzerland.

The Dublin Regulation determines the State responsible for examining an asylum application.

The country responsible for examining your asylum application is usually the first European country through which you entered the Schengen space and where the national authorities formally registered your entry (e.g. visa issued, fingerprints collected, etc.). This can be a country on your way to Switzerland and/or a country where you first applied for asylum.

Consequently, the SEM first examines whether Switzerland is responsible for your asylum process according to the Dublin Regulation (“Dublin Procedure”).

There are additional rules on when another European country which is not participating in the Dublin system is responsible for the asylum request on the basis of the “safe third country” principle.

If another European country is responsible for your asylum application, Switzerland will not examine your case, and you will then have to return to that country. Your asylum application will then be examined there.

If you think the decision is not correct, you can appeal against it at the Federal Administrative Court. We recommend that you contact your legal representative, who will explain the process to you and help you with the appeal. Please be aware of the very tight time limits for such an appeal. If you wish to appeal, we recommend that you contact your legal representative immediately.

For more information on the Dublin Procedure, please see:

• Information and frequently asked questions about the Dublin Procedure provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• General information concerning the Dublin Regulation (available in German and French) provided by the Swiss Refugee Council
• Factsheet “I’m in the Dublin procedure – what does this mean?” provided by the European Union
• Information provided by the Asylum Information Database (AIDA)

During the asylum procedure, you have access to free counseling and legal representation upon your arrival at a Federal Asylum Centre. A legal representative will be assigned to your case and will support you through all stages of your asylum and appeal procedures. You can ask them any questions regarding your asylum procedure.

If needed, each Federal Asylum Centre also has a free legal advice office where you can ask any other questions you may have.

If you are in the extended procedure and living in a cantonal accommodation centre, you can contact a legal advice office in your canton of residence for any question regarding your asylum procedure. Please consult the list of the legal advice offices in Switzerland, and further legal counselling resources.

For more information, please see:

• General information concerning legal support (available in German and French) provided by the Swiss Refugee Council

If you are under 18 years old and alone in Switzerland, the asylum procedure will be adapted to your needs.

The child-friendly webpage from UNHCR provides information explained in a way that is easy for children to understand.

Additionally, you can consult this UNICEF leaflet providing information on where to get help, what your rights are, the asylum procedure in Switzerland, what a hearing is, and where you can request asylum.

You will not be alone: An expert called a “person of trust” will help you for free and ensure your rights are respected during the asylum procedure. You can always ask him or her for help with other problems. The person of trust will make time for you.

Always ask your person of trust how you can contact them. Write down the name and telephone number of your person of trust and always have it with you.

For more information, please see:

• General information about children in the asylum procedure provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• General information about children in the asylum procedure (available in German and French) provided by the Swiss Refugee Council

If you receive a positive decision, this means that Switzerland grants you asylum. Asylum means that you can stay in Switzerland, and you get a B permit. You are a recognized refugee.

However, even if you are not granted asylum, you may still be allowed to stay in Switzerland with provisional admission (F permit) – for example, if it is unsafe for you to return to your home country. This means you can stay, but your status will differ from those granted asylum. You will be either a temporary admitted refugee or a temporarily admitted person.

If you think the decision of the SEM not to grant asylum is incorrect, you have the right to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court. Please discuss this with your legal representative.

The SEM provides a brief overview with basic information on the specific regulations that apply to B and F status on numerous topics (available in multiple languages, see Brochure for refugee)

For more information about the B permit and the F permit and their corresponding rights:

• Information on residence status provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
• Information on residence status provided by the Swiss Refugee Council

If you are a refugee from Ukraine and you get a positive decision, protection status S will be granted to you. Please visit the Life in Switzerland for S-Status beneficiaries page for more information on the S permit.

If you are neither granted asylum with a B permit nor provisional admission with an F permit, your asylum application has been rejected and you will have to leave Switzerland. If you do not leave Switzerland within the deadline given to you, you might be removed by force.

After this period, you will be considered an illegal resident, but you will still be entitled to minimum emergency aid for as long as you are present on Swiss territory.

If you believe this decision is not correct, you have the right to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court. During the appeal process, you are allowed to stay in Switzerland:

• We recommend that you contact your legal representative in the Federal Asylum Centre. He or she will explain and help you with the appeal, unless they conclude that it has no chance of success.
• If you received a negative decision and you do not live in a Federal Asylum Centre, you can contact a legal advice office in your canton of residence.
• The NGO AsyLex also provides legal advice free of charge to people whose asylum application has been rejected. You can contact them via their form.
• You may also seek support from a law firm in Switzerland. In this case, however, you will need to pay for their services.

Please be aware of the very tight deadline for filing such an appeal. If you wish to appeal, we recommend that you contact your legal representative immediately.

The Swiss Refugee Council provides practical information on how to appeal against a decision of the State Secretariat of Migration.

If your appeal is ultimately rejected by the Federal Administrative Court, you will be required to leave Switzerland. UNHCR cannot intervene.