legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Other types of residence permit
Temporary protection
In accordance with Section 4 of the Asylum Law, “Switzerland can provide temporary protection
to people in need of protection for as long as they are exposed to a serious general danger, in
particular during a war or civil war as well as in situations of generalised violence”.
This provision, introduced into Swiss legislation by the new Asylum Law in force since October
1999, has not yet been applied.
Provisional admission
A form of complementary protection, called provisional admission, may be granted if, following
the rejection of an asylum application, the enforcement of the removal order is deemed
technically impossible, is not allowed under international law (Article 33 of the Geneva
Convention, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights or Article 3 of the Convention
against Torture) or is not “reasonable”. Provisional admission does not hold any status under
international law but provides an alternative measure to an expulsion order which cannot be
enforced. The residence permits granted are renewable.
According to article 44 of the Asylum Law, provisional admission may also be granted for
humanitarian reasons in cases of serious personal plight when an application for asylum has
been pending for more than four years. In addition to the minimum stay of four years, the asylum
seeker must be financially independent and have children who have been attending public
schools for at least two years. After eight years, one of the two conditions mentioned above can
be removed.
A residence permit granted under provisional admission is renewable. Access to work is seriously
limited and social benefits are equivalent to those of an asylum seeker. It is not possible to travel
and family reunification is very difficult.
Kosovo Albanians who came to Switzerland in spring-summer 1999 were not granted temporary
protection according to Section 4 of the Asylum Law (see above), as this provision had not yet
entered into force. Instead, all Kosovo Albanians staying in Switzerland (60,000 by June 1999)
were granted collective provisional admission by special Decree of 6 April 1999 in the form of a
residence permit valid for six months renewable. This was, however, lifted in August 1999
following the peace agreement. In practice, Kosovo Albanians have been given the opportunity to
remain in Switzerland until 31 May 2000 by way of the suspension of forced returns to Kosovo.
Rejection at the border
The Federal Office for Refugees (“Bundesamt für Flüchtlinge”, “Office fédéral des réfugiés” –
FOR) is responsible for making decisions on entry into the territory regarding aliens who apply for
asylum at land and airport borders.
According to Section 21 of the Asylum Law, entry should be granted to an alien who does not
meet the normal requirements for entry (documentation and /or visa) but who appears to fall
under the definition of Section 3(1) of the Asylum Law, or is at risk of inhuman treatment in the
country which he/she comes directly from.
Entry should also be allowed if the alien gives convincing arguments which demonstrate that the
country which he/she comes directly from may send him/her to another country, where he/she
would be exposed to danger, in violation of the non-refoulement principle.
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Switzerland