National Council does not want family reunification for temporarily admitted persons
Published: Tuesday, Sep 24th 2024, 12:20
Updated At: Tuesday, Sep 24th 2024, 13:10
العودة إلى البث المباشر
The National Council is showing toughness towards temporarily admitted persons. They should no longer be allowed to bring family members to Switzerland. The FDP and almost the entire center parliamentary group also voted in favor of the SVP's corresponding motion.
The National Council held an extraordinary session on asylum on Tuesday. The motion, which aims to take away the right of temporarily admitted persons to bring family members to Switzerland, was adopted by 105 votes to 74 with 9 abstentions, against the will of the Federal Council.
"Stay must be short"
The stay of temporarily admitted persons in Switzerland must be short, said SVP spokesperson Thomas Knutti (BE). If their family were allowed to join them, they would "never leave Switzerland again". "We are simply too attractive." The SVP, FDP and several members of the center group voted in favor of the motion.
The initiative would hardly have any effect, warned Justice Minister Beat Jans. The fundamental right to family life is enshrined in the constitution and has been repeatedly recognized by the Federal Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Moreover, the hurdles for family reunification are already high today.
The National Council also wants data on illegal stays in the country to be systematically exchanged in future. The cantons, municipalities, health insurance funds, AHV, IV and other social insurance funds are to be included. It adopted another SVP motion on this issue by 119 votes to 71.
Taskforce Asyl gefordert
The FDP's call for an asylum task force to prevent crises and abuses was also approved by the National Council. The migration of economic migrants and medical tourism must be curbed, said Jacqueline de Quattro (FDP/VD). The asylum system was not equipped for this. Jans argued unsuccessfully for a "no" vote, saying that the request had been met and that such bodies already existed.
The SVP was able to win over the FDP with two further asylum motions, but not the National Council. The latter rejected the idea of no longer recognizing asylum seekers who arrive in Switzerland via a safe third country as refugees. The Federal Council argued that this was not compatible with the Refugee Convention.
The creation of transit zones near the country's borders was also rejected. Asylum seekers would have had to submit their application there and stay until a decision was made. The Federal Council spoke of a disproportionate encroachment on personal freedom and called such transit zones "difficult to implement".
Tougher action for Status S
The conservative majority in the National Council also wants to take a tougher stance on S status for Ukrainian refugees. It adopted a motion by Nicolò Paganini (center/SG) by 131 votes to 67.
It demands that protection status S be withdrawn or no longer granted to people who have left Switzerland for a certain period of time and have already received return assistance or have abusively obtained protection status. "Abuses under S status are disturbing," said Paganini.
The Federal Council countered that abuses were already being consistently combated and that S status was revoked if someone left their home country for longer than 15 days. Jans said that it should be possible to reapply for protection status due to the changing situation in Ukraine.
Incentive to work required
The National Council also adopted a motion by Corina Gredig (GLP/ZH) for an incentive system so that people with S status can become more financially independent with work. Gredig said that people often fail to get a job due to the lack of a permit and waiting times.
The Federal Council requested a no vote, although it is aiming for a higher employment rate of 40 percent. Most recently, the rate was around 28 percent, as Jans explained. That is not enough.
Jans' Department of Justice and Police was recently tasked with proposing changes to the law by February 2025 to make it easier for Ukrainians to work in Switzerland. The aforementioned third-country quotas for people with S status are not possible for legal reasons, said Jans.
The National Council held its third extraordinary asylum session in just a few months, as the Minister of Justice, who has been in office since the beginning of the year, noted. The tone of the debate was emotional at times. The motions that were adopted will now go to the Council of States. It will also hold an asylum session on Wednesday (tomorrow) and will deal with some of the same motions.
©كيستون/إسدا
Arabic 
English 
German 
French 
Spanish