Making it easier for refugees with protection status S to find work
Published: Tuesday, Dec 19th 2023, 11:50
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Refugees with protection status S should be able to get a job in Switzerland more easily. The National Council has adopted a motion aimed at replacing the current work permit requirement for such persons with a registration requirement.
With 128 votes to 64 from the SVP ranks, the large chamber accepted the proposal from the State Policy Committee (SPK-N) on Tuesday. The motion will now go to the Council of States.
Speaking on behalf of the SPK-N, Green National Councillor Greta Gysin from Ticino said that the aim was to better integrate people with S status into the labor market. She pointed out that recognized and temporarily admitted refugees can work in Switzerland if the job has been registered.
A Yes vote on the motion would therefore put people with protection status S on an equal footing with refugees.
Aargau SVP National Councillor Martina Bircher said that Ukrainians with protection status S had the right to travel to their home country for 60 days a year. This is a major obstacle to their integration into the labor market. This is where the leverage should be applied.
The Federal Council requested a yes to the motion. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said that the national government wanted to increase the number of working persons from Ukraine with S protection status from the current 20 percent to 40 percent by the end of 2024. The change from a permit to a registration requirement is an important element on the way to achieving this goal.
S status is granted to refugees from Ukraine and their close relatives. They can immediately accept a job and send their children to school. They can also travel abroad and return to Switzerland. According to the latest figures from the Federal Council, around 66,000 people with S status were living in Switzerland at the beginning of December.
Last November, the Federal Council decided not to lift the S status before March 4, 2025.
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