Managed migration in Switzerland
Recent stories
Polls suggest Muslims feel integrated
A poll by the MIS institute, published in a Lausanne magazine in December, refuted allegations by right-wing forces, Muslims are not having difficulties in integrating into Swiss society.
20 December 2004 (152 words)
Education of imams in dispute
The Swiss Bishops' conference and Swiss Protestant church federation have suggested that imams who lead prayers in Swiss mosques should be educated in Swiss universities.
24 November 2004 (113 words)
Zurich MP leads fight against forced marriage
Rosmarie Zapfl-Helbling, MP is spearheading a debate on forced marriage at the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg.
21 October 2004 (65 words)
People's Party tries to control immigration and asylum agenda
The Swiss People's Party (SVP) is trying, via the appointment of Christoph Blocher as Minister for Justice and Police, to control the agenda on immigration.
2 September 2004 (177 words)
Basle proposes compulsory language tests for residence right
Basle is discussing plans to force foreigners to attend German classes or an integration course in order to receive or extend a temporary residence permit.
14 August 2004 (164 words)
Zurich refuses to ban hijab
Swiss Muslims have welcomed the fact that the Zurich cantonal government has refused to support the proposal by the SVP to ban the hijab in schools.
23 July 2004 (79 words)
President calls for integration of refugees
On the eve of Refugee Day, Swiss President Joseph Deiss said that more should be done to help refugees integrate.
27 June 2004 (97 words)
Muslims launch campaign against stereotyping
On 24 June, Muslims in Switzerland launched a ten-day campaign to reach out to non-Muslims and challenge media misinformation.
16 June 2004 (152 words)
New immigration law supposed to also promote integration
The House of Representatives voted by 64 to 48 to amend the foreigners law (of 1931) but the SVP denounced the new legislation as too lax, while the Left say it is too harsh.
13 June 2004 (160 words)
Zurich: referendum says 'no' to multi-faith society
In November, voters in the canton of Zurich objected in a plebiscite to a new law that would have led to the official recognition of non-Christian faiths, including Islam.
1 December 2003 (411 words)
Strict limits on foreigners' work permits
Under a bilateral treaty with the EU, 131,000 permits have been made available for European workers.
30 October 2002 (62 words)
Schwyz: another attempt to limit nationality requests
The justice ministry is considering whether the authorities in the central Swiss town of Schwyz are acting within the Constitution by attempting to limit the number of applicants allowed to apply for nationality (which is then put to referendum) to just twelve applicants a year.
1 August 2002 (325 words)
Establishing the principle of useful immigration
According to justice minister Ruth Metzler, in future, immigration will follow a qualification principle, although 'qualifications are not necessarily academic.
1 August 2002 (55 words)
Sans papiers support pastor who sheltered overstayer
Representatives of the sans papiers movement attended court on 23 July to voice their support for Pastor Francisco Gmür, who was being prosecuted for sheltering a mother and her two children who had overstayed their tourist visa.
23 July 2002 (83 words)
EU agrees Schengen entry
In April, the European Commission agreed to open negotiations with the government in order that Switzerland could enter the Schengen agreement where it would enjoy the same associate status as Norway and Iceland.
1 April 2002 (75 words)
The debate about how to manage migration
As the government sets out its proposed new immigration law, the Socialist Party (PS) has been rethinking its position on immigration and integration.
25 February 2002 (170 words)
Foreigners - a vital workforce
According to figures released by the national statistics office in January, foreigners made up over a quarter of the workforce in Switzerland in 2001.
31 January 2002 (41 words)
Review of foreigners and asylum legislation
Parliament will consider proposals by the 'commission of political institutions to the council of states' to review the foreigners' law to prevent any illegal entrant from claiming asylum and to criminalise all those who arrange or contract false marriages.
1 October 2001 (235 words)
Emmen grants all citizenship applications
In March 2000, the town of Emmen was at the centre of a race scandal when its residents voted against granting citizenship to all 48 applicants from Balkan countries.
1 October 2001 (66 words)
Algerian wins right to family life
The European Court of Human Rights has criticised the excessive attitude of the government in refusing to grant a residence permit to an Algerian man, convicted of theft, who is married to a Swiss citizen.
1 October 2001 (86 words)
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