Ukrainians fleeing after Russia’s invasion will be eligible for “S” protection in Switzerland, a status that has never been granted before. Fribourg University law professor Sarah Progin-Theuerkauf welcomes this unprecedented openness by the Swiss authorities.
Some 10 million people have been uprooted from their homes by the war in Ukraine, the United Nations says. Of these, over 3.7 million are refugees, with more than 2 million crossing the border into Poland.
More than 11,000 victims of the war have already been registered in Switzerland. The federal government says it is ready to take in some 60,000. But cantonal authorities tasked with dealing with the new arrivals expect as many as 300,000 refugees to reach Switzerland by the end of the year.
On March 11, the cabinet confirmed it is granting them collective protection under a special status called “S”. In so doing, it is following the lead of the European Union, which activated its Temporary ProtectionExternal link Directive on March 4.
What is S status?
The government developed S protection status in the mid-1990s in response to the Balkan wars. The mechanism is intended to enable the rapid admission of a group of refugees, who are thus freed from long asylum procedures, including individual examinations of why they fled their country. The aim is to be able to cope with a massive influx of people without overloading the asylum system.
Swiss citizens approved a revised asylum law including the S permit in June 1999. It came into force in October the same year after the war in former Yugoslavia ended and the S status has never actually been put into effect.
This special status will be granted to Ukrainian nationals and their families. The Swiss cabinet has aligned itself with the EU’s decision, and also decided to go one step further: third-country nationals driven out by the war will also be entitled to this status. However, they must have received a valid residence permit in Ukraine before the war and have no possibility of returning safely to their country of origin. Furthermore, S status will not be granted to those who have already been given protection status in an EU State.
