Asylum in Switzerland
refugee status or provisional admission · Official name: Asylverfahren / procédure d'asile (Asylum Act, AsylA)
People fleeing persecution can ask Switzerland for asylum at a border post, at border control at a Swiss airport, or (most often) directly at one of the federal asylum centres. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) runs the procedure. In the accelerated procedure, the time from application to a grant of asylum or removal is a maximum of 140 days, and applicants stay in a federal asylum centre until their case is decided. Recognised refugees are usually granted asylum. People who are refused but cannot be removed (for example because removal is not possible, lawful or reasonable) can be given provisional admission instead.
Life in Switzerland
Finance
3
Currency
Swiss Franc
CHF
Swiss Franc
Cost of living
128
Price level · US = 100
World Bank price levels, 2025
Tax
0.77–11.5%
Income tax (national)
VAT 8.1%
Federal direct tax only: rises in steps (marginal rate peaks at 13.2%) to a flat 11.5% on very high incomes (about CHF 794,000+ for single people, before inflation indexing); cantonal and communal taxes come on top and are usually much larger.
Living
1
Happiness
#10 of 145 countries
World Happiness Report 2025
Who it’s for
People in Switzerland or at its border who fear persecution in their home country and want protection. People displaced from Ukraine use protection status S instead (see CH.TEMPORARY_PROTECTION_S).
Eligibility
Refugee criteria in the Asylum Act
SEM checks whether the reasons given are plausible and whether the person meets the refugee criteria in the Asylum Act. Recognised refugees are usually granted asylum, except in cases such as serious wrongdoing or a threat to national security.
Apply in Switzerland or at its border
- An application can be made orally or in writing at any Swiss border post or at border control at a Swiss airport.
- Most applications are lodged directly at a federal asylum centre.
- SEM has a separate page on applications from abroad; it was not reviewed for this record.
Identity and reasons
Applicants must give the authorities their identity and, where possible, official documents proving it, explain why they left their home country, and are encouraged to provide supporting evidence.
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- 2 more requirements
- 2 documents
- 5 steps
- Processing times and conditions
