In 2008, Switzerland had over 1.6 million foreign residents according to official government statistics, or 21.4 percent of the country's total population. Over half were from EU/EFTA countries, mainly Italy and Germany. Despite non-EU/EFTA immigrants' smaller share of foreign residents, native Swiss have had a mixed response to their presence.
Recent non-EU/EFTA immigration numbers
Switzerland limits the number of non-EU/EFTA citizens who may come to Switzerland to work each year; these third-state nationals have to be highly skilled and may only be admitted if no qualified Swiss or EU/EFTA nationals can be recruited.
In 2008, the largest group of foreigners to receive residence/work permits came from India (2,630 permits, mainly IT professionals), followed by US nationals (1,665 permits) and Canadian nationals (605 permits) employed by multinational companies.
Switzerland admitted 22,900 refugees in 2007. Almost one-fourth were from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro, with one-fifth from Turkey and 10 percent from Iraq.
Zurich: refugees without residence permit stage a protest on 31 December 2008
Integration indicators
In general, non-EU/EFTA foreign residents tend to be less educated, experience lower employment rates and hold lower-skilled jobs, and live in poverty at higher rates than EU/EFTA citizens in Switzerland and Swiss nationals.
Immigrants from the EU-27 countries experience significantly lower unemployment levels than workers from other countries. Unemployment rates among EU-27 country citizens in Switzerland were 4 percent in 2007 versus 14 percent for non-EU-27 country citizens. Among Swiss citizens, the 2007 unemployment rate was 2.7 percent.
Naturalisations are another indicator of immigrant integration. In 2007, 43,900 immigrants from a mix of traditional and newer origin countries became Swiss citizens. The largest share were from Serbia and Montenegro (23.8 percent), followed by Italy (10.5 percent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (6.9 percent), Turkey (6.9 percent), and Macedonia (5.0 percent).
Switzerland remains an overwhelmingly Christian country, with 2.4 million Reformed Protestants and over 3 million Roman Catholics in 2000, the most recent year for which official data are available. Together, these two religions accounted for 75 percent of the population.
In 2000, foreigners from non-EU/EFTA countries accounted for the majority of Switzerland's Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Hindus. By far the largest of these religions was Islam: about 311,000 residents of Switzerland were Muslim in 2000, or 4.3 percent of the country's total population at the time, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.
Integration policies
In Switzerland, the stated objective of immigrant integration policy is "living together peacefully and offering equal opportunities to all."
The federal government has taken a leadership role on immigrant integration since the late 1990s but has delegated most of the day-to-day integration and naturalisation processes to its cantons and municipalities.
The 1999 Integration Article, part of the Act on Foreign Nationals, was the first major revision of Swiss immigration law since 1931.
The law placed strict work qualifications on non-EU/EFTA citizens, reduced barriers to work for legal foreign residents of Switzerland, and condemned abuses including black market labour and illegal family reunification.
Under the 2007 Ordinance on the Integration of Foreigners, part of the Foreign Nationals Act approved in 2006, the Swiss federal government laid out stricter federal guidelines for the integration process of non-EU/EFTA citizens.
The ordinance provides measures to determine an immigrant's level of integration into Swiss society. If an immigrant does not meet those standards, his/her residency permits will not be renewed or will be revoked. The 2007 law mandates that immigrants show good integration in the labour market and make efforts to improve their skills and qualifications.
Tougher laws for non-EU/EFTA citizens
Doudou Diène, UN Special Rapporteur, issued a report in 2007 on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. Diène called the Swiss naturalisation system "racist," in part due to what he characterised as xenophobic and discriminatory legislative campaigns of far-right political parties on immigration and asylum law.
However, the debate in Switzerland over immigration policies was already quite strong.
After a three-year debate, the Swiss parliament in 2005 passed a stricter version of the 1999 foreigner and asylum law. The amendment to the asylum act included new measures to reject asylum requests if the applicant cannot furnish a passport or identity card within 48 hours; systematic rejection of asylum seekers coming from neighbouring transit countries considered safe; and denial of social assistance for applicants rejected for asylum.
The United Nations and Amnesty International, in addition to several Swiss political parties, churches, and advocacy groups, harshly criticised the amendment.
The Swiss People's Party
In 2007, during the federal election campaign, the SVP received international attention for its outspoken anti-immigrant rhetoric. Specifically, the SVP campaigned on an initiative that would have expelled immigrants who commit serious crimes. The party's posters depicted three white sheep kicking out a black sheep, against the background of the Swiss flag. The posters — which the SVP later withdrew — proclaimed, "For More Security."
The SVP received 29 percent of votes for elected officials in the 2007 election, gaining 62 seats in the National Council (the lower house of parliament). It was the most votes obtained by a single party in Switzerland's multiparty system since 1919.
The party's fortunes have waned since the 2007 election, partly due to internal divisions in party leadership. In a February 2009 vote, the SVP experienced a significant defeat when nearly 60 percent of Swiss voters approved a referendum to continue the free-movement-of-labour agreements Switzerland has with 25 EU Member States and extend those to Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the European Union in 2007.
The SVP received another blow in March 2009 when, following several hours of debate, the Swiss House of Representatives voted against its proposal to ban minarets. The minaret proposal will go to the people in a national referendum at the earliest in November 2009.
Popular attitudes
The active presence of racism and xenophobia in Switzerland varies by region. In francophone western Switzerland, and particularly in Geneva, home to the United Nations and other international organisations, tolerance for foreigners is high.
The strongholds of anti-immigrant political parties lie in rural German-speaking Switzerland and in the southern Ticino region, which has its own far-right party called the Lega dei Ticinesi.
Supporters of the Lega dei Ticinesi during a meeting
The headscarf as an open expression of Muslim faith has been the topic of continuing debate in Switzerland. Critics believe the headscarf contradicts Swiss democratic values about the equality of women, while others say wearing a headscarf should be a personal freedom. A 2004 Isopublic poll showed 53 percent of Swiss agreed with the Swiss supermarket chain Migros in its move to allow employees to wear the Muslim headscarf while at work.
Looking ahead
Switzerland remains open to EU/EFTA immigration despite a healthy level of debate. In the near term, however, Swiss voters may face decisions about the expulsion of foreign criminals and the construction of minarets.
As Micheline Calmy-Rey, the minister of foreign affairs, said to an international audience in 2008 regarding Swiss proposals to ban minarets, Swiss voters "have always known how to react to the excesses of certain initiatives." Whether voters view tight controls on foreigners' integration into society as "excessive" remains to be seen.
Text: Julie Schindall / Migration Information Source / Expatica 2009
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Integration of, and attitudes toward, non-EU/EFTA citizens in Switzerland.
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