Asylum procedure

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Engaging with the authorities

  • If you receive a letter from the authorities as part of the asylum procedure, always immediately inquire about the matter. You can do this at the asylum shelter or at a legal counseling center. Make sure that you really understood what is ordered or asked in the letter.
  • Keep every letter from the authorities and take your entire file with you when you ask someone for advice. Always make copies of your documents.
  • If you receive an asylum decision, you must act very quickly. The deadlines for appealing against a decision are very short.
  • Always contact a legal counseling center in the address section under Foreigners.

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Questioning grounds for asylum

  • You applied for asylum. By doing this, you say that you (you personally) are at risk or in a life-threatening situation in your home country.
  • You have the obligation to demonstrate or make credible that you are at risk. Financial or economic reasons are not accepted.
  • You also are obligated to cooperate in verifying your identity. However, you cannot be forced to contact the authorities of your home country.
  • The authorities usually question you twice. During both interviews, you must be able to convince the authorities that you are threatened in your home country.
  • Prepare very carefully for these interviews. Try to put together pieces of evidence (arrest warrants, periodicals, etc.) in advance of the interview. Get in touch with people who can help you.
  • Remember exactly what you said at the first interview. Contradictions between your statements can have negative consequences for you.
  • Often pieces of evidence (for example an arrest warrant) do not exist. In this case, you do not need to prove anything, but the credibility of your information is examined in depth. You must appear authentic.
  • You will be asked about the persecution, your journey to Europe, your life in your home country, etc. Always try to answer as precisely as possible, do not come up with exaggerations or simplifications.
  • Make sure that the interviewers have really understood your report. If you sense distrust, try to explain your story as accurately as possible.
  • If you have the impression that the translation is not correct or not in your favor, let them know.

If you are a minor, make sure that your age is recorded correctly. If the authorities do not record your real age, please contact a legal adviser in the address section under  Foreigners. As a minor, you receive more protection than an adult.

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Mandatory measures and deportation

  • If you receive a letter from the authorities giving you a time limit for leaving the country or announcing a deportation (“Wegweisungsvollzug”), always contact a legal counseling center in the address section under Foreigners.
  • If your asylum application has been rejected, you are obliged by law to leave Switzerland. However, you have the option to request a re-evaluation of your application (“Wiedererwägungsgesuch”). For such an admission, strict requirements apply.
  • If you want to leave Switzerland voluntarily, you can claim return assistance and return programs.
  • If you stay in Switzerland after the deadline is expired, you risk mandatory measures, a complaint of an illegal stay, and an entry ban for Switzerland.

Preparatory detention (“Vorbereitungshaft”)

  • To keep you from escaping a deportation, preparatory detention for a maximum of six months can be ordered. Preparatory detention is permissible if
    • you refuse to disclose your identity or follow official orders,
    • you violate an exclusion or restriction,
    • enter the territory of Switzerland despite an entry ban and cannot be immediately expelled,
    • you apply for asylum after an earlier approval has been withdrawn or has not been renewed because of a threat to public security and order,
    • you apply for asylum after you have been expelled,
    • you apply for asylum to avoid an imminent expulsion,
    • you have been convicted or prosecuted because you are seriously threatening other persons or lives,
    • you have been convicted of a crime.

Detention pending deportation (“Ausschaffungshaft”)

  • As soon as your expulsion is ordered by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) or by a criminal court, detention pending deportation can be ordered.
  • Such an order is permitted if
    • you are already in preparatory detention,
    • the law concerning foreigners (“Ausländergesetz”) applies (as under preparatory detention),
    • it is indicated that you want to escape the deportation,
    • your previous attitude suggests rejection against official orders,
    • the definitive removal decision is issued in a federal center for asylum seekers and the deportation is foreseeable. In this case detention may not exceed 30 days.
  • Detention pending deportation is also permissible if an enforceable decision has been made, the deadline has expired without you leaving Switzerland, and the cantonal authority must get travel documents for you. In this case, detention may not exceed 60 days.
  • Deportation can take place on 3 different levels:
    • In level 1, the police will escort you to the plane. The deportation is carried out without handcuffs or police assistance.
    • If you refuse, a level 2 deportation is carried out. You are handcuffed and escorted by a police officer on a regular flight.
    • If this form is not possible due to your behavior, the deportation is carried out on level 4 with stronger restraints and with a special flight. This can already be the case if you do not cooperate with the authorities regarding your leave.
    • Note that level 4 deportations are not conducted to all countries. Please contact a legal counseling center in the address section under Foreigners.
  • Families with children enjoy special protection under the Children’s Rights Convention. If detention pending deportation is ordered for you or your family, insist that you and your family are not placed separately. Please contact a legal counseling center in the address section under Foreigners.

Detention in the Dublin procedure

  • If you have come to Switzerland via a Dublin state, and if Switzerland denies responsibility for processing your application for asylum, you are subject to the Dublin procedure.
  • In this case, you may only be arrested if there is a considerable risk of escaping, if detention is appropriate, and less restrictive measures cannot be applied effectively. Imprisonment may be ordered already during the preparation of the decision.
  • The maximum length of Dublin custody depends on many conditions. Please, get some advice on this matter.
  • Unlike the forms of detention discussed above, the Dublin custody does not need to be automatically reviewed by a court. You yourself must ask, in writing, for a review of detention. This appeal is free of charge and does not entail any disadvantages for you.

Coercive Detention (“Durchsetzungshaft”)

  • If a legally binding expulsion cannot be carried out – for example because you are resisting or if detention pending deportation is legally not possible – coercive detention can be ordered.
  • Coercive detention can last one month and may repeatedly be extended by a two months period with the consent of the judicial authority.

Maximum length of detention

  • Preparatory detention, detention pending deportation, or detention in the Dublin procedure all together may not exceed 6 months. However, with cantonal legal consent this period may be extended by another 12 months (six months for minors). You must be released after a maximum of 18 months.

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