Plans mooted to speed up asylum procedure
The government has presented measures to speed up and streamline asylum procedure in a bid to make Switzerland less attractive to asylum seekers.
The legal amendment, which is subject to approval by parliament, foresees shortening the deadline for appeals and preventing multiple applications for the same person.
It also seeks to suspend the possibility of lodging an asylum request at a Swiss embassy.
The cabinet proposes funding an independent advisory service for asylum seekers.
“Our aim is to administer as many cases as possible at the asylum centres in border regions,” said Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf at a news conference on Wednesday.
She said the cabinet was confident of making the procedure more efficient, fighting abuses more consistently and upholding Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition.
“People who need protection will continue to get it,” Widmer-Schlumpf said.
The number of asylum seekers rose from 10,844 in 2007 to just over 16,000 last year, prompting criticism from rightwing politicians.
A previous reform of the asylum law, in force since 2008, aimed to speed up the repatriation of rejected asylum seekers.
Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch
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