Twice this week, the blood of the UDC was in full swing. “Socialist asylum minister Beat Jans shows his true colors,” lamented the party. First, on Wednesday, the Federal Council proposed relaxation in terms of family reunification. Then, and this is a coincidence of the calendar, but at the same time, he called for refusing at the same time a motion tabled by the UDC group which wanted, on the contrary, to toughen the law on family reunification, as shown in its response published on Friday.
We are only talking here about people admitted provisionally. These are those who came to Switzerland to ask for asylum and who were refused but whom Switzerland cannot send back to their countries, mainly for security reasons. They obtain an F permit. Today, they must wait three years before being able to request family reunification but this period must increase to two years to comply with a decision of the European Court of Human Rights.
Suffice to say that it is not a surprise if the Federal Council judges that the parallel proposal of the UDC to Parliament, which is to purely and simply eliminate the right to family reunification for people with an F permit, must be refused. “Beat Jans bows before the judges of Strasbourg,” reacted the party, which denounced flaws in the law. “The possibility of family reunification for people admitted provisionally does not constitute a flaw in the asylum system, it is a requirement of fundamental rights,” retorts the Federal Council.
The government is not worried about the shortening of the deadline, regardless of the SVP. Particularly because the conditions set do not change (read box). Additionally, the numbers are low. On average, between 2018 and 2022, 333 people with an F permit requested family reunification each year. The majority of requests were also refused, with only 126 on average being accepted.
If most requests are rejected, it is because the conditions are quite severe. Only spouses and children under 18 can be brought to Switzerland. Family reunification is refused if the person requesting it receives social assistance or additional benefits. The people we want to bring must speak the language of the region where they will live or “be registered for a linguistic encouragement offer”. The State Secretariat for Migration says that people’s identities are systematically checked to be sure that it is indeed close family who is coming. The UDC does not believe it.
