Switzerland and Italy resume asylum seeker transfers

After nearly four years of blockage, Switzerland is resuming transfers of asylum seekers to Italy. Magdalena Baker, spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), confirmed to SRF that the first flights have already been booked and that the practice will restart by the end of August. For now, only isolated cases are involved.

The SEM has agreed with Italian authorities on a gradual resumption. According to the spokesperson, it is in Switzerland's interest that the process be managed sustainably for both sides, so the system holds up over time without becoming overloaded.

A European pact with conditions

The blockage dates back to December 2022, shortly after Giorgia Meloni's government took office: Italy stopped readmitting asylum seekers altogether, in violation of the Dublin agreement, which allows Switzerland and other Dublin states to return asylum seekers to Italy if they first entered the EU there.

Italy's renewed willingness is linked to the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum, in force since June 12, which provides financial support and other relief for Italy and other countries of first arrival — but only if they meet their obligations. Italy, however, appears willing to readmit only people who arrived after that date: a few days ago, a first transfer from Germany failed because the three people involved had entered before June 12, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Switzerland's first cases also concern asylum seekers who arrived after the pact took effect. The new procedures must first be tested on current cases, Baker explains. The SEM does not clarify whether readmissions of people who arrived earlier will also be rejected for Switzerland, but stresses that no agreement with Italy excludes people who arrived before June 12 from being returned.

For the people affected, the more concrete questions remain open. Since the end of 2022, Italy should have taken back 3,784 asylum seekers from Switzerland. With transfers blocked, the Confederation had to grant them a regular asylum procedure: nearly 40% have since obtained protection and can stay in Switzerland, while more than 1,300 people are still in the process. According to the SEM, only 652 cases could ultimately result in an actual return to Italy.