Asylum Information Database (AIDA)

The Asylum Information Database (AIDA) is a database managed by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), containing information on asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention and content of international protection across 23 countries. This includes 19 European Union (EU) Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia) and 4 non-EU countries (Switzerland,  Serbia, Türkiye, United Kingdom). The Swiss Refugee Council is responsible for the reports on Switzerland and updates the report annually.

In 2023, 30,223 people applied for asylum in Switzerland, an increase of over 20% compared to 2022. The main countries of origin were Afghanistan, Türkiye, Eritrea, Algeria and Morocco. More than 10% of new asylum applicants were unaccompanied minors. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) issued 26,667 asylum decisions at first instance. The overall protection rate was 39.3%, rising to 78.4% when only in-merit decisions are considered. There were 15,567 number of pending cases at first instance at the end of 2023. In addition, 23,012 people from Ukraine applied for Status S in Switzerland in 2023 and 18,375 of them were granted it.

Due to the continued high numbers of asylum applications in 2023, the SEM and legal protection actors had to increase their staffing levels. The SEM also introduced several measures to accelerate the asylum procedure for certain categories of applicants, including people from countries of origin with low protection rates, asylum seekers from Afghanistan and unaccompanied minors. 

The continued high numbers of asylum and TP applicants in 2023 meant that reception facilities at both the federal and the cantonal levels continued to be under pressure throughout 2023 and into early 2024. One solution was the use of civil protection bunkers. The National Commission for the Prevention of Torture visited several centres and made a number of recommendations. A shortage of personnel to support asylum seekers living in the centres has also created an additional challenge.

Since the implementation of Status S for people fleeing from Ukraine, a debate about the differential treatment of protection seekers from different countries based on their different legal statuses has opened in Switzerland. An evaluation group coordinated by the Federal Department of Police and Justice is examining the differences between temporary admission status (‘Status F’) and Status S. The Swiss Refugee Council has called for a uniform humanitarian status to replace both Status F and Status S in order to ensure equality of treatment for protection seekers fleeing situations of war.