Illegal immigration to Switzerland almost tripled in 2022
More than 52,000 cases of illegal migration were registered from January to December, around 33,000 more than in the previous year.
This content was published on January 19, 2023 – 13:22
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The Federal Office for Customs and Border Protection announced on Thursday that many illegal migrants had entered Switzerland via the borders with Austria and Italy. The increase was mainly due to the influx of migrants from Afghanistan and Morocco.
According to border guards, many of those entering the country were in possession of an Austrian asylum procedure card. Most of them were young Afghans who had been in Europe or Turkey for some time. They mainly want to travel on to France or Great Britain.
A total of 476 people smugglers were arrested in 2022.
Cooperation with Austria
A sharp increase in illegal entries was already recorded in 2021. Since that summer, more and more Afghan migrants have been traveling illegally by train from Austria to eastern Switzerland. The canton of St. Gallen opened a migrant processing center in Buchs at the beginning of 2022 to handle administrative procedures.
Last September, Switzerland and Austria agreed on a bilateral action plan to curb illegal migration. Among other things, the two countries agreed on additional cross-border searches and operations to combat smugglers. Joint patrols are to be carried out in cross-border rail traffic.
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