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Historical background

1998: Switzerland drops its “three circles” policy on admission priority (Europe, North America/Japan, rest of the world). 1999: Signature of Bilateral Agreements I (including the AFMP). 1 June 2002: Implementation of the AFMP in the EU-15 states (Austria,...

The spirit of the law

“Illegal migration” Official terminology often uses the term “illegal migration” to describe persons coming to live in Switzerland without official authorisation. We prefer to speak of “regular” migration to describe legal and...

The maze of authorities and bureaucratic structures

Switzerland is a federal state (although, for historical reasons, it is called a Confederation). State institutions span several levels: at the federal level, there are the parliament, courts and bureaucratic authorities. In addition, there are subdivisions called...

Legal framework

Swiss migration law is governed primarily by the Federal Act of 16 December 2005 on Foreign Nationals (FNIA) and the ordinances regulating its implementation, the most important of which is the ASEO (a kind of “mini law” drafted under the auspices of the...