Family

If an asylum-seeker first travels alone to an EU/EFTA country, but already has family members (spouse or long-term partners as well as minor children; in exceptional cases also siblings, uncles, aunts and grandparents) in another EU/EFTA country, it is possible to apply for family reunification. The goal is to be transferred to the country where the family members already live.

Family reunion under Dublin III needs written consent of both parties. The request has to be submitted in the country where the new applicant (EU/EFTA country) is located. The person applying for asylum outside of Switzerland in an EU/EFTA country has 3 months from the submission of the asylum application to apply for family reunification. However, the application for family reunification may also be filed simultaneously with the asylum application.

Important: The person living in Switzerland must have stated in their asylum application that they still have living family members outside Switzerland, otherwise an application for family reunion is not possible.

We (in Switzerland) can push the SEM and ask regularly for the state of proceedings to fasten it up. Consider these templates while writing a request.  For questions, reach out to international@asylex.ch. 

As a special case of refugees in Greece, Switzerland applies the Humanitarian Clause in the following case: If a family has been in Greece for a long time, and one family member has traveled to Switzerland before, the family members in Greece may submit a family reunification application to the responsible Greek Immigration Office, even if the family members have been in Greece for more than 3 months. However, there is no legal certainty in this constellation.

In cases with family members in Greece, we those family members to our partner organization Advocates Abroad, who support with the application there. Please ask Lea for support with the coordination.

Please note that this process of family reunification takes a lot of time, normally about 9 months overall. Therefore, many clients, in the end, decide to move on illegally instead of waiting for the permit to enter Switzerland legally. This is only a short summary. Please find all details on Drive

A foreign person living in Switzerland with a B permit can apply for family reunification with foreign spouses and unmarried children under 18 years. Please note that several conditions have to be fulfilled and the legal deadlines have to be met. Furthermore, there is no claim to family reunification. This means, that the migration authorities do not have to grant family reunification even if the conditions are fulfilled. Please note that the request for reunification has to be made within 5 years upon receipt of the B permit (1 year for kids between 12 and 18 years) and the family must not be dependent on social aid and/or supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen, EL). As of January 2019, the family member abroad has to hand in a language certificat level A1 of the official language spoken at the place of residence. As an exception, a language course registration can be sufficient. However, the language certificate must be submitted at the first renewal of the permit (one year). The request has to be made with the cantonal migration authorities.

Spouses and minor children of persons with a B permit (refugee status) can become part of the refugee status of the person with the B permit (family asylum), if they do not independently fulfill the refugee conditions themselves. By means of family asylum, such persons "only" get derived asylum, which means that they cannot reunify family members (e.g. extramarital minor children or a new partner) of themselves. The advantage is that it is usually a faster procedure as the authority does not examine their own asylum claims. The disadvantage is that they only get derived asylum and, therefore, they cannot ask for further reunification with their family members again (e.g. children from their first marriage). In general, it is always advisable to make their own asylum application because they have better opportunities and more rights (e.g. family reunification) than with the derived asylum. The requirement not to be dependent on social aid does not apply here. The request has to be filed with SEM directly. A visa can be granted by SEM for the entry into Switzerland of the family member if such family members have been separated due to the flight. This is only a short summary. Please find all details on Drive. 

Spouses and minor children of persons with an S permit (temporary protection) can be included in their temporary protection status according to Art. 71 AsylG. The conditions are very similar to family asylum. The requirement not to be dependent on social aid does not apply here either. The request has to be filed with SEM directly. A visa can be granted by SEM for the entry into Switzerland of the family member if such family members have been separated due to the flight. This is only a short summary. Please find more details (template) on Drive. 

A foreign person living in Switzerland with a F permit can apply for family reunification with foreign spouses and unmarried children under 18 years. Please note that several conditions have to be fulfilled and the legal deadlines have to be met, in particular independence of social aid and/or supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen, EL). As of January 2019, the family member abroad has to hand in a language certificat level A1 of the official language spoken at the place of residence. As an exception, a language course registration can be sufficient. How- ever, the language certificate must be submitted at the first renewal of the permit (one year). Furthermore, there is no claim to family reunification. This means that the migration authorities do not have to grant family reunification even if the conditions are fulfilled. On top of that, there is a waiting period (Wartefrist) of three years after the temporary protection has been granted. Only after the waiting period, they can apply for family reunification within the legal deadlines of 5 respectively 1 year(s) (Nachzugsfrist).

Spouses and minor children of persons with F permit (refugee status), who have been sepa- rated during the escape, can become part of the refugee status of the person with the F permit (family asylum) if they do not independently fulfill the refugee conditions themselves. By means of family asylum, such persons "only" get derived asylum, which means that they cannot reu- nify family members (e.g. extramarital minor children or a new partner) of themselves. The advantage is that it is usually a faster procedure, as the authority does not examine their own asylum claims and the waiting period of three years (Wartefrist) does not apply in this case. The disadvantage is that they only get derived asylum. In general, it is always advisable to make their own asylum application because they have better opportunities and more rights (e.g. family reunification) than with the derived asylum. This is only a short summary. Please find all details on Drive.

A foreign national can get married in Switzerland if certain requirements are fulfilled: Firstly, the Swiss authorities have to have jurisdiction to pronounce a marriage. This is given if one of the spouses has domicile (Wohnsitz) in Switzerland. Nevertheless, in the case of refugees, place of habitual residence (gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt) is sufficient. To be able to marry, the prospective spouses must have reached 18 years of age and have the capacity of judgement (Urteilsfähigkeit). Furthermore, spouses are not allowed to be legally related (e.g. siblings) and any previous marriage has to be annulled or dissolved (bigamy is not allowed in Switzerland!).

Besides fulfilling these requirements, the spouses have to go through the preparatory procedure for weddings (Ehevorbereitungsverfahren) before they can get married. The wedding cer- emony takes place in the presence of the civil registrar (Zivilstandsbeamter) after the preparatory procedure has been taken, and the engaged couple may marry in the civil register district of their choice. It is important to note that no religious wedding ceremony is permitted prior to the civil ceremony. Additionally, if at least one of the spouses is a foreign national, the civil registrar can refuse the request for marriage if the bride or groom clearly has no intention of living together but wish to circumvent the laws on the admission and residence of foreign na- tionals, or if the marriage does not correspond to the fiancée's free will. The couple must then make an application in person to conduct the preparatory procedure at the place of residence of their choice, supporting their personal details with documents and personally declaring to the civil registrar that they meet the marriage requirements. The spouses have to hand in the following documents:

• Identity document (passport, ID, etc.)

• A current domicile certificate (Wohnsitzbescheinigung)

• Documents concerning birth, sex, name, descent, civil status (single certificate or document concerning the dissolution of the last marriage or registered partnership) and- nationality

• A document proving that either spouse is legally resident in Switzerland (e.g. permit C, B, F or N) → this requirement can be difficult for (rejected) asylum seekers or undocumented migrants (Sans-Papiers). Therefore, the migration offices are obliged to guarantee the right of legal residence (Aufenthaltsrecht) by issuing a provisional (short) residence permit for the purpose of marriage, provided there is no evidence of a fictitious marriage (prov. Aufenthaltsbewilligung zwecks Eheschliessung) and a legal residence is clearly given after the marriage. Practices among Cantons vary significantly and, unfortunately, in certain Cantons it is close to impossible for those people to get married.

• Only foreign fiancées who have children together: Documents about date of birth (“dob”), names and descent of the common children in the form described above

The cantonal registry offices (Zivilstandsämter) have lists sorted by nationality, which indicate all documents required for a marriage. It should be noted that the documents required for foreign fiancees vary from country to country (see e.g. information provided by the canton Basel-Landschaft on getting married. In principle, the documents may not be older than six months. If they are not written in an official Swiss language, they must be accompanied by a certified translation into an official Swiss language. It is not necessary to provide these registration documents if the persons concerned and their children are already registered in the register of births, deaths and marriages and the data are up-to- date; the competent civil registry will inform the spouses of this. Since it may be difficult for refugees to obtain the necessary documents, efforts to request the documents must be proven (either through relatives or lawyers, etc.). Depending on the country, the corresponding documents must also be authorized (beglaubigt). Various documents are therefore required for the admission of foreign nationals in Swiss civil status registers. In the guidelines published online by the Canton of Zurich, foreign nationals can find important information on the documents required   to   authenticate   an   event   of   civil   status   in   Switzerland. Under the following link, the guidelines are listed alphabetically by country. Even if there are guidelines for countries such as Syria, Eritrea or Ethiopia, the list is unfortunately not complete. According to oral information from the Zurich Civil Registry Office, the Federal Office of Civil Registry maintains complete internal lists with the respective countries and the necessary documents, which how- ever are not accessible to the public.

The registrar checks the application and informs the spouses in writing whether they can marry. The wedding can take place no earlier than ten days and no later than three months after the positive conclusion of the preparatory procedure has been announced to the couple. Subsequently, the civil registry office (Zivilstandsamt) discusses the details of the marriage with the fiancees. The local civil registry office can always be contacted in case of further questions.

Please note that asylum seekers are required to submit all their documents to SEM (i.e. passport, birth certificate, etc.). This poses additional challenges if these people want to get married, since it is not possible to get the documents back during the asylum procedure, and mostly also not afterwards. Many clients do, therefore and for other reasons, not submit their passport to SEM. A separate section on the specific issues of which permit a person will get after marriage will follow.A foreign national can get married in Switzerland if certain requirements are fulfilled: Firstly, the Swiss authorities have to have jurisdiction to pronounce a marriage. This is given if one of the spouses has domicile (Wohnsitz) in Switzerland. Nevertheless, in the case of refugees, place of habitual residence (gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt) is sufficient. To be able to marry, the prospective spouses must have reached 18 years of age and have the capacity of judgement (Urteilsfähigkeit). Furthermore, spouses are not allowed to be legally related (e.g. siblings) and any previous marriage has to be annulled or dissolved (bigamy is not allowed in Switzerland!).

If a client contacts us, saying that someone he knows went missing, please refer to the red cross, who are specialized for this kind of cases. You may contact them by Email or Telephone (tracing@redcross.ch or 058 400 43 80).

 Women specific issues can play a role in many aspects of a claim for asylum or residence but are usually not taken into account due to a lack of awareness. The recently ratified Istanbul Convention addresses these issues directly, but the respective legal provisions can also be found in the AsylG or AuG.

As a general statement, it is crucial that women make their own claim for asylum upon arrival so that they get their own status and not just a derived asylum which is dependent on their husband’s status and also on the persistence of the marriage/family household.

Women specific issues in asylum claims: Gender-based violence against women is in certain forms (female genital mutilation, domestic violence, forced marriage, honor crimes, violence for reason of sexual orientation and gender identity, human trafficking) recognized as a form of persecution within the meaning of the Refugee Convention and as a form of serious harm giving rise to complementary/subsidiary protection. The persecutors in such cases are usually private individuals and not the state, which makes the legal justification for a refugee status a bit more tricky (namely to prove that there is no effective protection from the state and no internal flight or relocation alternative). When gender-based violence is involved, it is important to make use of the right to be questioned by a person of the same sex in order to make sure that the women feels comfortable to tell her story so that a correct and complete assessment of the facts is possible.

For more information on refugee law & human trafficking, please read this publication by Nula Frei.

Women specific issues in claims for residence permit: If a woman has only a derived asylum/residence status, she would normally lose her residence permit after the dissolution of the marriage or of the family household. However, if the marriage lasted a minimum of three years and integration has been successful or if important personal reasons make an extended residency in Switzerland necessary, their residence permit can be extended. Women specific is- sues can count as important personal reasons. This includes namely if the woman has been a victim of domestic violence, of forced marriage or if her social integration as a divorced and single mother in the home country would be seriously prejudiced.