Switzerland joins Denmark in seizing assets from refugees to cover costs
SRF's 10 vor 10 news programme showed a receipt a refugee from Syria said he received from authorities when he had to turn over more than half of the cash his family had left after paying traffickers to help them get to the neutral Alpine country.
It also showed an information sheet for refugees that stated: "If you have property worth more than 1,000 Swiss francs when you arrive at a reception centre you are required to give up these financial assets in return for a receipt."
Stefan Frey, from refugee aid group Schweizerische Fluechtlingshilfe, was quoted as saying: "This is undignified ... This has to change."
SRF cited the state migration authority SEM as justifying the measure, noting the law called for asylum seekers and refugees to contribute where possible to the cost of processing their applications and providing social assistance.
An SEM spokeswoman told SRF: "If someone leaves voluntarily within seven months this person can get the money back and take it with them. Otherwise the money covers costs they generate."
In addition, refugees who win the right to stay and work in Switzerland have to surrender 10% of their pay for up to 10 years until they repay 15,000 Swiss francs in costs, according to the report.
Denmark is amending a proposal to confiscate refugees' possessions to pay for their stay. It plans to raise the amount they will be allowed to keep after coming under fire from the United Nations refugee agency.
Several organisations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, have censured the Nordic country for the proposal, as well as for others that would delay family reunification and make acquiring refugee and residence status more difficult.
Source: The Guardian