The Swiss Federal Council has decided to extend the protection status S for Ukrainian refugees until March 4, 2025.
In addition, the Council has also established a new goal for labour market integration, aiming to have 40 per cent of individuals eligible for employment with protection status S gain employment by the end of 2024.
According to a recent statement, by the end of October 2023, over 66,000 Ukrainians in Switzerland were holding protection status S.
Given Switzerland’s Schengen membership, the Federal Council considers it vital to coordinate closely with the EU, which decided on October 19 to extend temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees until March 4, 2025.
The Swiss Federal Council
The authority also recognises a continued need for action of labour market integration. The support measures designed for individuals with protection status S, known as “Programme S,” originally adopted on April 13, 2022, and extended on November 9, 2022, will be prolonged until March 4, 2025.
At the same time, the Council will provide CHF 3,000 per person per year for these measures, focusing on funding language courses disbursed to the cantons in stages.
Moreover, there is a heightened effort to facilitate the integration of as many Ukrainian refugees as possible into the labour market. The Federal Council aims to raise the current employment rate from about 20 per cent to 40 per cent by the end of next year.
As the Council explains, to achieve this objective, the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), in collaboration with the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), the cantons, and the social partners, will formulate and implement additional tailored measures.
In March of this year, Switzerland granted permission for young Ukrainian refugees aged 15 to 20 to finish their apprenticeships within the country, even in cases where their special resident status expires. This initiative, led by Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, ensures that these refugees can continue their vocational training.
The data provided by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) revealed that there were approximately 5,000 young Ukrainian refugees aged 15 to 20 who had been granted protection status S in Switzerland during the same period.
Furthermore, UN Refugee Agency figures show that in September 2023, Switzerland registered 66,065 Ukrainian refugees. Among them, a total of 90,310 were granted temporary protection.
