The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) on 26 January 2026 published its provisional migration and asylum statistics for 2025. According to the release, net immigration to Switzerland’s permanent foreign-resident population fell to about 75,000 people last year—10 percent less than in 2024. Departures rose to roughly 83,000, while arrivals declined three percent to 165,000. For employers, the key takeaway is that labour-market pressure from population growth has eased slightly, even though staff shortages remain acute in sectors such as healthcare and ICT.
Asylum applications also receded. Authorities registered 25,781 first-time claims in 2025, down 7.1 percent year-on-year, plus 4,820 so-called secondary applications covering births, family reunifications and repeat filings. The number of pending cases dropped 22 percent to about 9,400 thanks to internal process reforms and faster Dublin transfers. Most applicants continued to originate from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Turkey.
HR teams seeking hands-on help with Swiss entry visas and work permits can streamline their processes through VisaHQ’s dedicated Switzerland portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/). The platform consolidates the latest document requirements, provides step-by-step application guidance, and offers courier coordination—reducing administrative friction for both employers and assignees.
![Swiss Migration Authority Reports 2025 Net-Migration Slow-Down and Predicts Fewer Asylum Claims for 2026]()
Protection-status ‘S’ requests by Ukrainian refugees fell 22 percent to 12,897, mirroring the stabilisation of refugee outflows from Ukraine. Economic integration of this group is improving: 46 percent of Ukrainians who have lived in Switzerland for more than three years are now in employment, SEM said.
Looking ahead, the government’s base scenario foresees another slight decline to around 25,000 asylum claims in 2026 and 12,000 further ‘S’ applications. Officials warn, however, that conflict escalation in Turkey or along the Central Mediterranean route could change the outlook rapidly.
For global-mobility and HR teams, the figures suggest that pressure on federal reception facilities is easing and processing times should shorten. Employers sponsoring work permits for third-country nationals are unlikely to see immediate changes to quota levels (which remain fixed for 2026), but could benefit from a marginally more relaxed political climate around immigration. Companies should nonetheless continue to factor in regional housing shortages and rising demand for integration services when planning long-term assignments.
Asylum applications also receded. Authorities registered 25,781 first-time claims in 2025, down 7.1 percent year-on-year, plus 4,820 so-called secondary applications covering births, family reunifications and repeat filings. The number of pending cases dropped 22 percent to about 9,400 thanks to internal process reforms and faster Dublin transfers. Most applicants continued to originate from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Turkey.
HR teams seeking hands-on help with Swiss entry visas and work permits can streamline their processes through VisaHQ’s dedicated Switzerland portal (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/). The platform consolidates the latest document requirements, provides step-by-step application guidance, and offers courier coordination—reducing administrative friction for both employers and assignees.
Protection-status ‘S’ requests by Ukrainian refugees fell 22 percent to 12,897, mirroring the stabilisation of refugee outflows from Ukraine. Economic integration of this group is improving: 46 percent of Ukrainians who have lived in Switzerland for more than three years are now in employment, SEM said.
Looking ahead, the government’s base scenario foresees another slight decline to around 25,000 asylum claims in 2026 and 12,000 further ‘S’ applications. Officials warn, however, that conflict escalation in Turkey or along the Central Mediterranean route could change the outlook rapidly.
For global-mobility and HR teams, the figures suggest that pressure on federal reception facilities is easing and processing times should shorten. Employers sponsoring work permits for third-country nationals are unlikely to see immediate changes to quota levels (which remain fixed for 2026), but could benefit from a marginally more relaxed political climate around immigration. Companies should nonetheless continue to factor in regional housing shortages and rising demand for integration services when planning long-term assignments.
