New in Switzerland! Renewal of residence permit now conditional on integration performance

Various new or tweaked Swiss laws, governing a range of issues from foreigners to online shopping, entered into force on 1 January. One of them affects the Foreigner’s law.

Foreigners living in Switzerland now have to meet certain criteria of good behaviour, for example respect for public security and order and constitutional values, before their residence permits are granted or renewed. Economic participation and language skills will also be considered.

Those who show no willingness to integrate may be obliged to sign an integration agreement listing the expectations that need to be met. Failure to comply with such an agreement could affect the renewal of the residence permit. For example, someone with a permanent residence permit (C permit) who doesn’t meet the integration criteria may be relegated to temporary resident status (B permit).

© SwissInfo

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