Foreign population

Anyone residing in Switzerland at a given time, but who does not have Swiss nationality is defined as a foreign national. The permanent foreign resident population is the reference population in population statistics. It includes all foreign nationals who hold a residence permit for a minimum duration of 12 months or who have resided in Switzerland for 12 months (Permit B/C/L/F or FDFA permit - international civil servants, diplomats and members of their family).

The majority of foreigners residing permanently in Switzerland are European and mainly come from EU/EFTA member states. Italian, German, Portuguese and French nationals comprise the majority of foreigners from an EU/EFTA member state, as well as of all foreigners residing permanently in Switzerland.

Permanent foreign resident population by nationality, at end of year, in thousands

	2016	2017	2018
Total	2 101.1	2 126.4	2 148.3
EU28/EFTA	1 387.0	1 401.1	1 415.9
Germany	303.5	304.6	306.2
France	127.0	131.1	134.8
Italy	316.5	317.3	319.3
Austria	41.9	42.5	43.0
Portugal	268.7	266.6	263.3
Spain	83.3	83.3	83.7
Rest of Europe	372.0	371.1	370.2
Serbia	68.8	66.9	64.9
Montenegro	2.6	2.6	2.6
Turkey	68.7	68.2	67.8
Africa	103.0	107.5	109.5
America	78.8	79.8	81.0
Asia	154.0	160.5	165.1
Oceania	4.2	4.2	4.1
Stateless, nationality unknown	2.2	2.3	2.4

Source: FSO – STATPOP

Permanent foreign resident population by residence permit

Residence of foreign nationals in Switzerland is governed by different residence permits, which influence the length of stay and whether it is limited or not. The minimum residence of 12 months makes it possible to distinguish between foreigners residing permanently in Switzerland (reference population) and those who are not residing permanently.

1.       The permanent foreign resident population is the reference population in population statistics. It includes all persons of foreign nationality holding a residence or settlement permit for a minimum duration of 12 months (Permit B or C or FDFA permit [international civil servants, diplomats and members of their family]); foreign nationals holding a short-stay permit (Permit L) for a cumulative period of at least 12 months;  persons in the asylum process (Permit F or N) who have resided for at least 12 months in Switzerland.

2.       The non-permanent foreign population residing in Switzerland includes foreign nationals holding a short-stay permit (Permit L) for a period of less than 12 months, as well as persons in the asylum process (Permit F or N) who have been in Switzerland for a total of less than 12 months.

Information on the different residence permits can be obtained from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), in their statistics on foreigners.

Persons in the asylum process and asylum requests

Persons in the asylum process are asylum seekers (Permit N) and persons admitted on a provisional basis (Permit F).

Asylum seekers who have made an application in Switzerland have to go through an asylum process. They are granted authorisation to stay in Switzerland until the end of the asylum process. If their request is approved and their refugee status is recognised, they are given a residence permit (Permit B). A person who is not granted asylum can be allowed to stay in Switzerland on a provisional basis if they cannot be deported from Switzerland because this expulsion would be illegal, unenforceable or impossible.

Depending on the length of their stay in Switzerland, such persons are included in either the permanent foreign resident population (at least 12 months residence in Switzerland) or in the non-permanent population (less than 12 months residence in Switzerland).

All the relevant information can be obtained from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), in their asylum statistics.

Further information

Data