In 2024, a total of 7,205 individuals required to leave Switzerland departed under authorities’ supervision, marking an 18.5% increase compared to 2023 (6,077 departures). These included rejected asylum seekers who could not obtain provisional admission or were subject to Dublin transfers to another European state.
These included:
- Voluntary departures: 2,467 (34.2%), mainly Turks (667), Algerians (317), and Georgians (250).
- Escorted removals: 4,738 (65.8%), primarily Algerians (742), Moroccans (416), and Afghans (382).
- Dublin transfers: Increased to 2,491, three times higher than the number of incoming transfers, despite Italy not accepting such transfers from Switzerland.
- Returns to countries of origin: 4,248 (+14.7%).
- Pending departures: 4,323 people had yet to leave, slightly higher than 4,162 in 2023.
- Ukraine-related returns: 6,059 beneficiaries of protection status S returned voluntarily, down from 10,978 in 2023.
Overall, including Ukrainian returns, 13,264 people left Switzerland under authorities’ control in 2024, demonstrating the SEM’s ability to maintain relatively stable numbers of pending departures despite high asylum application levels.