Although asylum applications remained significantly lower than in 2025 and projections for 2026 remain unchanged, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) observed a moderate seasonal increase in new arrivals. To ensure sufficient reception capacity, SEM will temporarily reopen the civil protection shelter in Niederscherli (Bern canton) from mid-November 2026, providing 120 additional accommodation places, mainly for people displaced from Ukraine.
If required, occupancy rates in existing federal asylum centres will also be increased in coordination with local authorities. No further accommodation facilities are currently planned, and the six federal asylum centres closed in June 2026 are expected to remain closed until at least summer 2027.
- State Secretariat for Migration | Staatssekretariat für Migration | Secrétariat d’État aux migrations | Segreteria di Stato della migrazione (15 October, 2026), Le SEM renforce temporairement le nombre de places d’hébergement pour requérants d’asile [The SEM temporarily increases the number of accommodation places for asylum seekers],