The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced the reopening of three federal asylum centers in response to the seasonal increase in asylum applications. Although the number of asylum requests dropped by 23% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, recent weeks have seen the expected summer rise.
Currently, the occupancy rate across Switzerland’s 30 operational centers is about 73%, reaching nearly 80% in French-speaking Switzerland, Zurich, and the Ticino–Central Switzerland region. To ensure sufficient accommodation capacity during the peak period, typically from mid-August to November, the SEM will reopen the following centers, offering a total of 600 additional places:
Moudon Barracks (VD) – multipurpose hall, 200 places
Dübendorf Barracks (ZH) – multipurpose hall, 200 places
Eigenthal Camp (LU) – 200 places
Once these centers are operational, Switzerland will have around 7,500 federal-level accommodation places, ensuring that all asylum seekers can be housed appropriately during the asylum process. The reopened facilities will also help the federal government continue accommodating Ukrainian nationals with protection status S, easing the burden on the cantons.
Earlier in 2025, the SEM had closed nine centers during the winter semester due to low asylum numbers, saving approximately CHF 25 million in operating costs. The SEM’s asylum forecasts remain unchanged, expecting about 24,000 asylum applications and 12,000 requests for protection status S for the year. Should infrastructure reach capacity, additional centers could be reopened in cooperation with the army and the cantons.