Switzerland registered 1,829 new asylum applications in March 2025, marking a 23% decrease compared with March 2024. The number of pending first-instance cases also fell by 456, bringing the total to 10,489.
The main countries of origin were Afghanistan (564 applications), Turkey (188), and Eritrea (153), followed by Somalia (118) and Algeria (104). Nearly 100 Afghan applications were secondary requests from individuals already living in Switzerland.
Of the total, 1,539 were primary applications and 290 secondary (due to births, family reunifications, or repeat submissions). Primary applications fell by about 8% compared with March 2024.
The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) issued 2,575 first-instance decisions during the month, approving roughly one-quarter of them. Meanwhile, 912 people without a right to stay left Switzerland: 548 voluntarily and 364 under police escort—to their country of origin, a Dublin State, or a third country.