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Serious personal hardship B permit — unregulated stay

SwitzerlandHumanitarian protection

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Switzerland Read the five questions ↓

What exactly is this: asylum, temporary protection, humanitarian admission, resettlement or another protection mechanism?

A residence permit granted on grounds of serious personal hardship (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA with Art. 31 ASEO) to people staying in Switzerland unlawfully and without residence status ("sans-papiers"). It is a hardship regularisation, not asylum: the hardship rule is not intended to protect against war, state abuses or similar situations (these lead to examination of provisional admission).

See recorded sources

Which population, circumstances or geographic group does the mechanism cover?

People staying in Switzerland unlawfully and without residence status who are in a personal emergency, with living conditions called into question to a heightened degree compared with other foreign nationals. The assessment considers in particular integration, family circumstances (especially when children started school and how long they attended), financial circumstances, length of presence in Switzerland, health, and prospects of reintegration in the country of origin.

See recorded sources

Where can protection be requested, and is this a direct application, border/in-country request, referral or other process?

Each request to examine a serious personal hardship case is examined individually by SEM in an approval procedure; the applicant must disclose their identity. The official source does not state where the request is filed.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The captured sources do not state explicitly where the person files the request.

What happens after the request: registration, family handling, major support and rights where officially stated?

For unlawfully present persons, the circumstances that led to the illegal stay are also taken into account, and tacit tolerance of the illegal presence by communes/cantons counts in the person's favour. Since sans-papiers usually cannot obtain certificates of good conduct, non-official documents may be used. If hardship was recently refused in a final decision, important new elements are needed for a new assessment. Once a hardship residence permit is granted, no separate permit is required for employed or self-employed work. The official source does not state registration, family handling or support during the procedure.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Registration, family handling and support during the procedure are not described in the captured sources.

Which competent authority, UN body or official assistance channel should the person use?

The cantonal authorities must be willing to grant the residence permit; a negative SEM decision can be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court, which rules on hardship cases as last instance.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • No official assistance channel or fraud warning is given in the captured sources.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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