Switzerland sees boom in refugees from Ukraine
Switzerland saw a spike in Ukrainians applying for asylum in 2014, although few succeeded in finding permanent refuge in the country, according to data released by Eurostat and analyzed by The Local.
Five times as many Ukrainians applied for asylum in Switzerland in 2014 than in 2013, with 210 applicants last year compared to 40 in 2013.
Switzerland rejected 60 Ukrainian asylum applicants in their first attempts, but had not accepted any applicants in 2014, according to Eurostat data released last week.
Overall, the number of Ukrainian asylum seekers in the 28 EU member states ballooned to 14,040 people in 2014 — more than 13 times higher than the number in 2013 at 1,060 applicants.
That number is even greater when compared to 2008, the beginning of the global economic crisis, when 925 Ukrainians applied for asylum.
“What we have seen from our members working with asylum seekers are those who are fleeing the conflict in the east of Ukraine,” Julia Zelvenska, a senior legal officer at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, told The Local.
“In the past, it has been for political persecution, like in 2013, or for sexual orientation.”
The Geneva-based UN refugee agency UNHCR said last month that an estimated one million Ukrainians were displaced internally, with many people moving west.
Some 600,000 people had sought asylum, many of them in non-EU countries such as Russia, Belarus and Moldova.
But many Ukrainians also applied for asylum in the European Union in 2014, a year that started with a revolution in Kiev and the ousting of the pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych.
See also: SYRIA AND IRAQ CONFLICTS DRIVE REFUGEE SURGE
Russia then annexed Crimea in March, in a move widely condemned around the world, before propping up separatists fighting bloody battles with Ukrainian forces in the east of the country.
Of those who applied for asylum in 2014, 650 Ukrainians received positive outcomes on their first application decision in the EU.
Eurostat defines positive outcomes as grants of refugee or subsidiary protection status, or an authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons.
Still, those who received good news were greatly outnumbered by those who were rejected in their first try - 2,335.
Zelvenska explained to The Local that it is generally very hard for Ukrainians to gain asylum in EU member states, or to even reach those countries in the first place.
“One of the main reasons people get rejected may be that many countries are not clear on how the situation developed and won’t issue decisions until it is clear how the Ukrainian situation is going to develop,” she said.
“European countries are also being very formalistic in the criteria for asylum,” Zelvenska added. “For example, they may say that there are options for alternative protection already within Ukraine. For people in the east, they may say that they could relocate to the west.”
Zelvenska noted though that reasons for rejection are not made public so it is difficult to know for certain.
“We think it’s not necessary to apply all the criteria in a strict manner,” she said. “They must consider each case, country and the circumstances.”
Last year, EU countries received the highest number of asylum seekers since 1992 with a total of 626,000 applicants.
More than 400,000 people applied in 2013.
Germany received the highest number of Ukrainian asylum requests at 2,705, Eurostat reported — 18 times greater than the number in 2013, 150.
Of the Ukrainians who applied, Germany accepted 20 in the first instance, but rejected another 45.
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Five times as many Ukrainians applied for asylum in Switzerland in 2014 than in 2013, with 210 applicants last year compared to 40 in 2013.
Switzerland rejected 60 Ukrainian asylum applicants in their first attempts, but had not accepted any applicants in 2014, according to Eurostat data released last week.
Overall, the number of Ukrainian asylum seekers in the 28 EU member states ballooned to 14,040 people in 2014 — more than 13 times higher than the number in 2013 at 1,060 applicants.
That number is even greater when compared to 2008, the beginning of the global economic crisis, when 925 Ukrainians applied for asylum.
“What we have seen from our members working with asylum seekers are those who are fleeing the conflict in the east of Ukraine,” Julia Zelvenska, a senior legal officer at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, told The Local.
“In the past, it has been for political persecution, like in 2013, or for sexual orientation.”
The Geneva-based UN refugee agency UNHCR said last month that an estimated one million Ukrainians were displaced internally, with many people moving west.
Some 600,000 people had sought asylum, many of them in non-EU countries such as Russia, Belarus and Moldova.
But many Ukrainians also applied for asylum in the European Union in 2014, a year that started with a revolution in Kiev and the ousting of the pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych.
See also: SYRIA AND IRAQ CONFLICTS DRIVE REFUGEE SURGE
Russia then annexed Crimea in March, in a move widely condemned around the world, before propping up separatists fighting bloody battles with Ukrainian forces in the east of the country.
Of those who applied for asylum in 2014, 650 Ukrainians received positive outcomes on their first application decision in the EU.
Eurostat defines positive outcomes as grants of refugee or subsidiary protection status, or an authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons.
Still, those who received good news were greatly outnumbered by those who were rejected in their first try - 2,335.
Zelvenska explained to The Local that it is generally very hard for Ukrainians to gain asylum in EU member states, or to even reach those countries in the first place.
“One of the main reasons people get rejected may be that many countries are not clear on how the situation developed and won’t issue decisions until it is clear how the Ukrainian situation is going to develop,” she said.
“European countries are also being very formalistic in the criteria for asylum,” Zelvenska added. “For example, they may say that there are options for alternative protection already within Ukraine. For people in the east, they may say that they could relocate to the west.”
Zelvenska noted though that reasons for rejection are not made public so it is difficult to know for certain.
“We think it’s not necessary to apply all the criteria in a strict manner,” she said. “They must consider each case, country and the circumstances.”
Last year, EU countries received the highest number of asylum seekers since 1992 with a total of 626,000 applicants.
More than 400,000 people applied in 2013.
Germany received the highest number of Ukrainian asylum requests at 2,705, Eurostat reported — 18 times greater than the number in 2013, 150.
Of the Ukrainians who applied, Germany accepted 20 in the first instance, but rejected another 45.
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