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Illegal migration in Switzerland continues to decline

The Local
The Local - [email protected]
Illegal migration in Switzerland continues to decline
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Illegal migration to Switzerland has continued to fall, with 12,927 illegal stays in 2019 - down from 16,563 in 2018.

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The figure from 2017 was 27,300, according to government statistics released on Wednesday. 

Illegal migrants were identified primarily on trains (50 percent), with 42 percent identified in road checks, seven percent at airports and less than 0.5 percent on boats. 

The figures show the cantons in which illegal migration was the highest in 2019. While larger centres like Zurich and Geneva have been comparatively less affected, the highest number of illegal migrants were identified in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino. 

READ: Switzerland’s tough stance on migrants criticized by Amnesty International

Ticino, which shares a border with Italy, is a common entry point for migrants arriving through southern and eastern European countries - with 3474 identified by Switzerland’s Border Guard Corps in 2019. A total of 3389 were identified in the north-western cantons of Basel and Bern. 

The largest number of those detained came from Nigeria, with migrants also detained from Albania, Algeria, Gambia and Morocco. 

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