Evenly split: Rents have climbed in some Swiss regions and dropped in others; Switzerland will not accept Ukrainian refugees who transit through EU or EFTA nations; plus other news in our roundup this Tuesday.
Rent situation in the beginning of 2026 – some regions up, others down
Half of cantons saw rents go up in January 2026, while the other half registered lower costs, according to Homegate real estate platform.
Concretely, Graubünden recorded the most significant increase – 7.7 percent – followed by Glarus (+6.4 percent) and Valais (6.2 percent).
Surprisingly, in both Zurich and Geneva rents have become slightly cheaper.
Nidwalden (-2.7 percent) and Schwyz (-2.0 percent), on the other hand, experienced the largest decline; In total, rents in 13 cantons have fallen.
Switzerland will not accept Ukrainian refugees who transit through EU or EFTA nations
The case concerns a Ukrainian woman who fled to Italy after the outbreak of war with Russia in February 2022. She stayed there until December 2022, having been granted a refugee status by the Italian government.
However, she then returned to Ukraine until February 2025, at which point she sought refuge in Switzerland.
But the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) rejected her application and ordered her to return to Italy – a decision that was just upheld by the Federal Court on the grounds that Switzerland is not obligated to offer protection to refugees with a legal status in another EU/EFTA country.
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Illegal medications are shipped to Switzerland from the European Union
Together with the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, drug regulatory body Swissmedic has handled a total of 6,647 illegal imports of medicinal products in 2025.
“Noticeable shifts were noticed in the types of products imported and the countries of origin,” Swissmedic said in a press release on Monday.
Specifically, more shipments than before had come from the EU – especially from neighbour states: “While only 9 percent of consignments came from Western Europe in 2022, the proportion was around 40 percent in 2025, particularly from France and Germany,” Swissmedic reported.
It added that adverts from foreign websites which misrepresent themselves as Swiss online pharmacies “are particularly deceptive.”
“By using Swiss symbols, domain extensions or logos, they deliberately mislead consumers to feign trustworthiness and legal security – although they have no connection to Switzerland, let alone licences for selling in Switzerland.”
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Fire chief questioned in Swiss fatal blaze probe
The local fire chief for a Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana where a New Year’s fire broke out in a bar, claiming 41 lives, was questioned for the first time on Monday by Swiss investigating prosecutors.
Monday’s hearing was highly anticipated by lawyers and civil parties, following revelations by Swiss public broadcaster RTS on Sunday claiming that a 2023 audit highlighted serious deficiencies in the municipality’s fire safety.
“I am surprised that this report is only being released a month and a half after events began, especially since the municipality told us it was cooperating with the justice system to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, I see that this is not the case,” Alain Viscolo, a lawyer representing two victims, told AFP.
“We had high expectations and we have always been left disappointed,” he added. (AFP)
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