KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
As with the European Union (EU), Switzerland will need to put in place a legal framework for centres abroad where migrants can be returned.
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A deal struck in Brussels on Monday will also apply to Switzerland, which is bound by the rules as part of the Schengen area.
The agreement between member states and the European Parliament sets out a raft of measures to speed up removals, including allowing those countries that choose to do so to establish centres outside Europe for rejected asylum seekers.
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MEPs and the European Council still need to give the plan a final sign-off in the coming weeks. Because it forms part of the evolving Schengen rulebook, Switzerland will then have two years to incorporate it into national law, a spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday. The measure will be put to parliament and could also face an optional referendum.
Centres yet to be established
Before any rejected applicants can be returned, the centres themselves will first need to be set up. That means finding a country willing to host one, the spokesperson said. If such facilities are established and meet the legal requirements, Bern will consider whether to take part.
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The centres could function either as final destinations or as staging posts before people are transferred to their country of origin or another third state, the European Council said in a statement. Where they might be set up remains unclear.
That would require an agreement with a third country willing to meet human rights and international standards. Families could also be sent to these centres, with the new rules carving out exceptions only for unaccompanied minors.
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