Switzerland restricts protection for Ukrainians from seven western regions from November 1

The Swiss Federal Council has extended the temporary protection status for Ukrainians until March 2027, but limited it to refugees from seven western regions. About this it says on the website of the Swiss government.

The decision to extend the so-called S program was made due to the unstable security situation and Russian attacks in most regions of Ukraine.

The safe return of Ukrainians in the medium term is currently impossible, according to the Swiss authorities.

At the same time, a new system for assessing the security of regions was introduced. The Swiss government fulfilled the parliament's request to distinguish between regions of Ukraine to which return is considered acceptable and those to which return is unacceptable.

Returns are currently considered acceptable in Volyn, Rivne, Lviv, Ternopil, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernivtsi regions.

This does not apply to those who already have S status in Switzerland or their family members who remain in Ukraine.

The list of regions will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) will assess each application individually. If the applicant comes from a region where it is considered safe to return, he or she may be refused protection status, but may be granted a temporary residence permit or apply for asylum.

The new rules come into force on November 1, 2025 and apply to applications already submitted.

• In June, the EU countries agreed to to extend the temporary protection for more than 4 million Ukrainians who fled the war for another year until March 4, 2027. As a member of the Schengen area, Switzerland coordinates its actions with the EU.
• In September, the EU Council approved recommendations for a coordinated approach to completion of temporary protection for Ukrainians after March 4, 2027.