Ordinance of the FDJP of December 4, 2018, regarding the Operation of Confederation Centers and Housing at Airports (airports) - Scope

This ordinance applies to the Confederation centers referred to in Chapter 2, Section 2a, of the Asylum Act (LAsi) and to housing at airports.

For the purposes of this Ordinance, the following definitions apply: a. asylum seeker or person to be protected: a person staying in a Confederation center or housing at an airport during an asylum procedure, following the granting of temporary protection, or after a removal decision has become final and a departure deadline has been set; b. family: spouses, persons raising their children alone, and their minor children; registered partners and persons living in a durable cohabitation are considered equivalent to spouses; in the context of the Dublin procedure, the terms family members and relatives refer to Regulation (EU) No 604/2013.

The Confederation centers and housing at airports are intended for the accommodation of asylum seekers and persons in need of protection, as well as the administration of asylum and deportation procedures. They are, in principle, not open to the public.

The following persons are authorized to access the Confederation centers and housing at airports

a. Employees of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and the competent cantonal authorities responsible for executing deportations;

b. Personnel working for third parties mandated by the SEM to perform tasks within the Confederation centers, particularly in the areas of supervision, security, legal protection, and basic medical care;

c. Teachers, school authorities, and supervisory authorities responsible for ensuring basic education;

d. Personnel of authorities and organizations who need access to the Confederation centers and housing at airports to fulfill legal duties;

e. Legal representatives mandated by asylum seekers and persons in need of protection themselves;

f. Chaplains.

The SEM may, upon request, authorize other persons, particularly representatives of aid organizations, to access the Confederation centers. Regarding housing at airports, the SEM issues its decision in consultation with airport authorities. In this regard, it considers the interests and privacy of asylum seekers and persons in need of protection, as well as the public interest in the proper functioning of the facilities.

To ensure or restore security and order, protect the privacy of other individuals, or to conduct procedures according to the Asylum Act (LAsi) in the federal centers and housing at airports, the security staff of the service provider commissioned by the SEM is authorized to search, with their consent, asylum seekers and protected persons, as well as their personal belongings.

The search aims to seize the following objects and documents: a. travel documents and identity papers; b. documents and evidence relevant to the procedure; c. weapons, weapon accessories, and other dangerous objects; d. alcoholic beverages and narcotics; e. assets as defined in Art. 16, para. 1, of Ordinance 2 of August 11, 1999, on Asylum.

The security staff may seize the objects outlined in para. 1 bis; they provide a receipt to the concerned individual. Narcotics and objects referred to in para. 1 bis, let. c, are immediately reported and handed over to the police.

The SEM files the seized documents mentioned in para. 1 bis, let. a and b, in the dossier of the concerned individual.

Assets mentioned in para. 1 bis, let. e, exceeding 1000 francs are seized against the issuance of a receipt.

Provisionally seized objects and documents are returned to their owner upon their departure from the center or housing at the airport.

Asylum seekers and protected persons may only be searched by individuals of the same sex.

The internal regulations may provide for other rules, particularly concerning the storage of foodstuffs or the use of electronic devices, as well as their possible temporary confiscation in case of disruption to the operation of the center or housing at the airport.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection are accommodated in non-mixed dormitories. Families are accommodated in the same dormitory.

Families are housed in facilities that allow for a communal life and, as much as possible, take into account the need for a private sphere.

The special needs of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers and persons in need of protection, as well as other vulnerable persons, are taken into account during their accommodation and supervision. Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers and persons in need of protection are accommodated separately from adult asylum seekers and persons in need of protection.

In accordance with paragraphs 1 to 3, the SEM may, in particular, provide for a higher occupancy rate in the dormitories and enhanced attendance monitoring for persons staying in a Confederation center after receiving a final removal decision with a departure deadline.

The SEM establishes quality criteria concerning supervision and security. These criteria form the basis for the specifications for third parties commissioned by the SEM to perform tasks aimed at ensuring the functioning of the centers or accommodation at airports.

It conducts regular quality checks.

The SEM takes organizational measures to encourage interactions between asylum seekers and persons to be protected, on one hand, and civil society actors, on the other. Measures that have implications for municipalities hosting a center are discussed with the municipalities.

Access to basic medical care and emergency dental care is ensured.

The canton hosting a center organizes basic education for asylum seekers of school age. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) supports the canton in the implementation of this principle. It may, in particular, provide the necessary facilities.

The occupation programs allow asylum seekers to structure their day and facilitate cohabitation in federal centers.

Asylum seekers and protected persons who are no longer of school age may participate in occupation programs.

Participation in occupation programs does not constitute a right. No occupation programs are available in the transit zones of airports.

Occupation programs must meet a general local or regional interest of the canton or the municipality, or facilitate cohabitation with the resident population. They must not compete with the private sector.

A recognition contribution may be granted to the asylum seeker or the protected person. Persons staying in a specific center, as per Art. 24 of the Asylum Act (LAsi), receive the recognition contribution only in the form of benefits in kind.

The participation of asylum seekers or protected persons in an occupation program must not impede the completion of procedural steps.

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) may grant contributions for the implementation of occupation programs within the limits of the maximum annual amount provided for this purpose and determined through the budgetary process.

The SEM enters into a service agreement with the canton or the municipality hosting a center, or a mandated third party, which notably provides for: a. the specific purpose of the occupation program and its duration; b. the content of the services provided by the canton or the municipality hosting a center, or the mandated third party, and their full or partial funding by the Confederation; c. the maximum number of participants; d. the amount of the recognition contribution, per day or hour and per participant.

The service provider responsible for the supervision in the centers is accountable for the implementation of the services agreed upon in paragraph 1. They operate under the supervision of the SEM.

The SEM may provide pocket money to asylum seekers and individuals needing protection during their stay in accommodation referred to in Art. 1, with the exception of specific centers referred to in Art. 24a Asylum Act (LAsi). The provision of pocket money does not constitute a right.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection have access to means of communication such as telephone and Internet. The internal regulations specifically govern the duration and hours of use of these means of communication.

Persons accommodated in the Confederation centers and airport accommodations have free access to information about the service providers referred to in Art. 102f, para. 2, of the Asylum Act (LAsi) and to other documents, particularly to lists of legal advisors and representatives, along with their contact details.

Except for the specific centers referred to in Art. 24 a of the Asylum Act (LAsi), the Confederation centers where asylum procedures are conducted remain open at all times to ensure the initial reception of asylum seekers and persons to be protected.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection may, with the agreement of the staff, receive visitors. Visitors are only admitted if they can convincingly demonstrate a connection with the asylum seeker or the person in need of protection.

Visits are permitted every day from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The SEM may alter the visiting hours for organizational reasons.

Visitors must report to the reception both upon arrival and departure and must disclose their identity. With their consent, the security personnel of the service provider mandated by SEM is authorized to search them and their personal belongings, and to confiscate dangerous objects and alcoholic beverages for the duration of the visit. If visitors do not consent to this search and a threat to security and order cannot be excluded, access to the building is denied.

Narcotics and objects referred to in Art. 4, para. 1 bis, let. c, are immediately reported and handed over to the police. Visitors may only be searched by persons of the same sex.

Visitors are only allowed to be in the rooms designated for this purpose by the internal regulations.

Once their fingerprints have been taken and they have been photographed, and provided that their presence is not required for other reasons, asylum seekers and persons in need of protection may leave the Confederation centers during release hours.

The release hours for Confederation centers are from Monday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection may leave the Confederation centers from Friday at 9 a.m. to Sunday at 7 p.m. after notifying the center's supervisory staff. The same principle applies on public holidays, except that the release period then begins at 9 a.m. the day before the holiday. Specific centers referred to in Art. 24 of the Asylum Act are not subject to this regulation.

Notwithstanding the release hours defined in paragraphs 2 and 3, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) may, on a case-by-case basis, grant extended release when major reasons justify it.

The SEM may agree on longer release hours with the municipalities hosting the centers.

The accommodation in airports is open at all times to ensure the initial reception of asylum seekers and persons to be protected.

The staff responsible for support is present every day from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., provided that asylum seekers are residing in the accommodation. Outside these hours, an on-call service is ensured.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection may move freely within the non-public area of the airport (transit zone).

They have the right to a daily outdoor walk.

With the consent of the SEM, asylum seekers and persons to be protected may receive visitors at the airport. Visitors are only admitted if they can credibly demonstrate the existence of ties with the asylum seeker or the person to be protected. The SEM makes its decision in consultation with the airport authorities. Access to the airport transit zone is governed by the regulations of the competent airport authorities.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection housed in a Confederation center or an accommodation at an airport form a domestic community and comply with the internal regulations of the respective accommodation.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection are required to participate in domestic work under the supervision of the staff responsible for supervision. In the case of vulnerable persons, individual circumstances are taken into account.

Asylum seekers and persons in need of protection reside in the accommodation as long as they must remain available there on the respective day: a. for the processing of their asylum application; b. for the performance of domestic tasks; c. for their transfer to other accommodation; d. for the execution of their removal; e. for a visit to the doctor or dentist; f. in the event of an appointment with a legal advisor or legal representative, or for counseling in preparation for return or a departure interview.

Asylum seekers and persons requiring protection housed in the Confederation centers may be subject to disciplinary measures in the following situations: a. if they violate the obligations specified in section 4; b. if they threaten public safety and order.

Any disciplinary measure is based on a written communication from an employee of the SEM or the security or support service addressed to the disciplinary authority. The communication mentions the identity of the individual concerned, outlines the facts reproached to them, and specifies their date.

The disciplinary authority may impose the following disciplinary measures on asylum seekers and persons in need of protection: a. prohibition from entering certain premises that are usually open to all asylum seekers and persons in need of protection; b. denial of permission to leave; c. denial of public transport tickets; d. denial of pocket money; e. exclusion from housing for a maximum duration of 24 hours; f. assignment to a specific center as defined in Art. 24a AsylA.

Disciplinary measures are time-limited.

Disciplinary measures are pronounced orally. Exceptions include exclusion from housing for a duration exceeding 8 hours and assignment to a specific center pursuant to Art. 24 a of the Asylum Act (LAsi), which require a written decision.

If the refusal of exit is pronounced for more than 24 hours or repeatedly, the disciplinary authority renders a decision at the request of the person concerned.

If the exclusion from housing is pronounced for a duration exceeding 8 hours or if the housing is closed after a shorter period has lapsed, a separate space is made available to the asylum seeker or person needing protection.

If the person concerned has a legal representative or a person of trust, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informs them that a measure has been pronounced.

The disciplinary authority is the housing management. It has the competence to impose disciplinary measures.

It may delegate this task to the security or housing management service, except when it concerns imposing an exclusion from housing for a period exceeding 8 hours or an assignment to a specific center as defined in Art. 24a of the Asylum Act (LAsi).

The security or management service shall keep the housing management informed of the disciplinary measures imposed and the allegations made.

Disciplinary measures pronounced orally may be subject to a disciplinary appeal to the Directorate of the Asylum Staff Unit of the SEM. The SEM provides a form for this purpose.

Decisions referred to in Art. 26, para. 1, second sentence, and para. 2, may be subject to an appeal before the Federal Administrative Court.

A disciplinary appeal must be filed no later than three days after the person concerned becomes aware of the measure imposed on them. If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday recognized by federal or cantonal law, the deadline is extended to the next working day.

The disciplinary appeal does not have a suspensive effect. The contested disciplinary measure remains in effect until the Asylum Staff Management of the SEM renders its decision. The management may suspend the effect of the measure if the appeal is manifestly well-founded.

The Asylum Staff Management of the SEM makes its decision without delay. The decision is briefly reasoned and communicated in writing to the person concerned. It is not subject to appeal. Art. 25a of the Federal Act of December 20, 1968, on Administrative Procedure is reserved.

If necessary to avert a serious, direct, and imminent danger, an asylum seeker or a person in need of protection may, on the order of the management of the Confederation center or the accommodation at the airport, be temporarily detained in a closed, specially equipped, and monitored facility within the accommodation, if they: a. pose a serious threat to other persons; b. pose a serious threat to themselves; or c. threaten to cause significant property damage.

The competent police authorities and, if necessary, other competent services are informed in advance of the temporary detention. Once they are informed, the person concerned can be detained until their arrival. If they do not arrive within two hours after being informed, the temporary detention ends.

The person concerned is searched at the beginning of the temporary detention, and all dangerous objects or objects they do not need are confiscated. During the temporary detention, their personal well-being is monitored.

Temporary detention cannot be ordered for children and adolescents under 15 years of age.

The FDJP Ordinance of November 24, 2007, on the operation of federal housing in the field of asylum is repealed.