Identification after just 30 days Federal Councillor Jans wants to deport Moroccans more quickly - now Morocco wants to help
Anyone who does not have the right of residence in Switzerland could be sent back to Morocco much more quickly in future. Bern and Rabat want to massively speed up procedures - and are pressing ahead with repatriations.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Switzerland and Morocco want to speed up the repatriation of people without a right of residence.
- In future, identification should take a maximum of 30 days instead of 150 days.
- The agreement is only definitive once it has been officially signed and approved by the Federal Council.
In the debate on illegal migration, there are regular calls for faster returns. However, it is not that simple: deportations also require the cooperation of the countries of origin. Now something seems to be moving with Morocco. Switzerland and Morocco have reached an agreement that should significantly speed up repatriations.
What have Switzerland and Morocco agreed?
Representatives of both countries have adopted a "technical agreement" in Rabat. It is intended to speed up the identification and repatriation of people without the right of residence.
The agreement was reached between the Swiss State Secretary for Migration, Vincenzo Mascioli, and Khalid Zerouali, the Moroccan Director of Migration and Border Surveillance. This was announced by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
According to the SEM, the agreement regulates bilateral cooperation on repatriations and builds on talks that Bern and Rabat have been holding for some time. Migration was already the focus of the visit by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to Bern in April.
What exactly will change in terms of repatriations?
An SEM spokesperson confirmed information provided to "Blick", according to which the identification of rejected asylum seekers from Morocco currently takes more than 150 days on average. This process should now take a maximum of 30 days. Replacement travel documents are also to be issued more quickly. This was reported by the news agency SDA.
However, the agreement is not yet final. According to the SEM, it will be officially signed later and still requires the approval of the Federal Council.
Why is Switzerland focusing on closer cooperation with Morocco?
For Switzerland, Morocco is a strategic partner in North Africa - not only in terms of migration, but also in terms of security and economic cooperation. According to the SEM, both countries also want to expand police cooperation in the future, for example in training and knowledge sharing. Morocco has also been a priority country for Swiss development cooperation since 2025.