If you are a Russian or Belarusian national, Swiss immigration law has not changed for you since 24 February 2022: there is no special regime, and permits you already hold stay valid unless you are personally on the sanctions list. What has changed is practice. New applications, visas and background checks are handled more strictly, and the asylum system now recognises many political opponents and people refusing to fight in the war. The rules below reflect sanctions and practice up to 18.05.2026; sanctions lists change weekly, so check the official sources before you rely on any detail.

In short

  • Existing permits: a B, C, L or G permit held before 24.02.2022 stays valid. Nationality alone is never a ground for revocation.
  • New applications: checked more closely, especially the source of funds and the background check, though no special published directive is known.
  • Sanctions list: people listed under the Ukraine Ordinance may not enter Switzerland or the Schengen area and their assets are frozen. Delisting requests go to SECO.
  • Asylum: recognition has become more open for political opponents, Belarusian protesters since August 2020, and some people refusing military service in the war.
  • Naturalisation: the normal rules of the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA) apply, unchanged, but the background check is stricter and procedures can take longer.

What changed on 24 February 2022

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Federal Council decided at the end of February 2022 to adopt the EU sanctions packages against Russia. It does this through the Embargo Act (EmbA, SR 946.231) and the Ordinance on Measures in Connection with the Situation in Ukraine (the Ukraine Ordinance, SR 946.231.176.72).

In practice this means:

  • existing permits are not affected, because sanctions target listed people and economic activity, not the ordinary permit system;
  • new applications are checked more carefully;
  • asylum applications from Russia and Belarus have grown and are more often successful;
  • Schengen visas for Russians are harder to get. The EU fully suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia during 2022 and Switzerland followed the stricter line.

Belarus is covered here too. Its sanctions work the same way through a separate ordinance, and its asylum practice has developed in a similar way since the protests of August 2020. Where the two countries differ, this page says so.

The legal basis

  • Embargo Act (EmbA, SR 946.231) of 22 March 2002. Under Art. 1, the Federal Council may order coercive measures to enforce sanctions decided by the UN, the OSCE or Switzerland's main trading partners. All sanctions ordinances against Russia and Belarus since 2022 rest on it.
  • Ukraine Ordinance (SR 946.231.176.72). It lists the people banned from entering Switzerland and the Schengen area and sets out the financial restrictions, such as asset freezes. Its annexes are updated with each EU sanctions round, usually within a few working days.
  • Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) and Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20). These govern your actual permit or asylum case. Neither contains special rules for Russians or Belarusians.
  • The annual situation report of the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS, part of the DDPS). It is not law, but since 2022 it has described a much higher threat from state actors, including espionage. This feeds into background checks for permits and naturalisation, although no public directive says so.

The sanctions packages

Since February 2022 the EU has adopted a double-digit number of sanctions packages. The EU counts them inconsistently, so this page gives no exact figure. Each package usually includes restrictions on sectors (energy, finance, arms, luxury goods, technology), personal sanctions with an entry ban and asset freeze, and bans on Swiss companies providing services to sanctioned actors.

Switzerland usually adopts each package within a few days to a few weeks, largely unchanged. For migration purposes, two sources matter:

  • SECO's public consolidated list of persons, which shows who is under an entry ban and asset freeze;
  • the annexes of the Ukraine Ordinance, which set out the people, sectors and exceptions covered.

These lists change weekly or more often, so always check the current version on the SECO website.

Your situation depends on your status

You held a permit before 24.02.2022

If you hold an ordinary FNIA permit (B, C, L or G) from before 24.02.2022, it stays valid. It cannot be revoked because of your nationality or the sanctions regime, as long as you are not personally on the SECO sanctions list.

  • Extensions and renewals follow the normal procedure. No public instruction tells cantonal migration offices to treat Russian or Belarusian nationals differently.
  • Background checks are in practice more thorough, but this is not set out in any public rule.
  • A C settlement permit is especially secure. It can only be revoked on one of the grounds in Art. 63 FNIA, never because of nationality.

You are applying for the first time after 24.02.2022

Expect closer scrutiny, in particular:

  • Work permits for third-country nationals (Art. 18-21 FNIA): the employer's proof that no suitable worker was available in Switzerland or the EU/EFTA is checked more closely.
  • Retiree residence without work (Art. 28 FNIA): your finances and the origin of your money are checked against the sanctions rules.
  • Family reunification: getting the visa in your home country is harder (see below).

No special procedure for Russian or Belarusian applicants has been published. The stricter handling comes from the general security background check.

You are on the sanctions list

If you are listed in the annex to the Ukraine Ordinance, you may not enter Switzerland or the Schengen area, and your Swiss assets are frozen. What happens to a permit you already hold (revocation, suspension, or simply being unable to use it) is not set out in any published rule. It follows from the sanctions ordinance together with the FNIA grounds for revocation, partly under internal administrative directives.

A listing follows the EU listing and counts as an administrative ruling. You can:

  1. ask SECO to remove you from the list (other federal bodies may also be involved);
  2. appeal to the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) if SECO refuses.

If you are removed from the EU list, you are normally removed from the Swiss list too. Delisting is a question of sanctions and trade law rather than immigration law, so you will need a lawyer who specialises in that field.

Tourist visas and short stays

Since the EU suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia in 2022, Schengen visas for Russians are harder to obtain, and Switzerland follows the EU line. Expect higher fees, longer processing times, stricter document checks, and fewer multiple-entry visas. For Belarusians, practice is similar but seems slightly less strict. Ask the Swiss representation in your country for current fees and processing times.

Asylum for Russian and Belarusian nationals

The number of asylum applications from Russia and Belarus has risen noticeably since 2022. Current figures are in the SEM asylum statistics.

Recognition has become more open than before 2022. Typical grounds are:

  • Political persecution under Art. 3 AsylA, for example if you were an active opponent, journalist or human-rights activist.
  • Refusing military service for political reasons, for Russian reservists or conscripts who can show they reject the war (see the next section).
  • Reflex persecution: family members of persecuted activists, if they themselves are at risk because of that link.

Belarusian protesters. Since the mass protests from August 2020, applicants who can document their participation are recognised more often. The FAC has confirmed in several rulings that the Belarusian repression amounts to persecution. See the glossary on the Asylum Act for the current case law.

Your status during the procedure. While your application is open, you receive an N permit. If you are granted asylum, you become a recognised refugee. If your application is rejected but you cannot be sent back, you may receive provisional admission (F permit).

Reservists and deserters

Since Russia's partial mobilisation in September 2022, many applications come from Russian reservists. Swiss practice distinguishes:

  • Simply refusing military service is not enough on its own for refugee status under Art. 3 AsylA, according to settled FAC case law.
  • Refusing to serve in a war of aggression that breaches international law can be enough, if the punishment you face (prosecution, prison) amounts to politically motivated persecution.
  • Your call-up papers are key evidence. Without them it is much harder to prove the risk.

There is no consolidated FAC guidance on Russian reservists yet, so each case is assessed on its facts. For Belarusian deserters, cases are rarer because Belarus is less directly involved in the war, but the same test applies where there is a clear political element.

Travel and passports

Leaving Russia and Belarus has become harder since 2022:

  • there are no direct commercial flights between Russia and Switzerland, so people usually travel through hubs such as Turkey or the United Arab Emirates;
  • renewing a passport at a Russian or Belarusian consulate is difficult, and sometimes impossible in practice, for example if you are politically active or face criminal proceedings at home;
  • if you also hold an EU or other passport, you are usually better off, because you can travel on it and the visa rules for that nationality apply;
  • if you hold only a Russian or Belarusian passport, you can apply for a travel document for foreign nationals under Art. 59 FNIA to reduce your dependence on your home-country passport. Ask the SEM how it currently handles these applications.

Family reunification

The normal FNIA rules apply. The sanctions do not change them, but they affect how they are applied.

  • If you held your permit before 24.02.2022: you can bring family members under Art. 43 FNIA (C permit holders) or Art. 44 FNIA (B permit holders). The usual conditions apply: living together, enough income, no lasting dependence on social assistance, and language requirements depending on the case.
  • If you are a new applicant: your finances are checked more closely, including whether income from Russia and the origin of any assets comply with the sanctions.
  • Visa in your home country: even if the cantonal migration office agrees in principle, getting the visa from the Swiss representation in your home country is harder, because consulates apply the stricter post-2022 standard.

Naturalisation

The ordinary rules of the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0) and the Swiss Citizenship Ordinance (SCO, SR 141.01) apply to you unchanged. The law neither tightens nor eases them because of the sanctions. Residence duration is in Art. 9 SCA, the integration criteria in Art. 11-12 SCA, and the language requirement in Art. 6 SCO. See naturalisation paths in Switzerland and the glossary on the Swiss Citizenship Act.

In practice:

  • the security background check is more intensive, and authorities increasingly look for evidence that you distance yourself politically from the home regime;
  • procedures in some cantons take longer than for comparable third-country applicants;
  • a refusal based on nationality alone is not lawful, because the SCA has no nationality filter.

Going back to Russia or Belarus

  • Recognised refugees usually lose refugee status if they return to the persecuting country, even for a short visit, because the authorities may conclude you no longer need protection. Whether a short stay for humanitarian reasons would be tolerated is decided case by case; ask the SEM first.
  • F permit holders face similar limits. A trip home raises the question of whether the obstacles to your removal still exist.
  • Holders of an ordinary B or C permit who have no asylum grounds may in principle travel freely. Any personal risk you face on arrival, such as arrest or mobilisation, is a separate question.

The Confederation's voluntary return and reintegration programmes are open to recognised refugees and provisionally admitted people who return voluntarily, not to ordinary permit holders. Ask the SEM for the current programmes and conditions.

Tax and banking

These points often come up but need a tax adviser, your bank, or a sanctions lawyer:

  • Double taxation: the double taxation agreement with Russia is formally still in force, but some provisions are applied restrictively in practice because of the sanctions. Belarus has its own agreement. Ask your tax authority.
  • Banking: Swiss banks apply enhanced due-diligence (KYC) checks to Russian and Belarusian clients. Opening an account is harder, and existing accounts may face extra compliance requirements.
  • Moving money: transfers from Russia to Switzerland undergo full sanctions checks, and many are impossible in practice.

Circumventing sanctions is a criminal and administrative offence under Swiss law.

Background checks and the FIS report

The FIS situation report is published every year, usually in early summer, and covers the previous year. Since 2022 it has rated the threat from state actors much higher. For you, this means more intensive background checks by the SEM, the cantonal migration office and possibly other federal bodies when you first apply or seek naturalisation, and longer procedures where security is an issue. The exact standards are not public. The SEM's published directives on its website show current practice.

What is still unclear

Several points cannot be confirmed from public sources:

  1. whether the SEM has an internal directive on enhanced checks for Russian and Belarusian applicants (none has been published);
  2. current asylum recognition rates, which change constantly (see the SEM asylum statistics);
  3. the exact standards of the intelligence background check, which are not public;
  4. the exact number of EU sanctions packages, since counting methods differ (see the SECO consolidation instead);
  5. how renewals are handled for people resident before 2022 (in practice, normally);
  6. what exactly happens to an existing permit if its holder is listed;
  7. how far the double taxation agreement with Russia still applies in practice.

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