Provisional admission (F permit) is what you receive when you have been ordered to leave Switzerland but the removal cannot be carried out because it is impossible, not permitted under international law, or not reasonable. The permit is issued for 12 months at a time but is renewed as long as the obstacle lasts, which in practice often means many years. After five years you can apply for a normal B permit as a hardship case, but there is no right to one.

In short

  • Two kinds of F permit. The "classic" F permit (no refugee status) and the F permit for provisionally admitted refugees, marked "refugee", which gives more rights.
  • You can work anywhere in Switzerland. Your employer only has to notify the cantonal authority before you start (Art. 85a FNIA).
  • Family reunification for classic F holders is possible no earlier than three years after admission and only without social assistance (Art. 85c FNIA).
  • Do not travel to your country of origin or apply for its passport without legal advice. This can end your provisional admission.
  • Route to a B permit: a hardship application after more than five years (Art. 84 para. 5 FNIA with Art. 30 para. 1 lit. b FNIA), needing cantonal and SEM approval.

When provisional admission is granted

Provisional admission replaces a removal that cannot be carried out. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) orders it under Art. 83 of the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20) if enforcing removal is not possible, not permitted or not reasonable. One of the three is enough:

  • Not possible (Art. 83 para. 2 FNIA): you cannot leave or be taken to your country of origin or a third country, for example because you have no travel documents or your country refuses to take you back.
  • Not permitted (Art. 83 para. 3 FNIA): removal would breach Switzerland's international obligations, especially the ban on returning people to persecution or torture under Art. 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention (SR 0.142.30), Art. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, SR 0.101) and Art. 3 of the UN Convention against Torture (SR 0.105). This depends on your individual risk.
  • Not reasonable (Art. 83 para. 4 FNIA): return would put you in concrete danger because of war, civil war, general violence or a medical emergency. This is the most common reason in practice.

So even after a negative asylum or removal decision, you may, and must, stay in Switzerland, and you receive an F permit.

"Provisional" in name only. In law, the F permit is valid for up to 12 months and must be renewed (Art. 85 para. 1 FNIA). In practice, many people keep it for years or decades while the obstacles remain. That gap between the name and reality is the main difficulty: you build a life here on a status that ends as soon as the obstacles disappear.

The two kinds of F permit

Classic F. The SEM rejected your asylum application and did not recognise you as a refugee, but found an obstacle to removal under Art. 83 FNIA. Your F permit has no "refugee" endorsement. The SEM calls this "foreign national provisionally admitted".

F refugee. The SEM found that you meet the refugee definition in Art. 3 of the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) but cannot grant asylum, because an exclusion clause in Art. 53 or 54 AsylA applies (for example reprehensible acts or a threat to internal or external security), or because the conditions for family asylum are not met. You are provisionally admitted as a refugee (Art. 83 para. 8 FNIA). Your F permit carries the endorsement "refugee", and your rights are considerably better.

Check your permit card: the "refugee" endorsement decides which rights you have. If you are unsure, ask your cantonal migration office or ask the SEM for written confirmation. Applying to move from classic F to F refugee is complex and needs a lawyer.

Validity, renewal and ending

The canton issues the F permit for up to twelve months (Art. 85 para. 1 FNIA). Before it expires, the cantonal migration office checks renewal on its own; you do not need to apply, but you must cooperate by giving your current address, identity documents and details of your stay.

It is renewed as long as the obstacles under Art. 83 FNIA last. The SEM checks this regularly. If the obstacles end, for example through a peace agreement, new travel documents or better health, the SEM revokes provisional admission and orders removal (Art. 84 FNIA). You can appeal to the Federal Administrative Court (Art. 112 FNIA with Art. 105 AsylA, where the admission arose from asylum proceedings).

Your rights with an F permit

F refugees always have better rights, because Art. 59 AsylA applies the 1951 Refugee Convention to them.

Work

Since 1 January 2019 you can work as an employee anywhere in Switzerland without a separate work permit. Your employer only has to notify the cantonal authority before you start (Art. 85a FNIA). There is no priority for local workers and no labour market test. You may also be self-employed, following the usual business, social security and tax rules. F refugees are also entitled to work and to change job or occupation (Art. 61 AsylA).

Where you live

You stay in the canton the SEM allocated you to (Art. 27 AsylA), but you may live anywhere within it. Changing canton needs SEM approval, which it grants for family unity or a serious danger to health, or for unlimited employment or an apprenticeship in another canton without social assistance (Art. 85b FNIA with Art. 67a OASA). F refugees change canton under Art. 37 para. 2 FNIA. Cantons often attach conditions to social assistance, such as assigned housing or reporting duties, which are allowed if proportionate.

Social assistance

  • Classic F: the cantons set support (Art. 86 FNIA). It is often given in kind, such as housing and food plus pocket money, and is lower than for local residents and below the SKOS guidelines for ordinary social assistance. Amounts vary by canton.
  • F refugees: treated in principle like Swiss nationals (Art. 59 AsylA), like recognised refugees with a B permit, with amounts based on the SKOS guidelines. See recognised refugees in Switzerland.

Family reunification

Classic F and F refugees (Art. 85c FNIA; Art. 85 para. 7 FNIA until 31 May 2024): your spouse and unmarried children under 18 can join you and be included in your admission no earlier than three years after your provisional admission was ordered, and only if:

  1. they will live with you;
  2. you have suitable housing;
  3. the family does not depend on social assistance or supplementary benefits; and
  4. your spouse can communicate in the local national language or is enrolled in a language course.

The social assistance condition is very hard to meet for many F holders who receive asylum social assistance. The three years run from the SEM's order.

F refugees: the same Art. 85c FNIA rules apply. Family asylum (Art. 51 para. 4 AsylA) is only for refugees granted asylum. Family members who join you may be derivatively recognised as refugees (Art. 51 para. 1 AsylA) but stay in F status. See recognised refugees in Switzerland.

Travel

Classic F: you do not get a travel document as a matter of course. The SEM may issue a travel document for foreign nationals, or a return visa, for good reasons such as medical treatment or the funeral of a close relative, under the Ordinance of 14 November 2012 on the Issuance of Travel Documents for Foreign Nationals (SR 143.5). Practice is strict, and travel to your country of origin is not allowed.

F refugees: generally entitled to a refugee travel document under Art. 28 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, like recognised refugees.

Warning. Travelling to your country of origin usually puts your provisional admission at risk, because it suggests the obstacle to removal no longer exists (especially unreasonableness under Art. 83 para. 4 FNIA). Even getting a passport from your country's embassy in Switzerland can lead to revocation. For F refugees it can also lead to loss of refugee status (Art. 63 AsylA). Get legal advice before any trip or passport application.

Education

Children have the same right to school as everyone else; Art. 19 of the Federal Constitution guarantees primary education regardless of status. Vocational training and upper secondary school are generally open, and apprenticeships are easy to access because you may work (Art. 85a FNIA). University is legally possible, but costs and limited access to grants are real obstacles; cantonal grant rules differ.

Health insurance

You must have health insurance under the Federal Act of 18 March 1994 on Health Insurance (SR 832.10) from when you take up residence. While you receive asylum social assistance, the canton organises it (assigned insurers, premium reductions). Once you earn your own income, you insure yourself.

Voting

You cannot vote at federal level, which requires Swiss citizenship. Cantonal and municipal voting rights for foreign nationals (for example municipal voting in Jura and Neuchâtel) usually require a settlement permit or several years with a residence permit.

From F to a B permit: the hardship route

There is no automatic change after a certain time. The route is a hardship application:

  • Art. 84 para. 5 FNIA: an application for a residence permit from someone provisionally admitted for more than five years is examined in depth, considering integration, family circumstances and whether return is reasonable.
  • Art. 30 para. 1 lit. b FNIA: a permit can be granted outside the normal admission rules in a serious personal hardship case, with the criteria in Art. 31 of the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201).

What you usually need:

  1. More than five years of provisional admission (Art. 84 para. 5 FNIA); in practice, 7-10 years is often the real threshold.
  2. Successful integration (Art. 58a FNIA): respect for public security and order and constitutional values, language skills (usually A2 spoken and A1 written or higher, depending on the canton), and taking part in work or education.
  3. No social assistance when you apply; many cantons interpret this strictly, sometimes with a waiting period.
  4. Stable family relationships and children integrated at school.
  5. Return must be shown to be unreasonable in your case.

The procedure has two stages. You apply to the cantonal migration office, which decides whether to send your file to the SEM. The SEM must then approve (Art. 99 FNIA with Art. 85 of Asylum Ordinance 1) and makes its own assessment. Both have discretion: there is no right to a B permit, even after many years and good integration. A refusal by the canton can be appealed to the cantonal appeal body; a refusal of approval by the SEM can be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court. These procedures often take more than a year and approval rates vary widely between cantons. See the hardship case regulation under Art. 30 FNIA.

From B to a C permit

You cannot go straight from F to C. First you need a B permit through the hardship route. Then the usual C rules apply (Art. 34 FNIA): generally after 10 years of lawful residence, or 5 with successful integration (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA). Time with an F permit does not count towards the 10 years: only time on a short-term or residence permit counts (Art. 34 para. 2 FNIA), and SEM guidelines exclude time on provisional admission. After a hardship permit, the 10 years start from the SEM's hardship decision.

For recognised refugees with a B permit, the C permit also follows Art. 34 FNIA (Art. 60 para. 2 AsylA): there is no right to it, and early settlement after 5 years is possible with successful integration (B1 oral, A1 written). F refugees benefit from this only after moving to a B permit with the "refugee" endorsement, which also goes through Art. 84 para. 5 FNIA but is usually quicker.

More on F refugees

An F refugee has two separate legal positions: refugee status under Art. 3 AsylA, with the full 1951 Refugee Convention (Art. 59 AsylA), and provisional admission as a residence status (Art. 83 para. 8 FNIA) because an exclusion ground under Art. 53 or 54 AsylA blocks asylum. The Convention protects you whatever your permit: no return to persecution (Art. 33), a travel document (Art. 28), equal treatment in education (Art. 22), social assistance (Art. 23) and access to work (Art. 17). These rights apply to F refugees and to recognised refugees with a B permit alike.

If the exclusion ground no longer applies, for example because the underlying act is time-barred, after rehabilitation, or because case law on security threats has changed, the SEM may, on application or on its own initiative, grant asylum and issue a B permit with the "refugee" endorsement. This is rare and depends on the case.

How an F permit can end

  • Obstacles end (Art. 84 para. 1-2 FNIA): if the SEM finds the grounds under Art. 83 FNIA no longer exist, it revokes provisional admission and orders removal. You can appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.
  • Travel to your country of origin or putting yourself under its protection, for example getting a passport from its embassy, usually leads to the admission being lifted. F refugees can also lose refugee status (Art. 63 AsylA).
  • Criminal conviction: a longer prison sentence (in practice more than 12 months; case law varies) or a serious breach of public security and order can lead the SEM to revoke provisional admission even if obstacles remain (Art. 62 and 63 FNIA). The ban on refoulement (Art. 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Art. 3 ECHR) often still prevents actual removal, so you can end up without an F permit but unable to be removed.
  • Social assistance alone does not end provisional admission. But it can block the move to a B permit, family reunification under Art. 85c FNIA, and later naturalisation (see the Swiss Citizenship Act 2018 glossary).
  • F refugees can also lose refugee status under Art. 63 AsylA on the grounds in Art. 1 C of the 1951 Refugee Convention, such as voluntarily placing yourself under your home country's protection again or the persecution ending.

Protection of your data

Art. 97 AsylA forbids passing personal data of asylum seekers, refugees and people in need of protection to their country of origin if this would endanger them or their family. Art. 98 AsylA allows data to go to third countries and international organisations only under strict conditions. These rules protect F holders, especially F refugees, and also bind private bodies working with the authorities. See the Asylum Act glossary.

Numbers

Roughly 40,000-55,000 people held an F permit in 2023-2024, most of them classic F; F refugees are estimated in the low thousands. The main countries of origin vary with conflicts but have included Eritrea, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Turkey. For current figures, see the SEM asylum statistics at https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/publiservice/statistik/asylstatistik.html.

Who does what

  • SEM (Quellenweg 6, 3003 Bern-Wabern): grants, renews and revokes provisional admission, approves hardship cases (Art. 99 FNIA) and issues travel documents.
  • Federal Administrative Court (St. Gallen): hears appeals against SEM decisions.
  • Federal Supreme Court: in asylum matters, appeals on provisional admission are generally excluded (Art. 83 lit. d of the Federal Supreme Court Act); in purely FNIA matters it is open under limited conditions.
  • Cantonal migration office: issues and renews F permits, receives employment notifications (Art. 85a FNIA), handles hardship applications (Art. 84 para. 5 FNIA) and canton changes (Art. 85b FNIA).
  • Cantonal and municipal social services: asylum social assistance, or ordinary social assistance for F refugees.
  • Cantonal administrative courts: appeals against cantonal migration office decisions.

Getting legal help

During the asylum procedure, including the preparatory and decision phases of the accelerated procedure, you are entitled to free legal advice and representation (Art. 102f ff. AsylA with Art. 52a-g of Asylum Ordinance 1, SR 142.311), provided by SEM-approved legal advice centres such as Caritas, HEKS, the Swiss Refugee Council (OSAR) and SOS Ticino. Once you have an F permit, or in the extended procedure, contact a lawyer registered in the cantonal bar register who specialises in asylum and immigration law. If you cannot afford one, apply for legal aid (Art. 65 of the Administrative Procedure Act for federal proceedings; cantonal rules for cantonal ones).

If you face refusal of renewal, revocation, a removal order or an unclear summons from the SEM or the migration office, do not handle it alone: contact your legal adviser straight away. See also permit expiring soon.

Common confusions

  • F is not B "refugee". A recognised refugee with a B permit has asylum. F refugees have refugee status but no asylum, so their residence is less secure, the route to a C permit is harder, and changing canton is more restricted.
  • F refugee is not classic F. They differ on travel documents and sometimes social assistance.
  • F is not S. S protection status (Art. 4 + 66 ff. AsylA) is collective and switched on and off by the Federal Council. F is individual. See S protection status for persons from Ukraine.

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