SEM directives

SEM instructions (Weisungen) are the State Secretariat for Migration's internal guidelines on how to apply immigration, asylum and citizenship law. They are not laws, and courts are not bound by them, but they guide almost every decision a migration office makes on your file. This page explains what they are, where to find them and which instruction covers which topic.

In short

• What they are: internal guidelines telling SEM and cantonal officials how to apply the FNIA, AsylA, SCA, AFMP and their ordinances.
• Who they bind: SEM staff and cantonal migration offices, but not the courts, which can set them aside if they conflict with the law.
• Where to find them: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/publiservice/weisungen-kreisschreiben.html, split into foreign nationals, asylum and citizenship.
• Which version applies: as a rule, the one in force when the authority acted. Older versions are archived on the SEM website.
• Cantons vary: despite the instructions, cantonal practice differs, for example on hardship cases and early C permits.

What SEM instructions are

The SEM issues instructions as the federal authority for migration, asylum and citizenship. They explain how officials should apply the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20), the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31), the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0), the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) and their ordinances, especially the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201).

Their legal status:

• Not law. Parliament does not adopt them, and they are not published in the Official Compilation (AS) or the Classified Compilation (SR).
• Internal interpretation. They tell officials how to apply the law day to day.
• Binding on the administration: on SEM officials and, when they apply federal law, on cantonal migration offices.
• Not binding on courts. The Federal Administrative Court (FAC) and the Federal Supreme Court check the law themselves and can depart from an instruction that conflicts with a statute, the Constitution or international law.

According to settled Federal Supreme Court case law, courts still take instructions into account where they allow a fair interpretation of the law that fits the case. How much weight an instruction carries in a particular proceeding is a question for a lawyer.

In practice, the instructions are the most important interpretation tool for migration offices. If you apply for a permit, your caseworker will almost certainly follow one.

Where to find them

• Main page: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/publiservice/weisungen-kreisschreiben.html
• Three areas:
  • foreign nationals (FNIA, OASA, AFMP): auslaender.html
  • asylum (AsylA, Asylum Ordinances 1/2/3): asyl.html
  • citizenship (SCA, Citizenship Ordinance SCO, SR 141.01): buergerrecht.html
• Languages: usually German, French and Italian. Federal law is equally authoritative in all three official languages (Art. 14 of the Publications Act). If versions differ, the meaning is found by interpretation.

Foreign nationals instructions (FNIA)

The main instruction is "Instructions and Commentaries I. Foreign Nationals Area", also called the FNIA Instructions or Instructions I. It is the largest SEM instruction and covers the FNIA and its ordinances, especially the OASA.

Chapter structure as of 2026-05 (the SEM sometimes renumbers, so check the website):

Instructions I are revised comprehensively from time to time, with partial updates after major legal changes, such as new Federal Council ordinances or Federal Supreme Court rulings that find a practice unlawful.

Asylum instructions (AsylA)

The asylum procedure is more fragmented, so the SEM publishes several focused instructions. The main areas:

• Examining the application: refugee status under Art. 3 AsylA, establishing the facts, standard of proof.
• Hearings: procedure, role of the legal representative, records, special groups such as unaccompanied minors, women and traumatised people.
• Appeals: appeals to the FAC, deadlines, duty to cooperate.
• Family reunification for recognised refugees: family asylum under Art. 51 AsylA.
• Removal and enforcement: obstacles to removal (unlawful, unreasonable or impossible) and provisional admission (F permit) under Art. 83 FNIA.
• S protection status (Ukraine): temporary protection under Art. 4 AsylA, activated by the Federal Council in 2022 and adjusted since.
• Dublin procedure: the Dublin III Regulation (Regulation [EU] No 604/2013), which decides which state is responsible and transfers.

Free legal advice and representation in the asylum procedure are based on Art. 102f onwards AsylA; allocation to cantons follows Art. 27 AsylA. Asylum instructions change more often than the FNIA ones because they respond to the situation in countries of origin. Separate country situation reports are closely linked to them.

Citizenship instructions (SCA)

The Swiss Citizenship Act of 20 June 2014 has been in force since 1 January 2018. The SEM instructions focus on federal tasks: facilitated naturalisation, reinstatement, and annulment and withdrawal of citizenship. Ordinary naturalisation is mainly cantonal and municipal; the SEM grants the federal naturalisation authorisation (Art. 13 SCA).

• Ordinary naturalisation: residence period (Art. 9 SCA), successful integration, familiarity with Swiss life and no security risk (Art. 11 SCA), integration criteria (Art. 12 SCA). The language requirement is in the Citizenship Ordinance, not the Act (Art. 6 SCO).
• Facilitated naturalisation: spouses of Swiss citizens (Art. 21 SCA), children of a Swiss parent, and third-generation foreign nationals (Art. 24a SCA, in force since 15 February 2018).
• Reinstatement: for people who lost Swiss citizenship (Art. 27 onwards SCA).
• Annulment and withdrawal: annulment if citizenship was obtained through false statements (Art. 36 SCA); withdrawal only for dual nationals whose conduct seriously harms Switzerland's interests or reputation (Art. 42 SCA).
• Language proof: recognised diplomas such as fide, telc, Goethe, DELF/DALF and CELI, school certificates, and exemptions.

These instructions change less often, usually after Federal Supreme Court rulings or changes to the law.

Types of SEM texts

• Main instructions, such as Instructions I: large, structured, updated periodically.
• Circulars: short directives on new or exceptional topics, often after a legal change, a court ruling or a new situation. Same legal nature as instructions.
• Information letters and circular letters: less formal clarifications of practice questions.
• Country situation reports: factual analyses of countries of origin used in asylum decisions. Some are internal only.

Instructions, laws and ordinances compared

• Laws (FNIA, AsylA, SCA) are adopted by Parliament. The AFMP is an international treaty, ratified after approval by Parliament and a popular vote.
• Ordinances (OASA, Asylum Ordinances 1/2/3, SCO, the Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons VFP) are issued by the Federal Council and must stay within what the law allows.
• Instructions and circulars bind the administration, not the courts. An instruction that conflicts with a law or ordinance has no effect to that extent.

So if you challenge an SEM practice on appeal, you normally rely on the law or ordinance itself. The instruction is only an interpretation aid, not a source of law.

Topic index

Areas that change often

Dates, decisions and region lists below change frequently. Always check the SEM page on S status and Federal Council media releases.

• Ukraine, S status: first activated in 2022 (the first use of Art. 4 AsylA) and extended several times. The SEM page gives the current end date.
• "Safe regions" in Ukraine: applications from regions classed as safe are treated differently. The current list is on the SEM page.
• Russia and Belarus: stricter checks since 2022 because of sanctions and security concerns. Whether a separate instruction exists is unclear from published SEM texts.
• Afghanistan, Iran, Syria: situation assessments are updated as needed.
• Dublin transfers to Italy and Greece: reception capacity and systemic deficiencies; practice and FAC case law depend on the case.

Using instructions in practice

1. Check the SEM website for the latest version.
2. Check the status date, usually on the title page, in the contents or at the end.
3. Remember that cantonal practice can differ (see below).
4. In asylum cases, read the country situation reports alongside the instructions.

If the FAC or the Federal Supreme Court finds an instruction contrary to federal law, it will not apply it in that case, and the SEM usually adjusts the instruction. For how an instruction applies to your own facts, consult a lawyer registered in a cantonal bar register (Lawyers Act, LLCA, SR 935.61).

Cantons and the SEM

The cantons grant permits under Art. 32 to 35 and 37 to 39 FNIA (Art. 40 FNIA). The Confederation keeps control of limitation measures (Art. 20 FNIA), exceptions to admission rules (Art. 30 FNIA) and the approval procedure (Art. 99 FNIA). Most permits are granted first by the cantonal migration office, with SEM approval needed in certain cases; the list of those cases is in the FNIA and OASA.

Cantonal offices are bound by the instructions, but practice still varies, notably on:

• hardship cases (Art. 30 FNIA);
• how much social assistance dependence counts against a permit;
• how often and how strictly integration agreements are used;
• what counts as "successful integration" for an early C permit (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA).

To judge your situation realistically, look at both the SEM instructions and your canton's practice.

Contacting the SEM

• Address: State Secretariat for Migration, Quellenweg 6, 3003 Bern-Wabern
• Phone: +41 58 465 11 11
• Web and contact forms: https://www.sem.admin.ch. Topic-specific email addresses change periodically, so use the contact area of the website.

The SEM does not answer individual legal questions through its general channels. For your own case, contact the migration office of your canton of residence.

Related pages

• FNIA/OASA terminology glossary
• Asylum Act glossary
• Citizenship Act 2018 glossary
• AFMP/free-movement glossary
• Data protection in migration procedures, under the revised Data Protection Act (revFADP) in force since 1 September 2023