Switzerland Bribes Ukrainian Refugees With Thousands of Dollars to Get Them to Leave

As many as 70,000 Ukrainian nationals fled to Switzerland and applied for refugee status after the escalation of Ukrainian crisis into a full-blown NATO proxy war with Russia in 2022. Bern wants most of them gone within two years' time.

Switzerland is looking to get rid of the vast majority of its Ukrainian refugees and is offering cash incentives equivalent to up to $4,335 to encourage them to go home. That’s according to a provisional government strategy seen by local media.

Authorities are reportedly introducing a phased “departure window” expected to last between six and nine months, with 80 percent of the estimated 70,000 Ukrainian nationals expected to return to Ukraine voluntarily between 2024 and 2025 after their protected status is lifted. Some 14,000 are expected to try to stay past the deadline, prompting the government to encourage departures using financial incentives – cash payments between 1,000 and 4,000 Swiss francs ($1,090-$4,355 US) per person, with more money awarded the earlier one leaves.

Exceptions are made for the roughly 1,000 unaccompanied children and 1,600 refugees over age 75 with health problems.

Switzerland has sought to maintain neutrality in the Ukrainian crisis, but has joined in on EU sanctions against Russia, and recently approved the decommissioning of over two dozen Leopard 2 tanks to sell to Germany, despite the possibility of Berlin re-exporting them to Ukraine.

The Swiss government’s decision on refugees comes amid a broader Europe-wide cooling of support for the millions of Ukrainians who fled their home country last year, resulting in the widespread depopulation of Ukraine. European governments have complained about the economic burden caused by hosting the refugees, while difficulties related to integration also prompting many citizens of EU countries to support a scaling back of assistance.

Russia, which took in nearly two million Ukrainian refugees by mid-2022, further eased restrictions on entry for Ukrainian nationals last week, with President Putin signing a decree allowing Ukrainian citizens to enter and leave Russia without visas and using internal Ukrainian identity documents.