Switzerland Gets Angry as Morocco Goes from 1 to 185 Identifications
For months, Swiss authorities denounced the slowness of the procedures allowing certain Moroccan nationals to be expelled. In some cases, identification allegedly took more than a year. Then, in the spring, the figures changed abruptly.
Philippe Müller, a member of the government of the canton of Bern, contacted Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans in March. In his letter, he accused the Moroccan authorities of “dragging out the procedures”: it sometimes took only a few weeks to establish an identity in the context of a criminal case, compared with more than a year in certain removal cases, reports Blick.
On Bladi.net : article 115537
Switzerland subsequently protested to the Moroccan authorities. The statistics cited by the newspaper show a spectacular reversal: only one identity had been established in total in February and March. In April, that figure rose to 185.
From 1 to 185 identifications
This acceleration comes amid political discussions between the two countries. Beat Jans met Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on April 24. A month later, on May 22, Swiss State Secretary for Migration Vincenzo Mascioli travelled to Rabat to sign an agreement concerning return procedures.
The pace subsequently slowed, while remaining higher than previously observed: 14 identifications were carried out in May, followed by the same number in June. For Philippe Müller, this development mainly shows that checks can progress much more quickly when the Moroccan authorities speed them up. “If Morocco wants to, it carries out the checks,” he believes, calling on Switzerland to maintain the pressure.
The State Secretariat for Migration now also notes a clear improvement in cooperation with Morocco. In the first half of 2026, almost as many forced returns were carried out as during the whole of 2025. Several flights to Morocco are also planned in the coming weeks.
In total, 353 Moroccan nationals are currently required to leave Switzerland. The surge in the number of identifications does not, however, mean that all these people can immediately be expelled: some cannot be located, others are detained, and each removal depends on the individual circumstances of the case.
On Bladi.net : article 109926
The increase from 1 to 185 identifications in just a few weeks nevertheless marks a turning point after months of Swiss criticism. Bern now expects this acceleration to result in more returns to Morocco in the weeks ahead.