Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland who own cars may lose them due to new regulations

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland who have been living on social assistance for a year will likely have to part with their cars, Swiss daily 20 Minuten reported Tuesday.

The reason for this is new regulations which stipulate that anyone still living on welfare after a year must have their assets re-examined.

The regulations apply to everyone in Switzerland, including Ukrainian refugees who enjoy “S status.” Under this status, Ukrainians can leave the country and return without processing additional documents.

In its report, 20 Minuten refers to the website of the Swiss Conference for Social Assistance, which says "cars are to be disposed of if their value exceeds the asset allowance for the relevant household size."

According to the report, the Swiss cantons are now in the process of implementing these rules. In response to a question from the newspaper, the Swiss Asylum and Refugee Service of the canton of Lucerne explained that it counts vehicles toward assets for people with S protection status.

"If they exceed the exemption amount of 4,000 Swiss francs ($4,378) per person or 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,944) per family, we order that they must be disposed of," the canton said.

In doing so, the canton sets a deadline of one month. Depending on how much the sale of the car brings in, social assistance will be stopped for a certain period of time after that.

As 20 Minuten further reports, there are currently 141 refugees from Ukraine registered in the canton of Lucerne who own a vehicle. Of those, 132 received social assistance in February.

Lucerne assumes that "the majority of registered vehicles exceed the asset allowance." If a refugee does not comply with the request to sell their car, the value of their car is estimated and flows into the calculation for social assistance.

"It is about equal treatment with all other groups of people in Switzerland who receive social assistance. Vehicles are also counted towards their respective assets," the Asylum and Refugee Service explained to the newspaper.

Lucerne was home to 3,535 people with S protection status at the beginning of January, according to official data. Of them, 2,755 received social assistance. According to 20 Minuten, if the numbers are extrapolated, there are several thousand refugees with cars nationwide in Switzerland.

The Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) gives the total number of Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war as 79,342. Of these, 76,191 have already received S status.

Social assistance in Switzerland, as of 2023, stipulates that the basic need for an individual in most cantons is 1,031 Swiss francs ($1,128) per month.

Depending on the number of household members supported, the basic need is extrapolated. Two persons together receive 1,577 Swiss francs ($1,726) and three persons 1,918 Swiss francs ($2,099).