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- Feed Preview The Swiss community around the globe - SWI swissinfo.ch
Swiss Abroad youth parliament receives record number of applications
Every two years the Youth Parliament Swiss Abroad (YPSA) elects a new committee. With 17 applications, the number of interested young people has never been so high. “We had to postpone the resu...
Swiss Abroad: fog clears on tax reform in Thailand
The tax reform affecting Swiss emigrants in Thailand since January 1 contains a number of grey areas. The authorities have therefore clarified the situation in recent months, particularly with re...
‘The Swiss Abroad deserve better representation in parliament,’ says right-wing politician
Should the Swiss Abroad have their own electoral constituency? The House of Representatives doesn’t think so. On Monday it rejected a motion by Jean-Luc Addor from the right-wing Swiss People�...
Swiss citizen triggers uproar in Thailand
A Swiss man living in Thailand lost his temper for a moment and sparked an unprecedented hate campaign. The Thai authorities have been forced to act. Now that the matter is in the hands of the Ph...
Swiss innovator breaks sexual taboos in South Africa
Be it on contraception, menstruation or sexually transmitted diseases, Karin Stierlin’s Love Land app provides a new framework for teaching young people about sexual health. Is it an idea with ...
How Swiss-designed wigs make their way from Bali to the big screen
Far from where he grew up in eastern Switzerland, Bali-based Orlando Bassi makes handmade wigs for Hollywood and Broadway productions – so successfully that he can afford to pay two butlers. Or...
The number of Swiss around the world grew by 1.7% in 2023
According to annual statistics, almost two-thirds of Swiss Abroad live in Europe, with France the most common destination. Almost a quarter of all Swiss around the world are pensioners. On Decemb...
From Aargau to New York: the story of the Guggenheim family
The spectacular Guggenheim museums in New York, Venice and Bilbao attract art lovers from all over the world. The success story of the Guggenheims, a family of American industrialists, began from...
Child pensions set to be abolished – in Switzerland and abroad
The Swiss House of Representatives is in favour of abolishing child pensions. This also affects retired Swiss Abroad and foreign workers who have left Switzerland and returned to their country of...
Welfare for Swiss expats: fewer but increasingly complex cases
How much social welfare does Switzerland transfer abroad? And why is the amount getting smaller and smaller? An in-depth look at the financial aid that Bern provides to its citizens abroad. Let�...
Relief after anger: how the Swiss Abroad view the pension vote
Swiss citizens who live abroad are delighted with the result of the national vote on Sunday, in which a 13th monthly pension payment was approved. However, concerns about financing also led to so...
Swiss Abroad gave strong support to ‘13th month’ pension rise
In Sunday's pension votes, around two-thirds (65%) of Swiss citizens who live abroad backed the proposal to increase monthly pension payments. A similar percentage (66%) rejected a plan to raise ...
What you need to know about the Swiss spring parliamentary session
The Swiss parliament is meeting in Bern for the spring session. The Swiss Abroad will be directly affected by many of the motions and proposals put forward. One of the main issues that will affec...
Edelweiss Village becomes a Swiss monument in Canada
For a long time, the fate of six historic Swiss chalets in Canada was uncertain. Now the former home of the legendary Swiss mountain guides in the Rocky Mountains has been saved. A group of simpl...
‘Swiss pensioners who live abroad in luxury are an exception’
On March 3 the Swiss will vote on an extra – or 13th – monthly pension payment. Martina Bircher, a parliamentarian from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, claims that some retired Swiss A...
Do Swiss pensioners living abroad ‘milk’ the system?
The goodwill of the Swiss towards fellow citizens living abroad appears to have taken a blow as the debate over pension payments heats up in Switzerland ahead of the March 3 votes. SWI swissinfo....
‘Electronic identity will make life easier for Swiss Abroad’
The Swiss government wants to introduce a free, voluntary digital identity document. This will offer improved security and make it easier for Swiss citizens living abroad to exercise their politi...
Controlled fentanyl use: what San Francisco can learn from Zurich
San Francisco is in the grip of an opioid crisis. Allowing users to inject drugs in a controlled environment, as the Swiss city of Zurich has done in the past, could be a solution. But there is a...
E-voting: ‘Financing is becoming a hurdle’
E-voting promises access to democracy for the Swiss Abroad. However, the project is once again arousing scepticism as it costs enormous sums of money. Switzerland is lagging behind when it comes ...
Adopted illegally in Switzerland, tracing her roots in Colombia
Born in Colombia, Nathalie Favre was adopted by Swiss parents when she was seven months old. In search of her roots, she returned to her native country where she has now lived for almost five yea...
Advice for Swiss families moving abroad
Emigrating as a family can be exciting. But moving abroad with children also brings a fair share of uncertainties and concerns. This guide answers common questions with a focus on education and h...
Global flavours of the Swiss Abroad take centre stage at fondue World Championship
The Mondial de la Fondue, the Fondue World Championship, is held every two years to crown the cheesemaker with the best melty, cheesy recipe. This year, Swiss Abroad competitors from Brazil and C...
Government rejects idea of ‘Swiss Abroad constituency’
The Swiss government says it is opposed to separate constituencies for Swiss Abroad in parliamentary elections. While it is important for Swiss citizens living abroad to be represented in parliam...
Fondue gallery
SWI swissinfo.ch - swiss news and information platform about Switzerland, business, culture, sport, weather. swissinfo covers Switzerland from every angle in English with news and up-to-date information for a worldwide audience.
‘The whole world must force Israel and Palestine to make peace’
Only 81 Swiss nationals live in the occupied West Bank. Rami Daqqa, a Swiss-Palestinian dual citizen, is one of them. The 39-year-old talks to SWI swissinfo.ch about the mounting daily challenges...
Swiss graffiti star finds home and renewal in Kosovo
Graffiti artist Krystel (Krissy) Suire first set foot in Kosovo five years ago to attend a street art festival. “It was 8.30am, the airport was empty, and I asked myself what am I doing here wi...
Swiss Abroad also turn their back on Greens
As in Switzerland, the green vote in 2023 federal elections dropped among the Swiss diaspora, mainly in favour of the Social Democratic Party. By contrast, the rise in support for the Swiss Peopl...
Why e-voting could become a stress test for democracy
In three cantons, eligible voters can once again vote online. But the timing is bad. Confidence in the state’s digital competence has taken a hit. It’s been a 20-year tale of woe. Switzerland...
Arctic adventure: from travel guide to Swiss diplomat
Marcel Schütz moved from Switzerland to the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen at the age of 20. Today he is the main foreign diplomat in the region, helping scientists and other visitors when ...
How a Swiss photographer spent four years battling legal charges in Hong Kong
Swiss photographer Marc Progin, a long-time resident of Hong Kong, got caught up in a legal nightmare after he covered a pro-democracy demonstration in 2019. Recently he received an adverse court...
Last chance to win the favour of the Swiss Abroad
As the current parliamentary term comes to an end, issues concerning the Swiss Abroad are popping up on the political agenda. SWI swissinfo.ch gives an overview of all the proposals that have bee...
16,600 kilometres away – but still running for Swiss parliament
From the vegetable farmer in France to the Berlin-based writer to the diplomat in Australia – the 43 Swiss Abroad who are seeking election to the 200-member House of Representatives come from a...
Swiss Abroad voters double down or deviate – but they never tip the scales
How have the Swiss Abroad voted in the last four years? We have analysed the results of the last 36 federal popular votes – and our findings are nuanced. The Swiss Abroad confounded many with i...
Why Thailand is so appealing for Swiss businesses
Political and economic problems in China are forcing Western companies to look for alternative locations. One such alternative is Thailand, where Swiss companies have been operating for over a ce...
Autumn session of parliament: What’s in it for the Swiss Abroad?
Aside from a lot of domestic politics, the autumn session will focus on issues that directly affect the Swiss Abroad. Those issues are less headline-grabbing but no less important. The final sess...
Marc Progin's pictorial coverage of the democracy movement protests in Hong Kong
SWI swissinfo.ch - swiss news and information platform about Switzerland, business, culture, sport, weather. swissinfo covers Switzerland from every angle in English with news and up-to-date information for a worldwide audience.