Switzerland

Art. 3, 17, para. 1 and 17a Asylum Law, art. 14a para. 4 and 6 Law on Foreign Nationals: In the case of a married couple, the question of the eligibility for refugee status of one spouse cannot be examined independently of that question concerning the other spouse. In the event of a subsequent marriage in Switzerland of two foreigners who had made separate requests for asylum, the determination of whether refugee status is to be granted to one of the spouses may not be made independently of the determination concerning refugee status of the other spouse. If the FOR has suspended consideration of one of the spouse's request for asylum for an unspecified period of time, in particular so as to conform to the directive given by the Federal Department of Justice and Police in respect of older procedures concerning Sri Lankan nationals, when the other spouse has appealed a decision refusing asylum to the Commission, then the decision challenged shall be quashed and the case remanded back to the FOR, or in other words, set back into the same procedural status as the suspended case of the spouse.

1 February 1999 | Judicial Body: Switzerland: Commission suisse de recours en matière d'asile | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Derivative status | Countries: Sri Lanka - Switzerland