German immigration to Switzerland

Immigration from Germany to Switzerland is mainly in German-speaking Switzerland. In contrast to most other immigrant groups are in immigrants from Germany primarily for highly qualified professionals.

History

Already in the early modern period found significant population movements in both directions instead of which were closely connected with the special relations between the two territories: While territories of today's Switzerland have long been part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, however, they were in from the jurisdiction of the Reichstag 1499 taken as a result of the Swabian war. The formal recognition of Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire by the Treaty of Westphalia dated to 1648. More significant waves of immigration took place after the Napoleonic era, especially after the founding of the Swiss Confederation and restored the German Confederation in 1815.

In 2009, 266,000 German citizens had a permanent residence in Switzerland, most of them in German-speaking Switzerland, especially in the Central Plateau, the city of Zurich, the Zurich area and in the canton of Zurich itself A similar number was most recently at the 1914 been reached before the First world War.

Demography

Due to the unequal size of the two countries German immigrants in Switzerland have a much more visible presence than vice versa: In 2007 there were over 37,000 Swiss citizen, or one of 180 Swiss citizens, in Germany, which only 0.05 % of the German population accounted for. Together with the Swiss- German people dual citizenship about 75,000 Swiss citizens in Germany were counted in 2007. At the same time lived almost 224'000 German citizen, or one of 350 German citizens in Switzerland, accounting for 3% of the Swiss population. However, this comparison ignores the dual citizenship.

The number of German citizens in Switzerland doubled in the period from 2002 until 2009. The reason is entered into force in 2002 Swiss- European government contract, which guarantees the free movement of workers.

While the free movement Agreement applies to all EU citizens, were German and Austrian citizens the main beneficiaries, since their knowledge of the German language allowing them without the added difficulty of a language barrier to get qualified jobs in German-speaking Switzerland.

In 2009, immigrants from Germany were a total of 266,000 (or nearly 3.4 % of the Swiss population), the second largest immigrant group in Switzerland, directly behind the Italo Swiss with 294,000 ( 3.7% of the total Swiss population). 22,000 of them were born in Switzerland. Of these, 18,000 were minors - children who were born of the Switzerland-based parent. 19,000 Federal German living in Switzerland were married to Swiss.

In 2007, the number of German citizens in Switzerland exceeded the historical maximum of 220,000 Germans before the First World War. However, was due to the lower population at the time, the proportion of Germans from the former German Empire before 1914 about 6% of the total Swiss population. The rate of naturalization has also gradually increased since 2007. The reason was a change in the German citizenship law, which allowed German citizens to obtain dual Swiss- German citizenship - this especially in light of the increasing number of qualified Germans living in Switzerland for over 12 years, from Swiss citizenship law is required. Prior to 2007, had German who wanted to be naturalized in Switzerland, to give up their German citizenship.

German citizen with permanent residence in Switzerland by canton (2009): Zurich 72,000 (5.5% ); Aargau 25,000 (4.1%); Bern 24,000 (2.5%); Thurgau 15,000 (6.3% ); Basel-Stadt 13,000 (6.8% ); Lucerne 11,000 (3.0 %); Basel-Landschaft 10,000 ( 3.7%).

German have settled mainly in Zurich and other metropolitan area. Already at the historical maximum German presence in Switzerland in 1910 the German population in Zurich was about 41,000 or 22 % of the total population in the city. In 2009, the German population was in Zurich at about 30,000, or nearly 8%.

Recording and reception in Switzerland

Since 2007, the Swiss xenophobia increases ( German hostility ) towards the German immigration.

While the Swiss resistance to immigration from Southern Europe and Africa expressed mainly by concerns about crime and determined by a large number of destitute immigrants from the lower class to the social welfare burdens that rejection of immigration from Germany has opposite motives. This includes in particular the fear of wage dumping in the " high-price island » Switzerland by skilled immigrants in the labor market and of rising prices in the housing market due to the higher demand by higher-paid German immigrants. In contrast, the German community in terms of crime of all groups the one with the lowest crime rate; it is as much as 40% less than the crime rate among Swiss citizens.

Nevertheless, German nationals are refused at the fourth- most immigrant group in Zurich and follow only just the immigrants from the former Yugoslavia (which are considered as a single group ), the Turkish-born immigrants and migrants from the Arab world. An immigration policy that receives such fears and polarized between Swiss and immigrants, especially plays in the election campaign of the SVP an important role.