With autumn arrivals edging up, the Federal Department of Justice and Police has instructed the State Secretariat for Migration to reopen a 120-bed civil-defence shelter in Niederscherli (Bern) from mid-November 2026. The move provides a buffer while keeping six purpose-built federal asylum centres – mothballed in June after a sharp caseload decline – offline until at least summer 2027. According to the 15 October decree, the shelter will be dedicated primarily to Ukrainian nationals under S-protection as well as vulnerable families awaiting cantonal allocation. SEM emphasised that overall asylum inflows remain “significantly lower” than last year but that temporary densification is prudent ahead of the winter peak. Additional beds can be created inside existing centres if numbers exceed projections of 22,000 asylum applications and 10,000 S-status requests for the full year. Local authorities in Köniz have endorsed the plan after consultations on security staffing, schooling and transport links. The federal government will cover operating costs, while cantonal police retain competence for public order. For global-mobility managers the announcement is a reminder that accommodation availability for humanitarian transferees can fluctuate quickly; HR teams sponsoring family reunion cases should verify centre assignments before booking travel. Once application volumes recede, the Niederscherli shelter will be decommissioned again. The Federal Council has ruled out opening any further temporary sites this winter, signalling confidence that the current reception architecture is adequate even under conservative stress-test scenarios.
Source: EJPD media release
