The surprising European nation with a radical plan to curb immigration ...Middle East

Switzerland will vote on capping its population at 10 million amid rising tensions over immigration, in a move that could influence voters across the continent – including in Britain.

A petition by the powerful far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) gained 100,000 signatures this week, enough to be put to a national referendum.

The news is only the latest of measures proposed in recent years to restrict immigration across the continent. In 2024 the Dutch government also considered a population limit – 20 million – before the ruling coalition collapsed over its immigration proposals. In Denmark, a “zero refugee” policy that actively discourages people from claiming asylum has led to its lowest level of applications in 40 years.

Meanwhile in Britain, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party is pushing a “net zero” immigration policy, which aims to balance those leaving and arriving to the UK, effectively halting population growth via immigration.

What is Switzerland proposing?

The SVP’s “No to 10 Million Switzerland” bill would crack down on immigration by requiring any government to prevent the population from exceeding 10 million by 2050, including both citizens and foreign residency permit holders.

The proposal includes “brake” measures that would be triggered when the country’s population reaches 9.5 million, only 400,000 higher than its current level of 9.1 million.

The SVP calls its new bill a “sustainability initiative” to preserve Swiss culture. Official figures suggest some 27 per cent of Swiss residents are foreign-born, one of the highest proportions in Europe after Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

Switzerland‘s population has grown by a quarter since 2000, much more than its neighbours, with migrants attracted by the country’s high wages and standard of living.

The SVP celebrated the bill passing into the next stage. For too long, they said, “a small elite has profited from uncontrolled immigration” while ordinary people “pay the price” in the form of wage depreciation caused by cheap imported labour, and a rise in rent prices as a result of a strained housing market.

“Everyone feels the effects of uncontrolled immigration in their daily lives,” the party said. “The landscape is being paved over. Trains are packed. Traffic jams are a constant problem. Switzerland is losing its identity. People feel like strangers in their own country.”

The vote will be held on 14 June as part of Switzerland’ system of direct democracy, which involves multiple referendums a year. Results are far from certain. Recent polls have suggested that 48 per cent of Swiss voters are in favour of the plan, with 7 per cent undecided and 45 per cent against.

Michael Hermann, Director of the Sotomo Institute and one of Switzerland’s leading pollsters, said: “I’d say it’s 50-50. But things could get worse. Of those people who say they would vote against the initiative, many still hold anti-immigration sentiments.

“About 40 per cent think immigration is important for the economy,” he warned. “The other 10 per cent just don’t agree with the cap – they think it’s too extreme or causes other problems.”

If the Swiss voted in favour of the initiative, the government could raise the requirements for immigrants applying for permanent residency and withdraw from Switzerland’s freedom of movement agreement with the EU.

Switzerland continues to rely heavily on an immigrant workforce in sectors such as hospitality, construction, and education. Withdrawal from the Schengen zone would have catastrophic consequences for Switzerland’s workforce and jeopardise other deals with the EU.

Marta Lorimer, lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University, reflected on the proposal’s lack of detailed planning: “Feasibility is a pretty serious issue here, particularly in terms of sustaining Switzerland’s economy… Far-right parties, however, do not often seem to be too fussed by either the legality or the feasibility of their proposals.”

In fact, the simplicity of the SVP’s initiative often adds to the appeal, said William Allchorn, Senior Research Fellow at the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute.

“By attaching a clear numerical ceiling to demographic growth, parties create a powerful sense of control and administrative clarity, even if implementation would be legally and economically complex.”

Could the idea take hold in Britain?

While the idea of a population cap might appear unusual, increasingly, major interventions are being proposed as unease around immigration grows across Europe.

Countries including Germany, France and Spain, as well as Nordic nations that have traditionally been more welcoming to migrants, have been forced to reckon with the issue as voters turn to far-right parties promising to cut immigration levels.

In Britain similarly, immigration has become a lightning-rod issue, with rising support for Reform UK forcing the Labour government to take tougher measures.

Since 2018, the number of small boat arrivals arriving in Britain via the Channel has soared, with around 41,500 people detected last year – a 13 per cent rise on the year before and the second-highest annual figure, according to the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory.

While the previous and currents governments have attempted to crack down on arrivals, they have made little difference to overall numbers.

In 2025, while the UK recorded more unauthorised boat arrivals, numbers declined in other European countries such as Spain and Greece.

The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is planning to restrict migrant workers’ settlement rights, doubling the amount of time to secure indefinite leave to remain.

But support for Reform has soared. As of this month, Reform was on an average of 28 per cent, followed by Labour on 19 per cent and the Conservatives on 17 per cent.

According to in-depth polling last year, immigration was the defining issue for those voting for Reform, with 58 per cent of potential Reform voters viewing it as a key issue.

The party’s net-zero migration policy proposes stopping small boat crossings by withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, detaining those arriving illegally and deporting them, and ending free housing and benefits for those who arrive illegally.

Reform UK’s Net Zero migration policy had a straightforward attraction, Hermann said, without such obviously extreme language as a population cap. However, he warned that this was misdirection.

“Reform’s migration policy is even more extreme, actually. Because the birth rate in the UK is below two, if you did that, you would lose people. A 10 million cap would still allow for some immigration, because the Swiss birth rate is below two,” he said.

When approached, Reform UK told The i Paper: “We don’t particularly want to comment on the politics of other countries. Our policy on immigration is pretty well known.”

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