The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has just launched the “Aging Abroad” campaign aimed at the approximately 180,000 Swiss living abroad who are of retirement age. The goal: to encourage them to take their responsibilities, explains Swissinfo.ch.
“At the FDFA, there is a feeling that Switzerland often offers its citizens abroad more help than the law provides. It happens that we accompany someone to the hospital and some individual destinies require hundreds of hours of work.
Switzerland too generous with its expats?
Because following the health crisis, the Swiss abroad tend to be more and more demanding of their consulates. The country would have somehow committed a “original sin” by organizing, in March and April 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the emergency repatriation of some 7,255 people on board specially chartered planes, continues the Bern news site:
“Switzerland has been too generous and has not respected the principle of subsidiarity. According to this principle, the state provides assistance only when all other means and possibilities have been exhausted.”
In fact, the Federal Constitution expressly states that “everyone is responsible for himself”. And Article 5 of the Swiss Abroad Act emphasizes that “any person who prepares and carries out a stay abroad or who carries out an activity abroad engages his own responsibility”.
“We try to help as much as possible, but we also have limits”, insists Johannes Matyassy, Deputy Secretary of State, who mentions the case of a national stranded on an island off the coast of Venezuela and who requested that Switzerland send a helicopter to repatriate him as quickly as possible.
Thailand sets conditions for foreign retirees
The problem arises in particular with the 9,600 Swiss pensioners settled in Thailand, many of whom chose to emigrate for financial reasons – because their pension did not allow them to live decently in Switzerland.
However, following the pandemic, this country now requires that foreign retirees living on its soil take out private health insurance with basic coverage of $100,000. “Such insurance costs between 100 and 200 francs per month. For some seniors, this can be a problem.” In principle, Thailand withdraws the long-term visa for those who cannot present health insurance – they must leave the country within ninety days. “The catch is that it is almost no longer possible to take out private health insurance at an advanced age or with a pre-existing condition.”
The Swiss abroad are therefore calling for the rapid establishment of a social security agreement between Switzerland and Thailand. In the meantime, the Department of Foreign Affairs recalls that it can only intervene if a Swiss abroad is destitute and really needs help. Above all, he wants to encourage seniors who choose to retire abroad to make arrangements in advance to “avoid Switzerland and its representations, but also their relatives”, heavy uncertainties. “Advance directives, mandates due to incapacity, provisions in the event of death and wills are part of it”.