About the city

Zurich

Pioneering urban citizenship with a “City ID” for all

Key Takeaways

  • 1

    Zurich shows that even in a conservative environment such as the canton of Zurich, progressive and innovative migration policies can not only be conceived but also implemented.

  • 2

    The Zurich City Card is based on a particularly inclusive idea: It combines access to essential basic services for undocumented residents with a card that can be used by all other city residents as well. It is thus a card for all citizens of Zurich, regardless of their status.

What is unique about the city?

Political recognition for all: Zurich is one of the larger European cities to be considered a pioneer of the so-called “Urban Citizenship” initiative. The initiative is part of the drive to use creative municipal measures to give rights to undocumented migrants who have no right to remain. No other European city has institutionalised rights for undocumented migrants to the extent that Zurich has. Civil society initiatives are pushing for full political recognition of all those who live in the city as equal citizens, and are finding the left-wing state government responsive to the suggestions.

With the introduction of the ‘Züri City Card’ we are taking an important step forward so that no one in Zurich has to fear for their existence

Tiba Ponnuthurai, the executive member of the SP Stadt Zürich

What are the greatest achievements so far?

A City ID improving the life of undocumented migrants: For years, civil society groups and, most recently, the left-leaning city council have been working on a “City ID” called the "Züri City Card.". It works to make life easier for the estimated 10,000 undocumented migrants living in one of the world’s richest and most expensive cities. According to a city council decision at the end of 2020, the legal basis for the “Zürich City Card” were to be established over the following years. Finally, in May 2022, a majority of the Zurich city population voted in a referendum on the 'Züri City Card' to finance the development of the project to the tune of 3.2 million Swiss francs. The city has now been given the task of developing a concrete proposal for the introduction of the card for all citizens of the city, irrespective of their residence status, by 2024/2025.

Political activities and advocacy beyond the city level

Zurich, which is governed by a left-wing coalition, is a member of a number of relevant city networks in the anti-racism movement: "Eurocities", "Mayors Migration Council", "Solidarity Cities" as well as the "Cities Coalition against Racism". In each case, Zurich has a special role because of its position as a capital and its pioneering measures in the field of “Urban Citizenship”. In the last few years, Zurich has supported the Greek city of Thessaloniki in planning informal educational opportunities for unaccompanied minors. Zurich has also spoken out politically on the issue of the direct admission of refugees from camps at the EU's external borders. After the fire at the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in September of 2020, Zurich's chief of social affairs Raphael Golta stated: “We are ready to take in more refugees.”

Member of the following networks

Download the full city report

The city report contains more information about the city’s migration and inclusion policies and selected local approaches. Report from 2021, updated in 2023.

Download Report