Is North Africa exporting criminals instead of imprisoning them? In Switzerland, 80.5 per cent of asylum seekers from North African countries have been charged with one or more offences during the asylum process or before removal following a negative decision. 99 per cent of North African asylum seekers are rejected.

By comparison, the proportion among asylum seekers from all other countries of origin was 12.3 per cent. This means that asylum seekers from the Maghreb – Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia – are extremely overrepresented in the crime statistics compared with other asylum seekers. The figures come from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and were reported by the magazine Blick.

Old news that North Africans commit crimes

Among Swiss citizens, the rate of being charged was 0.6 per cent, while among the permanent foreign population it was around one per cent. For Ukrainian refugees, the figure was 1.9 per cent.

The figures concern charges, not convictions. A considerable proportion of the offences are acquisitive crimes such as shoplifting and theft from cars. People charged with simple thefts are often released after questioning so that they can commit new offences.

According to SEM spokesman Daniel Bach, young men from the Maghreb are responsible for most of the criminal «incidents» generally attributed to asylum seekers.

Applications for asylum from the Maghreb countries are rejected almost without exception – around 99 per cent are refused. In 2024, Switzerland introduced an accelerated «24-hour» procedure for asylum seekers from the Maghreb, but in practice the process takes an average of 22–23 days.

Der Maghreb-Experte Beat Stauffer erklärt, warum so viele junge Nordafrikaner auswandern wollen. Und warum sie sich kaum vor Strafen fürchten. 👉 Mehr dazu: https://t.co/0m3C0z0lNt pic.twitter.com/cJEuaBqiFz

— Tages-Anzeiger (@tagesanzeiger) August 24, 2026

Asylum seekers from the Maghreb account for a visible proportion of the total number of asylum applications. The problems associated with crime in this group are well known, and the new figures have prompted debate about stricter enforcement, faster returns and changes to the rules governing people without a genuine need for protection.

The authorities have announced faster detention of repeat offenders, shorter deadlines for removal and closer co-operation on returns with countries of origin such as Morocco.

An «established conspiracy theory»

An «established conspiracy theory» holds that the Maghreb «exports» or in practice facilitates the escape of criminals to Europe as a form of «externalisation of internal problems».

This is of course not documented official policy, but is regarded as a plausible hypothesis on the basis of the high level of criminal involvement among asylum seekers from the region, combined with the obstruction of returns and selective border controls.

The hypothesis explains an observed pattern as a combination of pragmatism, capacity problems and a lack of incentives to prevent problematic citizens from leaving:

• Prisons in the Maghreb are overcrowded. Allowing criminals to disappear across the Mediterranean may reduce pressure on the penal system and budgets.
• When Europe requests returns, co-operation often becomes deadlocked. This is interpreted as meaning that the countries have no desire to take back people who create problems on the other side of the Mediterranean. Consulates refuse for months to issue emergency passports or question the identity of their own citizens. The logic is that a country with no interest in taking back its own criminals also has no interest in preventing them from leaving.
• Ordinary offenders (theft, robbery, drugs) represent less political risk than political opponents. The authorities have demonstrated an ability to impose strict exit controls on opposition figures, but conspicuously often look the other way when it comes to criminals.
• The Maghreb can crack down on sub-Saharan migrants (in return for handsome compensation from the Schengen countries), while allowing its own criminals to leave. This creates the impression of deliberate selective enforcement.
• Europe is (in practice) a cost-effective alternative to serving prison sentences in the Maghreb.

🚨 Kriminelle exportieren statt einsperren? Wie Nordafrika das Problem krimineller Staatsbürger auf Europa abwälzt. 👇

Es ist der blinde Fleck der Migrationsdebatte: Während die Maghreb-Staaten (Marokko, Algerien, Tunesien) politische Oppositionelle lückenlos überwachen und an… pic.twitter.com/xK3Jgew99W

— Captain Nini (@NiniMcMouse) July 20, 2026