Additional Work and Temporary Telephone Service Interruption in the Migration Sector of Biel

The Migration Sector of the City of Biel must temporarily stop answering telephone calls. This immediate measure responds to the increase in visa applications during the holidays. An increase in work which occurs this year at the same time as departures and sick leave among the staff.

Understaffed, the Migration Sector will call on staff from other organizational units to support it over the coming weeks.

“As we know, the workload of the staff of the Migration Sector of the City of Biel is high”, indicate the Biel authorities. Customers often have to wait a long time to have their requests processed.

This problem is reinforced during the summer period: “many people from Biel want to go on vacation and in this context, people of foreign nationality often need a return visa”, indicates the chancellery.

“The Migration Sector must quickly process these visa applications, which generates a significant increase in work”, detail the authorities. As there is currently a shortage of staff following departures and several absences due to illness, the situation has deteriorated in recent weeks to the point of requiring immediate measures to relieve staff.

To ease the situation, the Migration Sector will no longer answer telephone calls until at least the end of this month. As far as possible, its staff will temporarily increase its activity rate and employees from other units will temporarily work as reinforcements.

Organizational and administrative improvements are planned, but the relevance of resorting to temporary external help is also being examined. “The relevant departments of the municipal administration regret having to limit the public service in this way and ask the population to excuse it for any inconvenience,” indicates the City of Biel, confident in the effectiveness of the measures taken.

The Directorate of Social Affairs and Security commissioned external expertise of the Migration Sector processes to sustainably improve the problem of the backlog in the processing of applications.