Graubünden revokes residence permits of suspected mafia members

Four residence permits in Roveredo have been permanently revoked, closing an exceptional migration case in Graubünden. The four people were arrested in France and Italy in February 2026 during an international anti-drug operation. Italian and French investigators suspected links to the Camorra and ’Ndrangheta, two organised crime groups with long-established roots in southern Italy.

The individuals held B permits and lived in Roveredo, in the Moesa region. During the summer, the Graubünden Office for Migration and Civil Law ordered the permits withdrawn. The decision became final after none of the four filed an appeal. The canton has described the measure as part of its response to information emerging from the cross-border investigation.

The case matters because permit withdrawal is legally constrained, especially for residents covered by EU/EFTA rules. Migration authorities cannot simply replace a criminal court’s role when allegations surface. The criminal proceedings abroad and the administrative decision in Switzerland follow separate tracks. The source does not report convictions against the four people, and the allegations remain the basis for the migration action.

For Graubünden, the final decision also provides the backdrop for tighter scrutiny of applications in the Moesa region, where the canton has introduced a temporary criminal-record requirement for some EU/EFTA workers and applicants.

EU/EFTA residents benefit from a high legal threshold before a Swiss canton can revoke a permit. Niculin Mosca, head of the Graubünden Office for Migration and Civil Law, said the office can take that step only in exceptional cases, particularly within the EU/EFTA area.

That restriction reflects the division of powers in Swiss law. Expulsion from Switzerland falls within the jurisdiction of criminal courts. A migration authority handles residence status, while a criminal court determines criminal liability and any court-ordered expulsion. The two procedures can be connected by the same facts, yet they remain distinct administrative and criminal processes.

The rules for refusing a new permit are somewhat less restrictive. Mosca said an application may be refused in cases involving serious criminal convictions. Even that power is used rarely. In recent years, Graubünden has recorded fewer than 10 such cases on average, according to the migration office.

The Roveredo decision therefore sits well outside routine permit administration. It followed arrests in two countries, an international anti-drug operation and suspected ties to major Italian criminal networks. The final withdrawal does not itself establish criminal guilt. It records the outcome of the canton’s administrative assessment after the information available to authorities crossed an unusually high threshold.

One of the four people received a B permit in Chur in 2021 after Ticino had refused to grant him residence. That detail highlights how permit decisions can shift between cantons and why information sharing matters in cross-border cases.

The person later lived in Roveredo, a municipality in the Italian-speaking Moesa region. The source gives no further details about the earlier refusal by Ticino, including the grounds on which it was made. It also does not state whether the two cantonal decisions concerned identical evidence. Those limits matter when assessing the case, since a permit decision is based on the information and legal circumstances available at the time.

After the arrests in France and Italy, Graubünden’s migration office reassessed the residence status of all four people. The office ordered the permits withdrawn during the summer. No appeal followed, so the orders became final. The outcome illustrates how an administrative file can develop after an international criminal investigation, even while questions of guilt remain with criminal courts.

The case also places attention on the practical relationship between Switzerland’s cantons. Migration decisions are administered locally, while organised crime networks operate across borders. A refusal in one canton does not automatically determine every later application elsewhere. Authorities must examine each case under the applicable rules and evidence.

Graubünden began requiring criminal records for some EU/EFTA applications in the Moesa region from mid-August 2026. The temporary measure covers residence-permit applicants, seasonal workers and cross-border commuters. It is scheduled to remain in force until the end of December 2026.

The canton introduced the procedure after the Roveredo case. Applicants affected by the measure must submit a criminal record, giving officials additional information when they assess applications. The policy applies in a region with close daily links across the Swiss Italian border, where workers, residents and businesses regularly move between jurisdictions.

Mosca said the adjustment is intended to support security and prevention. He also said the canton would assess its effectiveness, practicality and added value at the end of the year. The review will determine whether the temporary procedure provides useful information without creating unnecessary administrative burdens for applicants and employers.

The new requirement does not replace criminal investigations or court proceedings. It gives migration officials another source of information during permit assessments. The canton must still apply the legal rules governing EU/EFTA residents and distinguish between an application for a new permit and the withdrawal of an existing one. The Roveredo decision shows how rarely the latter occurs, while the Moesa measure shows how Graubünden is testing a more systematic screening tool.

The permit decision arrives as Switzerland prepares a national strategy on organised crime by the end of 2026. The federal government has said Switzerland is increasingly affected by organised crime and plans to adopt a nationwide approach. Graubünden’s response in the Moesa region offers a canton-level example of how authorities are tightening administrative checks while that broader strategy takes shape.

The national and cantonal measures operate on different levels. A federal strategy can establish common priorities for law enforcement and prevention. Graubünden’s temporary procedure deals specifically with information collected during residence and work-permit applications. Neither measure changes the criminal courts’ responsibility for convictions or expulsions ordered through criminal proceedings.

For residents and employers in the Moesa region, the immediate effect is procedural. Some EU/EFTA applicants, seasonal workers and cross-border commuters must provide a criminal record until the end of December 2026. At year’s end, the canton will examine whether the additional screening delivered practical value.

The four Roveredo permits are already final because no appeal was filed. Their case will continue to inform debate over how Switzerland handles suspected organised crime while observing the legal protections attached to residence rights. The next test will be whether Graubünden’s temporary screening system produces information that authorities can use consistently and lawfully.