Facts
Pero Zecevic, born in 1959, formerly a national of Yugoslavia, now of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had been regularly employed as a seasonal worker in Switzerland since 1991. Between October 1994 and January 1995, he repeatedly applied to the Foreigners' Control Office of the Canton of Valais to convert his seasonal permit to an annual permit. The Federal Office for Foreigners Affairs rejected the request on March 8, 1995 and refused the exception from the quota. Pero Zecevic filed an appeal with the Federal Department of Justice and Police, which dismissed the appeal on September 28, 1995.
With an administrative court appeal dated October 27, 1995 to the Federal Supreme Court, Pero Zecevic requested that the Department's decision be overturned and that he be exempted from the quota limits of the Limitation Ordinance under the application of Art. 13 lit. h in conjunction with Art. 28 para. 1 lit. a or b BVO.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court found that the appellant had narrowly missed the time requirements for converting the seasonal permit under Art. 28 para. 1 lit. a BVO by December 31, 1994. Although he fell short of the required 36-month presence in the last four consecutive years by only 12 days (or 5 days considering the tolerance period), the conversion requirements could not be considered fulfilled.
However, the Federal Supreme Court recognized that in this case there was a serious personal hardship within the meaning of Art. 28 para. 1 lit. b BVO. The appellant had been making efforts since 1991 to fulfill the requirements for conversion, and had completed the current season. If the amendment to the…