elisa-asile

What elisa-asile does

elisa-asile is a non-profit association headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 1986 and recognized as a public utility in the Canton of Geneva. Its core activity is the provision of free, specialized legal assistance to asylum seekers, refugees, and stateless persons across Swiss asylum proceedings, drawing on expertise in Swiss and international asylum law. The organization is staffed by approximately seven employees — a director and three dedicated jurists supplemented by administrative support — and is reinforced each year by around forty trained volunteers who assist with reception, language support, and case follow-up. It serves several hundred beneficiaries annually through individual consultations, administrative support, and representation before migration authorities.

The association's service portfolio has expanded beyond general legal advice into two multi-year programmatic initiatives: the Réunir project (2022-2025), which addresses family reunification in collaboration with the Swiss Red Cross, and a new LGBTIQ+ project (2025-2028) developed in partnership with the Asile LGBTIQ+ association to support queer asylum seekers. Revenue mechanics are characteristic of a Swiss public-utility non-profit: roughly 70-75% of funding derives from the State of Geneva, Geneva municipalities, and foundations, with the remaining 25-30% from private donations and modest membership fees (CHF 30 per year), supplemented by tiered recurring donation products (CHF 20/40/80 per month) earmarked for specific service lines. Operations are confined to the Canton of Geneva, and the organization does not generate revenue in a commercial sense — sustainability depends on institutional grant cycles and donor support rather than market-priced services.

Name

elisa-asile

Legal name

Association elisa-asile

Website

https://elisa.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

elisa-asile is a Geneva-based non-profit association, founded in 1986, that provides free specialized legal assistance to asylum seekers, refugees, and stateless persons in the Canton of Geneva through a small staff of jurists and ~40 volunteers, supplemented by programmatic projects on family reunification and LGBTIQ+ asylum.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Asylum Legal Aid Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADAHAE

Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Refugee, Migration & Displacement Services

SECONDARYBPAGAEAI

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAGAFAG

Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

Keywords

• Asylum legal aid
• Refugee legal services
• Family reunification support
• Immigration legal advice
• Asylum rights advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Regular and occasional donations from individuals. The association states that donations represent 25-30% of their annual budget. Monthly donations are encouraged for financial sustainability.
2. Public funding: Funding from the State of Geneva, Geneva municipalities, and various foundations and associations. This represents the majority of operational funding at 70-75% of budget.
3. Membership fees: Annual membership fees of CHF 30 per member, granting voting rights at general assemblies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Association elisa-asile provides free, specialized legal advice and representation to asylum seekers and refugees in Canton Geneva through walk-in legal permanences and appointment-based consultations. Services cover asylum procedures, family reunification support via the 'Réunir' project, and LGBTQ+-specific asylum cases via the 'LGBTIQ+' project, supplemented by interprofessional training programs for practitioners.

Product overview

elisa-asile operates as a single unified offering centered on providing free specialized legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Geneva. The organization combines core legal consultation services (permanences juridiques) with two specialized projects: the 'Projet Réunir' for family reunification support and the 'Projet LGBTIQ+' for LGBTQ+-specific asylum cases. Supplementary offerings include professional training programs (Formation Réunir and Formation LGBTIQ+) that disseminate expertise to other practitioners in the field. The organization is recognized as being of public utility and has been active since 1986.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Permanences juridiques (Legal Consultations) Free legal consultations for asylum seekers and refugees, including advice on asylum law and representation during procedures. Available without prior appointment at scheduled hours in Vernier and Geneva.
• Projet Réunir (Family Reunification Project) Three-year pilot project providing comprehensive legal and administrative guidance for family reunification processes for asylum-related migrants in Geneva.
• Projet LGBTIQ+ (LGBTIQ+ Asylum Project) Pilot project (2025-2028) in partnership with Asile LGBTIQ+ offering specialized legal consultations for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, combining legal expertise with psychosocial support.
• Permanence Regroupement Familial (Family Reunification Legal Permanence) Monthly Wednesday afternoon legal consultation specifically for family reunification questions, offering appointments in French, English, and Somali.
• Formation Réunir (Family Reunification Training) Annual one-day interprofessional training on family reunification challenges, bringing together professionals to discuss accompaniment of separated families.
• Formation LGBTIQ+ (LGBTIQ+ Training) One-day interprofessional training on LGBTQ+ rights in forced migration contexts, organized in collaboration with Asile LGBTIQ+.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Asile LGBTIQ+coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project pilot (2025-2028) providing specialized legal permanence for LGBTQI+ persons in asylum procedures. Combines elisa-asile's legal expertise with Asile LGBTIQ+'s psychosocial support. Includes professional training component for asylum field workers.
• Croix-Rouge suisse (Swiss Red Cross)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on the 'Réunir' (Reunite) project for family reunification. Luca Marison completed internship at Swiss Red Cross's specialized family reunification service before joining elisa-asile.
• Coordination asile.gemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneva-wide coordination of asylum organizations. elisa-asile participates in network activities and collaborates on joint advocacy and awareness initiatives.
• nccr – on the moveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Center of Competence in Research on migration. Director Marc Baumgartner is a research associate, conducting academic research on asylum policy implementation.
• Pikett AsylminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on information resources. elisa-asile team members translated Pikett Asyl's brochure on the European Common Asylum System (RAEC) into French.
• Various civil society organizations (coalition)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipation in coalitions for advocacy campaigns: ACAT Suisse, La Communauté burundaise de Suisse, Droit de rester Vaud/Neuchâtel/Fribourg/Valais, Solidarité Tattes, Ligue suisse des droits humains, Caritas Genève, Centre social protestant Genève, and 30+ other organizations on specific campaigns.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Swiss Red Cross (Croix-Rouge suisse): Swiss Red Cross is a large national humanitarian organization operating the 'Réunir' family reunification service referenced in elisa-asile's project documentation. It is a much broader incumbent offering humanitarian assistance, health, and migration services, but co-delivers in the same Geneva family reunification domain.
• HEKS/EPER (Swiss Protestant Aid): HEKS/EPER is a major Swiss development and migration aid organization running refugee integration, legal advice, and advocacy programs across Switzerland. It serves overlapping asylum-seeker and refugee populations at greater national scale and is a comparable mission-driven peer in the same policy domain.
• Ligue suisse des droits humains: The Swiss League for Human Rights is a national umbrella organization engaged in asylum-related litigation and advocacy. It is listed among elisa-asile's coalition partners and operates in a directly comparable human-rights / asylum-law domain at a broader national scale.

Direct peers

• Asile LGBTIQ+: Asile LGBTIQ+ is a Geneva-based association providing psychosocial support for LGBTQI+ persons in forced migration. It is elisa-asile's joint partner on the 2025-2028 LGBTIQ+ pilot project, combining elisa-asile's legal expertise with Asile LGBTIQ+'s psychosocial specialization.
• Centre social protestant Genève (CSP): CSP Genève is a Geneva-based nonprofit providing legal aid, social support, and refugee assistance, including specialized support for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. It is a coalition partner of elisa-asile and serves the same Geneva beneficiary population with overlapping legal-permanence-style services.
• Solidarité Tattes: Solidarité Tattes is a Geneva-based association supporting residents of the Foyer des Tattes — the very building where elisa-asile holds its main Monday legal permanence. The two operate as direct peers embedded in the same asylum-accommodation and legal-support ecosystem in Vernier/Geneva.
• Caritas Geneva: Caritas Genève is a Geneva-based social assistance and refugee support organization within the broader Caritas Switzerland network. It overlaps with elisa-asile in serving asylum seekers and refugees in Canton Geneva, including integration and rights-advocacy work, and is explicitly listed among elisa-asile's coalition partners.
• Coordination asile.ge: Coordination asile.ge is the Geneva-wide network of asylum-sector organizations of which elisa-asile is an active member. The two organizations operate as peers within the same Geneva asylum ecosystem, coordinating joint advocacy and awareness initiatives.

Regional players

• Droit de rester (Vaud/Neuchâtel/Fribourg/Valais): Droit de rester is a network of collectives defending the right to stay for undocumented persons and rejected asylum seekers in French-speaking Switzerland. It is listed as an elisa-asile coalition partner and operates comparable advocacy and accompaniment services, but outside Geneva.

Emerging players

• Pikett Asyl: Pikett Asyl is a Swiss-wide organization providing on-call legal aid and advocacy for asylum seekers. It is a coalition partner and information-collaboration peer of elisa-asile (e.g., joint translation of RAEC brochures), with overlapping mission but national rather than Geneva-only scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/elisa.asile.page
• Instagraminstagram.com/elisa_asile_geneve
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elisa-asile

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about elisa-asile