Our comprehensive solutions and services guide you on your digitalization journey.
Finding the right business solution:
We speak your language! Our industry-specific solutions are perfectly tailored to your needs.
Energizing customer service with intelligent automation
Tips and updates for our solutions, informative blog posts, compelling case studies, and news about our company.
The "Intelligent Automation" specialization is awarded exclusively to partners who meet strict criteria.
4 min read • Jun 02, 2026
In public administration, the pressure to make processes faster, more efficient, and more transparent continues to grow. At the same time, citizens now expect digital services that match the standard of modern companies. That is why the St. Gallen Migration Office has already fully digitalized the submission of renewal applications for foreign nationals with settlement permits. Together with BE-terna, the St. Gallen Migration Office is now taking the next step with automation based on the UiPath platform.
Every year, the St. Gallen Migration Office processes up to 20,000 cases for the renewal of settlement permits. For a process with this volume, manual processing was time consuming and required a lot of effort. Without automation, standard cases could take several weeks to complete. Together with BE-terna, the office automated the processing steps and created the foundation for shorter processing times, better data quality, and greater relief for the team.
In the tested setup, up to 50 percent of suitable standard cases can be processed automatically. The goal is to process standard cases much faster from the moment an application is submitted.
The St. Gallen Migration Office implements legal requirements in the areas of foreign nationals, asylum, and identity documents. Its responsibilities include supporting and integrating asylum seekers, issuing identity documents, and processing permit applications and renewals. One process with particularly high volume is the renewal of settlement permits. Every month, the Foreign Nationals Department checks more than 2,000 applications and processes them in the central migration system ZEMIS.
To relieve employees in a targeted way, increase process reliability, and make standardized processes more efficient, the office now uses Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
The renewal of settlement permits is one of the most common processes at the St. Gallen Migration Office. The process affects around 15 percent of the population in the canton of St. Gallen and therefore involves high case numbers. Before the project, employees had to process the entire procedure manually. They checked data, compared information, and handled cases step by step in the back office.
BE-terna supported the project from process discovery through design, development, and testing to go live and employee training. The result is a solution that meets the requirements of the Migration Office and can be integrated into daily work.
Together with the Migration Office, BE-terna automated the processing of settlement permit renewals. The solution uses Robotic Process Automation (RPA) based on UiPath and is designed to process suitable standard cases automatically. At the same time, it detects exceptions, filters them out, and forwards them to the responsible specialists.
The automation checks incoming application data automatically and compares it with existing records. The entire process remains transparent and audit proof, which is especially important for public administration.
“Our employees can once again focus more strongly on complex cases and personal consultation. That is exactly where their experience is truly needed.”
Roman Bachmann, project manager, St. Gallen Migration Office
“With automation, we were able to significantly reduce manual effort and reduce manual typing errors. The technology works precisely, transparently, and seamlessly within the existing process landscape.”
Automation provides noticeable relief in a high volume process. Employees spend less time on manual routines and can focus more strongly on exceptions. At the same time, processing speed increases significantly.
Quality also improves. Data is processed more consistently, decisions are based on clear automated foundations, and manual typing errors are reduced. In this way, the Migration Office improves not only its internal processes but also the service it provides to applicants.
By automating a central administrative process, the St. Gallen Migration Office shows how public administration can work faster, more clearly, and more reliably. BE-terna supported the project from the first analysis to go live and implemented a solution that already processes up to 50 percent of the volume automatically and delivers measurable results in speed, quality, and employee relief.
For the St. Gallen Migration Office, this project is only the beginning. The office is already evaluating further core processes for automation, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence open up additional opportunities. The successful implementation shows the potential of automation in public administration and the contribution it can make to future ready administration.
Automation creates the greatest value where it provides concrete relief. Together, we identify which processes in your organization are especially suitable and define meaningful next steps.
Subscribe to our Newsletter and get relevant updates …
