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Law on Freedom of Movement (November 1, 1867)

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§ 4. The municipality has the right to turn away a newcomer only if it can furnish proof that the person in question does not have adequate capabilities to provide a basic livelihood for himself and for his dependents who are unfit for work, and if the person in question is unable to do this through his own assets or through the contributions of a relative obliged to provide assistance. It is left to the state laws to restrict this right of municipalities.

Concern over future impoverishment does not entitle the municipal council to refuse residency.

§ 5. If the need for public support becomes evident after the arrival of the newcomer but before he has acquired a residence status entitling him to benefits (the right of domicile) in the new locale, and if the municipality furnishes proof that assistance has become necessary due to reasons other than a temporary inability to work, then a continuation of residence may be denied.

§ 6. In cases in which the commencement or continuation of residence may be denied and [when] the responsibility for providing assistance is a source of contention among various municipalities within the same federal state, the decision is made according to state laws.

The actual expulsion from a locale must never occur before the issuance of either a declaration of acceptance by the municipality under obligation, or at least, for the time being, an enforceable decision regarding the duty to provide care and support [Fürsorgepflicht].

§ 7. If different federal states are involved in the cases defined in § 5, the process is regulated in accordance with the treaty of mutual obligation to accept persons designated for expulsion, ratified in Gotha on July 15, 1851, and in accordance with subsequent agreements on the implementation of this treaty.

Up to the point at which the obligated state accepts the expellee, the state in which the person designated for expulsion is currently residing is responsible for the care of that person in his place of residence in accordance with the legal principles in force regarding public poor relief in its territory. A claim for compensation for state, municipal, or any other public funds used toward this end by the state to which the needy person belongs can only be made if support for the person designated for expulsion extended for more than three months.

§ 8. The municipality does not have the right to levy a charge from any newcomer because of his relocation. It can make that person pay municipal levies, just as the rest of the inhabitants of the municipality do. If the duration of residence does not end up exceeding three months, the newcomers are not subject to these levies.

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