As of Thursday March 17, 2022, it is expected that you will be able to register online for the status S: https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/de/data/asyl/gesuch-schutzstatus-s.pdf.download.pdf/gesuch-schutzstatus-s-d.pdf
The factsheet of the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration is available here (in German). Key information is available on this website in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German.
The Status S was activated for the first time in Switzerland, some processes are not yet clearly regulated.
What is "S" Status/Permit?
With the S Permit/Status, all registered individuals from Ukraine will be officially under the protection of Switzerland, without having to undergo the normal asylum procedure. As a result, these people will be granted the right to reside in Switzerland. They will also be allowed to work and will be entitled to social assistance services and medical care. They can travel freely. Children will be able to attend school.
The S Permit/Status is available from 12 March 2022.
Source: Federal Council, Ukraine: Federal Council activates protection status S for people from Ukraine 11 March 2022
Official information from the State Secretariat for Migration:
Permit S (people in need of protection) - 7 March 2022
Who can apply for the "S" Permit/Status
S Permit/Status is available to all persons who had regularly resided in Ukraine before February 24, 2022, which includes:
Ukrainian citizens and their family members (even if they do not have Ukrainian citizenship)
Persons of other nationalities and stateless persons including their family members who had a national or interational protection status in Ukraine.
Persons from third countries who have left Ukraine and who had a valid residence permit in Ukraine before fleeing, provided they cannot return safely and permanently to their homeland.
Persons who have been granted protection status in another country cannot be granted S Permit/Status in Switzerland.
How to enter Switzerland
Ukrainian citizens can enter Switzerland without a visa (including persons without a biometric passport). You can stay in the Schengen area for 90 days within 180 days without registration for status S. Switzerland is part of the Schengen area.
What is the process for obtaining the "S" Permit/Status?
From Thursday 17 March 2022 on, registration will probably be available online: https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/de/data/asyl/gesuch-schutzstatus-s.pdf.download.pdf/gesuch-schutzstatus-s-d.pdf
Registration for the S Permit/Status will take place in the federal asylum centers. After registration, you will be invited to an interview in which also your accommodation options will be clarified. You will receive an answer to your application for the S Permit/Status within 3 days.
Your identity documents (passport, ID card, etc) may be taken while the application is processed, but will be returned to you.
When you go to the federal asylum center the authorities may confiscate any assets that you have on your person. For people who are accommodated privately, the State Secretariat for Migration wants to suspend this requirement. Assets on your person will be confiscated for individuals who stay in a federal asylum center.
If you do not register for status S, you can only stay in Schengen area as a tourist for 90 days out of the last 180 days.
Family Reunification
Spouses, registered partners and minor children of persons with S status also receive temporary protection. The cantonal migration offices are responsible for family reunification (list here).
Family reunifications can also happen spontaneously: Your family members can enter Switzerland independently and without a visa and receive protection here.
Accomodation
People can stay in accommodation with their relatives or with private individuals, or can be assigned to a canton that organizes accommodation. The State Secretariat for Migration clarifies the accommodation options individually in the interview after registration.
Accommodation for several thousand people is currently available in the federal asylum centres, and the authorities are also searching for additional accommodation. Ukrainian refugees can also obtain medical assistance if needed at the federal asylum centres.
Ukrainians who arrive in Switzerland can register directly at one of the six federal asylum centres with processing facilities.
The responsible federal authority – the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) – has also established a task force that will reply to all requests and enquiries as quickly as possible.
Email: ukraine@sem.admin.ch.
A special telephone hotline has also been set up (Phone: +41 58 465 99 11; 10 am to 12 noon, and 2 pm to 4 pm).
Travel
People who have an S Permit/Status are permitted to travel abroad and back to Switzerland. Please pay attention to the requirements of entry of your destination.
Working in Switzerland
People with the S Permit/Status can legally work anywhere in Switzerland from March 12, 2022. You must get approval for every job you start or change.
Self-employment is also allowed, but must also be reported to the authorities.
If you apply for a job, you must present the S Permit to the employer.
More information in English and the official languages of Switzerland (German, French and Italian) here.
Find a list for the cantonal work authorities here.
Identity documents
The S Permit/Status is not proof of your identity and cannot replace your Ukrainian documents, please keep your Ukrainian identity documents safe.
To verify your identity, the authorities may take your ID documents (such as passport or ID card) until you receive your S Permit/Status (for about three days).
Healthcare
In Switzerland, all persons must have compulsory health insurance, but not until you have submitted an application for S status. As soon as you report to a federal asylum center and submit an application for status S, you will be registered for compulsory health insurance by the canton (after allocation to a canton). The health insurance will apply retroactively to the date of your application for status S. The costs for premiums and cost sharing (deductible and excess) are subsidized by the federal government.
Social Insurance
Individuals with S status may be eligible for social assistance. Social assistance will also cover special medical needs.
In Switzerland, social assistance is regulated on a cantonal basis, contact the social assistance office of your canton (list here)
Education
Children can attend school, updates will follow.
People with the Status S can attend the German, French and Italian language courses of their cantons.
Right to stay in Switzerland
Whether you can stay in Switzerland after the war is unclear and will depend on when the war is over. In 10 years, the canton can issue you a permanent residency permit according to the law. There may be the possibility to apply to the canton for a residence permit because of a "serious cases of personal hardship". It is unclear at this point whether it will be available to people with a Status S.
In any case, you will have the right to be heard before the removal order will be issued.