Eritrean asylum seeker sits in a dormitory at a reception center in Switzerland | FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Switzerland seizes refugee assets: report Refugees are expected to help pay for their upkeep and the cost of asylum applications.

Refugees arriving in Switzerland will have to hand over any assets worth more than 1,000 Swiss francs (€915) to help the state pay for their upkeep, broadcaster SRF reported on Thursday.

Upon arrival in Switzerland asylum seekers will be provided with an information sheet saying: "If you have property worth more than 1,000 Swiss francs when you arrive at a reception centre you are required to give up these financial assets in return for a receipt."

SRF's 10 vor 10 news programme interviewed one Syrian refugee, whose identity was kept secret, showing a receipt for what he said was more than half the money his family had left after paying traffickers to help them get to Switzerland.

Stefan Frey from refugee aid group Schweizerische Fluechtlingshilfe called the move "undignified," but migration authority SEM said asylum seekers and refugees had to contribute to the cost of processing their applications and social assistance.

"If someone leaves voluntarily within seven months this person can get the money back and take it with them. Otherwise the money covers costs they generate," an SEM spokeswoman told SRF.

If granted the right to stay and work in Switzerland, refugees will also have to surrender 10 percent of their pay for up to 10 years until they repay 15,000 francs in costs.

Denmark's parliament will vote at the end of the month on proposed measures to confiscate cash and jewellery from refugees, which have prompted international criticism.