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PASSPORT

Just 1,000 third-generation foreigners apply for Swiss passport under easier citizenship rules

Only a small percentage of the estimated 25,000 third-generation foreigners who can now take advantage of rule changes that make it easier for them to obtain Swiss citizenship have done so to date, but the current requirements may be partly to blame, a report published on Tuesday suggests.

Published: 12 March 2019 19:35 CET
Just 1,000 third-generation foreigners apply for Swiss passport under easier citizenship rules
Swiss passports are notoriously difficult to obtain. Photo: AFP

Third-generation foreigners are those who were born in Switzerland and may have spent their lives here but who do not have Swiss citizenship because their parents and grandparents did not. 

In 2017, the Swiss public voted in a referendum to allow this group to access to facilitated (or simplified) naturalization– a far simpler citizenship process usually reserved for the foreign spouses and children of Swiss citizens. 

In February last year, the news rules came into effect.

Read also: How to apply for Swiss citizenship – a guide

However, a new report (here in French) published by the Federal Commission on Migration (FCM) shows just 1,065 third generation foreigners have applied for citizenship under the new rules so far, while 309 have already obtained the Swiss passport.

Eighty percent of applicants came from four countries – Italy, Turkey, Kosovo and Spain, according to the report.

Meanwhile, two thirds of the applications came from just six cantons, five of which are considered to have restrictive citizenship processes (Aargau, St Gallen, Solothurn, Thurgau and Basel).

The report had allowed applicants to sidestep restrictive cantonal policies, its authors said.

Parents school requirement as a legal obstacle

However, the FCM also recognised that the current rules for facilitated naturalisation for third-generation foreigners made it difficult for some applicants – specifically the requirement that they prove their parents had completed five years of compulsory schooling in Switzerland.

Read also: Swiss democracy is failing country's foreign population

The FCM noted that this requirement did not match up to the immigration reality of many of Switzerland’s third-generation foreigners. The commission said that many of these people’s grandparents had come to Switzerland as seasonal workers and had only brought their children to the country when they had secured a residence permit.

As a result, many parents of potential candidates for facilitated immigration had not attended five years of school in Switzerland. However, many had completed professional training here.

The FCM recommended that the rules be changed to reflect this situation, with that professional education being recognised in place of the five years of compulsory schooling.

The commission also called on communes and cantons to do more to encourage third-generation foreigners to take out Swiss citizenship.

A flop?

Geneva newspaper Tribune de Genève labelled the results of the first year of the rule changes a “flop” but the woman behind the initiative, Ada Marra, whose grandparents emigrated to Switzerland in the 1960s, told Swiss news agency SDA she wasn't disappointed at all.

She said the figures indicated that their was “a real need” in cantons with more restrictive citizenship policies.

The military service issue

Under the rules, only third-generation foreigners under the age of 25 can apply for facilitated citizenship. This was a proviso added in by parliament over fears people could shirk their military service obligations by only applying for citizenship after that age – though those currently aged 26-35 will be able to apply if they do so in the first five years of the new system.

Read also: Brit denied Swiss citizenship after 'failing raclette question'

 

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SWISS CITIZENSHIP

Do EU residents in Switzerland need to get Swiss citizenship?

If you come from the European Union or Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein (EFTA) and live in Switzerland you may be wondering whether applying for Swiss nationality is worth your while.

Published: 23 November 2023 09:11 CET
Do EU residents in Switzerland need to get Swiss citizenship?

While many foreign residents are impatiently waiting for the moment when they will be eligible to apply for a Swiss passport, others are in no rush to do so.
 
The desire (or the lack thereof) to become a citizen of Switzerland — in addition to maintaining their original nationality, if they decide to do so — varies from person to person, depending on many different factors.

The main one is undoubtedly whether the foreigner intends to stay in Switzerland indefinitely, or plans to return home eventually.

Another reason may very well be the desire to participate fully and completely in Switzerland’s  political life and democratic processes — that is, to vote in referendums and elections, and feel that your opinion matters.

But a lot may also depend on another factor: your nationality.

For people from third countries who have lived in Switzerland long enough — 10 years with  a B or L permit — before finally being eligible for their permanent residency C permit, is a huge event. (Americans and Canadians, on the other hand, can apply for a C permit after five years of consecutive residence).

It is therefore logical that many of these people, whose status in Switzerland has been conditional and tenuous for many years, will jump on the opportunity to be naturalised and ‘regularise’ their situation.

What about people from the EU / EFTA?

Admittedly, there is far less urgency — or need, for that matter — to become a Swiss citizen if you have a passport from an EU or EFTA state.

That’s because you have an almost unlimited access to Swiss jobs and residency, as well as sweeping rights overall. For instance, you are free to change jobs and move from one canton to another.

Another benefit that you, as a citizen of an EU / EFTA state have, is that you can come to Switzerland and look for work for up to six months without any visa requirements.

Also, in case of a job loss, an EU / EFTA citizen doesn’t have to leave Switzerland immediately.

Instead, they may stay in the country for at least six months to seek new employment. 

Another perk is that if you are living in Switzerland as an EU/EFTA citizen, you can purchase property – indeed, you have the same rights in this regard as Swiss citizens do.

You do not need a permit or any additional permissions that a Swiss citizen would not require to buy property. 

READ ALSO: Just how freely can EU citizens move to (and within) Switzerland?

All this to say that you can live in Switzerland pretty much indefinitely on your EU / EFTA passport, and neither your residency nor employment is subject to the same restrictions as those imposed on third country nationals.

You basically enjoy the same rights as Swiss citizens, except for the right to vote, which may or may not matter to you.

In that respect, you don’t need a Swiss passport, especially if you don’t plan to remain in the country longterm.

However…

…if you do want to continue living in Switzerland, it may be worth your while to apply for naturalisation, if only out of pragmatism.

That’s because if you leave the country for more than six months on a B permit, you will lose the residency rights (though can re-apply to have them re-established).

With a C permit, you have the benefit of putting it on hold for up to four years. But if you neglect to do so, then the permit (and your permanent residency status) will expire.

READ ALSO: How long can I stay out of Switzerland and keep my residency rights?

So in this respect at least, having a Swiss passport will give you more flexibility and security.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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