Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

SWISS CITIZENSHIP

EXPLAINED: Why ‘simplified’ Swiss naturalisation is actually not that simple

In Switzerland, the simplified naturalisation process is open to foreign spouses of Swiss citizens or third-generation foreigners. Everyone else has to go through the regular citizenship procedure.

Published: 22 March 2021 12:49 CET
EXPLAINED: Why ‘simplified’ Swiss naturalisation is actually not that simple
Getting naturalised in Switzerland is not simple. photo by Photo by STEFAN WERMUTH / AFP

In many countries where citizenship is granted at birth, the notion of ‘third-generation foreigners’ is an odd one.

But not in Switzerland.

As explained by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), third-generation refers to “foreign citizen whose grandparents emigrated to Switzerland”.

SEM specifies who fits into this category:

  • At least one of your grandparents was born in Switzerland and can be proven to have acquired a right of residence here.
  • At least one parent (has) acquired a permanent residence permit, (has) lived for at least ten years in Switzerland and attended compulsory schooling in Switzerland for at least five years.
  • You were born in Switzerland and hold a permanent residence permit.
  • You have attended compulsory schooling for at least five years in Switzerland.
  • You are successfully integrated.

In addition, the third-generation person must file an application for citizenship before their 25th birthday.

“If you submit the application after your 25th birthday but otherwise meet all the requirements, you can apply for simplified naturalisation until 15 February 2023 provided you will still be under the age of 40 on that date”, SEM said.

READ MORE: I thought I was Swiss? How being mistaken as a national can put you on the road to citizenship

What is involved in ‘simplified naturalisation’ for third-generation foreigners?

Unlike the simplified procedure that applies to foreign spouses of Swiss citizens, the one for the third-generation is comparatively more onerous —though not as strict as the ‘ordinary’ process for all the other foreign nationals.

On February 12, 2017, 60.4 percent of voters approved the new law on facilitated naturalisation aimed to make it easier for some 25,000 third-generation foreigners to obtain the Swiss passport.

Three years after its entry into force, only 1,868 people have applied for citizenship.

READ MORE: Will Swiss-born foreigners be granted automatic citizenship?

Why so few?

That’s because in reality, simplified naturalisation is not that simple.

On the plus side, the procedures are faster and cheaper, and there is no need to go through all the steps required for ‘ordinary’ citizenships, including taking a difficult test.

But among the required conditions, it must be established “in a probable manner” that at least one of the applicant’s grandparents was born in Switzerland or that he or she acquired a right of residence in Switzerland.

“Imagine that you have to find this in undigitalised document of your deceased grandmother”,  Walter Leimgruber, chairman of the Federal Migration Commission told Tribune de Genève (TDG) newspaper on Tuesday.

Another difficulty is that proof must also be given that at least one of the applicant’s parents has completed at least five years of compulsory education in Switzerland.

“Many first-generation seasonal workers were only allowed to bring their children to Switzerland when they were young,” Leimgruber said.

This means some parents of the present-day third-generation foreigners did not attend schools in the country.

Because of these difficulties in obtaining the necessary proof, “many people start the process of simplified naturalisation and then give up in frustration”, he added.

Aware of this paradox, the Committee on Political Institutions of the National Council will soon look into the question, Leimgruber said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

In Switzerland, like in other countries, people sometimes lose their belongings in various places. Many ultimately find their way to their rightful owner.

Published: 19 April 2024 12:10 CEST
Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

Unlike socks that disappear in the wash, never to see the light of day again (which is a global, rather than just Swiss phenomenon), many lost items often do reappear. 

The bigger the item is, the more chance there is of it being found.

But even smaller objects like keys are often returned to their owners — it all depends on who finds them and to what lengths these people are willing to go to ensure that lost items are returned to their owners.

(Human nature being what is it is, you have more chances of being reunited your keys than with your jewellery or a wallet that still has all its contents inside).

But you may be surprised to learn that cases of exemplary honesty still exist.

One such example, in 2022, involved an envelope containing 20,000 francs found lying on a sidewalk by passersby and returned to the man who dropped it while getting into his car. 

What are some of the more unusual things people leave behind?

Each year, Uber Switzerland publishes a list of things that passengers forget in cars. 

This year, among purses, cell phones, laptop computers, umbrellas, and pieces of jewellery, drivers found in the back seats items including a purple wig, carnival mask, coffee machine, and a spatula for crêpes.

The items found on trains are even stranger. 

They include, according to the national railway company SBB, taxidermy animals, an authentic samurai sword, and a prosthetic leg (it’s not clear whether this was a spare or whether the passenger had to hop off the train).

Where should you look for the items you lose in Switzerland?

It depends on where you think, or know, you left your belongings.

Public transport

If it’s on the train, file a lost property report here. 

For the PostBus, it’s here. 

Additionally, public transport companies in your community have their own ‘lost and found’ offices, as do local police stations.

Airports

Zurich 
Geneva 
Basel 

Additionally, to maximise your chances of being reunited with your lost property, report it here.

Through this site, you can also check whether your lost item has been found and handed in at one of the offices.

If your lost item is found, must you pay a ‘finder’s fee’?

Yes, Swiss legislation says so.

No exact amounts are specified, but “the reward should be appropriate in relation to the find,” according to Moneyland consumer platform.

In principle, “a finder’s fee equal to 10 percent of the amount returned to the owner is considered an appropriate reward.” 

Also, if the process of finding out who the lost object belongs to and returning it to you generates extra expenses for the finder (such as train fare or other travel costs, for example), you have to reimburse these expenses in addition to the reward.

(By the same token, if you find and return someone else’s belongings, you can expect the same compensation).

SHOW COMMENTS