Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

Paywall free

SWISS CITIZENSHIP

Why young foreigners are opting out of Swiss citizenship

Young people eligible for Swiss citizenship, including some born in Switzerland, are deciding not to pursue the famous red passport. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 19 April 2022 15:26 CEST

A red Swiss passport up close

A Swiss biometric passport. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Switzerland’s naturalisation process is one of the toughest in Europe due to a variety of federal, cantonal and communal rules.

While these rules place significant restrictions on who can actually become naturalised, even those who are eligible can in some cases be reluctant to do so.

READ MORE: The nine most surprising questions on Switzerland’s citizenship exam

A recent assessment by the Federal Migration Commission (FKM) shows that only a fraction of those who are eligible use this option.

One of the reasons, according to FKM director Walter Leimgruber, is that many migrants are EU nationals who feel no need to become Swiss as they face almost no restrictions in Switzerland, apart from the inability to vote.

A consequence of Switzerland’s stringent nationalisation rules is that roughly 25 percent of the population cannot vote in federal or cantonal elections, while a handful of municipalities grant the right to vote on a communal level.

OPINION: Switzerland’s denial of voting rights to foreigners motivated by fear

Also, naturalisation procedures, both regular and fast-track, are complex, deterring many eligible foreigners from applying.

“The bureaucratic hurdles are still too high”, Leimgruber told Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes.

As a result, even those born in Switzerland and who have never lived anywhere else have not pursued Swiss citizenship.

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

Have your say: Are you eligible to become Swiss but choose not to?

Whether by descent or any other reason, we want to hear from those who are eligible for naturalisation but who haven’t done so.

If you are able to become Swiss – or will soon be able to – but will not go through the process, we’d like to get to the bottom of why.

Please let us know below and click through to give us more specific information. If it is a combination of reasons, let us know the major one.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

EXPLAINED: How to speed up your Swiss citizenship application

You have waited a long time (more than a decade in most cases) to be able to apply for Swiss citizenship, so when you do, you may be eager to hasten the process.

The Swiss (and that includes the government) don’t like to be rushed, and that penchant for slow deliberations includes naturalisation procedures. The usual wait time from the moment you apply and receive your citizenship is typically between 12 months and two years.

Usually, the wait time is shorter for those applying for the fast-track naturalisation — for instance, people married to a Swiss citizen, or foreigners born in Switzerland — than for people going through the ‘regular’ process.

READ ALSO: Five ways you can fast-track your route to Swiss citizenship

Is there a way to make the process go faster?

You can’t jump the line or ask the cantonal or municipal authorities responsible for naturalisation procedures to hurry up.

In fact, such as a move could ‘red-flag’ you as a candidate unworthy of Swiss citizenship because impatience and not following the proper due course could be seen as lack of integration.

There are, however, ways to speed up the process in other ways.

You can do so by following the application instructions to the letter, that is, knowing what documents you need to submit with your application, and making sure you have all the required paperwork (read more about this below).

This is especially important if you apply in a canton with a high volume of citizenship applications, like Geneva, Vaud, and Zurich, because the wait there will be all that much longer if authorities inform you that such or such document is missing and you still need to send it in.

How should you apply to ensure the smoothest possible process?

This may sound evident, but many applicants may not know where to send in their application.

It should be submitted to authorities in your canton of residence.

What documents should you send in with your application?

All cantons require you to submit a copy of your C permit, and proof of language proficiency acquired from a registered language school in Switzerland.

Other requirements may vary from canton to canton, but they are also likely to include (as, for instance, in Geneva):

An extract from the Swiss civil status register, not older than six months
A certificate from the tax administration, dated less than three months;
A certificate from the prosecution office, less than three months old;
A certificate of successful completion of the test validating knowledge of history, geography, as well as Swiss and cantonal institutions.

It goes without saying that if you send in your application but one of the necessary documents is missing, then your application will be put on hold until you provide what’s needed. That will delay the whole process.

So it follows that the best way to ‘speed up’ the entire procedure is to practice the Swiss qualities or organisation and preparedness.

READ ALSO: When can I start counting my residency in Switzerland towards citizenship?

Url copied to clipboard!