Switzerland has a myriad of rules concerning obtaining citizenship that are different from many other nations.
If you come from countries where getting naturalised is relatively simple, you may be overwhelmed by Swiss requirements.
These six could come as a particular surprise to many foreigners:
Being born in Switzerland doesn’t make you eligible for Swiss citizenship
In contrast to other countries, including the United States and Canada, to mention just two, the mere fact of being born in Switzerland doesn’t mean the person is considered Swiss.
If their parents were born abroad and still hold foreign passports, the child will not obtain Swiss citizenship by birth.
The only exception to this rule is if one or both parents are naturalised before the child is born.
So if you and your spouse are foreign nationals, your child born in Switzerland will not automatically be a citizen.
READ MORE: What legal status do children born to foreign parents in Switzerland get?
Fast-track versus ‘ordinary’ naturalisation
Most foreigners applying for citizenship do so under the ‘regular’ (and stricter) criteria, particularly in terms of length of residency – a total of 10 years before applying for naturalisation.
A simpler and quicker option is the aptly named ‘fast-track’ procedure, allowing eligible candidates to apply after five years of living in Switzerland.
This concerns mainly people married to Swiss citizens, as well as third-generation foreigners – that is, Swiss-born foreigners under the age of 25, whose grandparents were already established in Switzerland.
Another eligible group are children born in Switzerland to naturalised parents, who did not obtain their Swiss citizenship at the same time as their parents.
READ MORE: Five ways you can fast-track your route to Swiss citizenship
Integration is key
Knowing Swiss history and geography is a huge advantage for written tests, but the condition the Swiss consider most important is integration.
The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) defines this process as participation in the economic, social, and cultural life of society, which requires not only fluency in the national language of a particular region, but also familiarity with the Swiss way of life and local customs.
An ‘integrated’ foreigner must also obey the country’s laws and not pose any threat to Switzerland’s security.
For the Swiss, however, ‘integration’ has a deeper meaning; it goes beyond knowing the facts and doing the right thing to the emotional connection to Switzerland in general and the foreigner’s local community in particular.
READ MORE: When do the Swiss think a foreigner is successfully integrated?
Three-level naturalisation
As though the rules were not complicated enough already, Switzerland’s naturalisation process takes place on three levels: federal, cantonal, and municipal.
You start by applying at the naturalisation office in the canton where you live, following any specific rules that the canton may have beyond those required at the federal level.
If your application meets the cantonal requirements, it will be forwarded for approval to the competent federal authority, which is the State
Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
Your application will then make its way back to the canton, which will leave the final decision on whether you can become Swiss up to the authorities in a village or town where you live.
Next: you will likely face a local naturalisation committee
This is due to the nature of Switzerland’s political and direct democracy structure, where people at the grass-roots level wield more power (at least in certain areas of life) than politicians sitting in Bern.
Another reason is that it is believed the local residents are in a better position to ‘judge’ whether foreigners living in their midst are integrated in community well enough to become Swiss — something that neither the cantonal nor federal authorities can ascertain.
READ MORE: How your Swiss commune plays a key role in your citizenship application
And that leads us to the final point…
Arbitrary rejections
Naturalisation committees are known to refuse citizenship to otherwise eligible candidates because they deem them not to be fully integrated.
Examples include a man whose bid for naturalisation was rejected because he mowed his lawn on Sundays and public holidays; another who failed to answer a question about bears and wolves at the local zoo; and one who forgot the name of the nearest mountain, as well as the local butcher and baker – among many other failed candidates:
READ MORE: The bizarre reasons applicants have been denied Swiss citizenship
