Around a quarter of Switzerland’s population is not Swiss, a reflexion of how international the nation is and how difficult it is to become a citizen. In 2018, parliament changed the rules on who could naturalise. A study published this week shows how the new rules have changed the profile of those qualifying and eventually becoming Swiss.
The study commissioned by The Federal Commission on Migration (FCM) shows that since Switzerland introduced the new citizenship law six years ago, new citizens are far more likely to be highly educated high income earners than before.
Before 2018, roughly a third (33.5%) of new Swiss citizens had a university degree. Between 2018 and 2020 this fraction rose to more than half (57%). At the same time, the percentage with no tertiary education dropped from 8.5% to 23.8%.
The new rules require applicants to have a C-permit. Getting one requires finding a job and staying employed, something easier for the well educated. In addition, the jobs well educated people find tend to pay well. This helps with the new requirement to prove financial independence. People drawing social welfare generally fail this requirement.
The new rules make getting a Swiss passport far harder for those who are struggling financially, especially those without work. This includes many asylum seekers who often arrive with little education. This group is also penalised for starting on a different visa. Years spent on a refugee visa don’t count towards the 10 year residency requirement. By contrast, migrants from the EU start on a B-permit, automatically (in most cases) qualifying for a C-permit after 10 years. Years spent on both B- and C-permits count towards the 10 year residency requirement.
The 2018 Citizenship Act was designed to restrict citizenship to the well-integrated who speak the local language and are economically independent. Viewed through this lens the new rules are working. Viewed through a broader lens, they could be viewed as discriminatory, a point made by the authors of the report.
Another challenge faced by some is the fragmented nature of Switzerland. Applications start at the cantonal level before being sent to the municipality of residence for approval. Moving house during the application can disrupt and even derail the process. And some places make it easier to become Swiss. In cities the process tends to be more administrative and less subjective. Cantons with the highest naturalisation rates since 1998 are Zurich (2.2%) and Geneva (2.1%). The lowest is Schwytz (0.9%).
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