Two members of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, have called for those born in Switzerland to be granted citizenship, a concept known as Jus soli, which is predominant in the Americas, but rare elsewhere. The two politicians, Paul Rechsteiner from St. Gallen and Lisa Mazzone from Geneva, say that studies show citizenship acts […]
Swiss naturalisation boosts earnings, says research
Academics from ETH Zurich, London School of Economics and Stanford have produced research that suggests naturalisation boosts long term earnings. At first glance this might appear to be an impossible task. Surely those who gain Swiss citizenship are likely to earn more because they possess a range income-boosting attributes that also help them gain citizenship. […]
Rejected Swiss citizenship applicants withdraw appeal
A couple who refused to the shake hands with those interviewing them during their citizenship application, has withdrawn their appeal challenging its rejection, according to the newspaper Le Matin. Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand, a local politician who interviewed the couple last spring told Keystone-ATS that the couple’s application was rejected by a majority of the municipality of […]
Swiss municipality forced to grant citizenship to Iranian refugee
Becoming a Swiss citizen is a three layered process. Once certain requirements have been met, such as sufficient time in the country, evidence of integration, the ability to financially support oneself, and mastery of the local language, applications pass through three layers of approval: municipal, cantonal and federal. An application can fail at any one […]
British man shows challenges of getting Swiss citizenship
A British man who has lived most of his life in Switzerland missed out on Swiss citizenship recently when he failed his citizenship test. Weil er nicht wusste, woher Raclette kommt: Freienbach SZ verweigert Einbürgerung! https://t.co/z2L9jBFx1b pic.twitter.com/swwlLb19WM — Blick (@Blickch) 3 juin 2018 Anyone with children in the Swiss school system will know how tough […]
Becoming Swiss is about to get harder
From 1 January 2018, becoming Swiss will get more difficult. The key change is the types of qualifying residence permits – only C-permit holders will be able to apply. In addition, years spent in Switzerland on N (asylum) and F (provisional) permits will not count. There is some good news. Those with C-permits will only […]
Another Swiss citizenship application rejected in vote in small town in Aargau
In Switzerland, citizenship applications can be rejected by town councils if the applicant is not deemed to be fully integrated. In large communes (French) or Gemeinde (German), such as big cities, the process is quite administrative. You sit tests and if you pass you get a green light. In some small towns however decisions can become […]
New figures reveal British racing to apply for Swiss citizenship
According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, the number of British citizens applying to become Swiss has risen sharply. The steepest rise was in the canton of Vaud, where the number rose 71% in 2016. 473 applied in 2016, compared to 276 in 2015. In Geneva the number rose 60% from 90 to 145. In 2015, there […]
Swiss naturalisation to get tougher in Vaud
20 Minutes. The canton of Vaud needs to make naturalisation tougher in response to changes to federal law. The government of Vaud is trying to retain some room to manoeuvre but wiggle room is set to be limited. Last week, Philippe Leuba, Vaud’s head of the economy and sport, told the press that the draft bill dealing with naturalisation […]
Swiss to vote on fast-track citizenship for third generation immigrants
On 12 February 2017, the Swiss electorate will vote on the Federal Decree on the Simplified Naturalisation of Third-Generation Immigrants. Switzerland is well known for its strict citizenship requirements. Currently, most foreign nationals must live in Switzerland for twelve years before applying, and prove they are well integrated. There are numerous young foreigners living in […]
