Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen of Switzerland and it can be
obtained by birth or naturalisation. The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on
the following principles: Triple citizenship level
Acquisition of citizenship through descent
Prevention of statelessness Every Swiss national is a citizen of his
municipality of origin, his canton of origin and the Confederation, in that
order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the bourgeoisie of a
Swiss municipality. He is entered in the family register of his place of origin.
One's place of origin depends on how one has acquired Swiss nationality.
Nationals who are naturalised take the nationality of the municipality in which
they were naturalised; citizens who became Swiss by virtue of their parents
or of their marriage to a Swiss national, take the municipality of their
father or spouse. It is not to be confused with the place of birth, which
may be different. Acquisition of Swiss Citizenship
= Jus sanguinis= A child is Swiss at birth if:
He is the child of a married couple of whom at least one parent is Swiss.
He is the child of a Swiss mother not married to the child's father.
A child of a Swiss father not married to the mother is considered Swiss by birth
when a link of paternity is declared. = Foundlings=
A foundling acquires Swiss citizenship and the citizenship of the canton in
which he was found. The canton decides which bourgeoisie the child receives.
Once paternity is determined, the child loses Swiss citizenship, unless this
would leave him stateless. = Adoption=
A child adopted by a Swiss parent acquires the cantonal citizenship and
bourgeoisie of the Swiss parent, thus equally acquiring Swiss nationality.
= Naturalisation= 2014 Federal Nationality Law
On 20 June 2014, the two Chambers of the Swiss Parliament passed the Total
Revision of the Federal Law Concerning the Acquisition and Loss of Swiss
Nationality. The Law, first introduced in 2011 by the Swiss federal government,
aimed to lower, among other requirements, the residency requirement
from 12 years to 8 years. During the parliamentary debates and the ensuing
disagreements between the more conservative National Council and the
more liberal Council of States, the residency requirements were increased to
10 years. The time spent in Switzerland between 8 and 18 is doubled for purposes
of applying for naturalisation, however, an applicant must spend at least 6 years
in Switzerland. The new law also requires cantons to set a minimum
residency requirement of between 2 and 5 years, as well as requiring applicants
to have a permanent residency permit, which is known as a C permit.
Additionally, time spent in Switzerland with temporary admission halved for
purposes of applying for naturalisation. As of 2015-08-28, the law yet has to
enter into force; the discussion of the proposed ordinance accompanying the law
is scheduled to last until 2015-11-19. 1952 Federal Nationality Law
Following the Swiss Parliament's passing of the 2014 Total Revision of the
Federal Law Concerning the Acquisition and Loss of Swiss Nationality, the 1952
law will cease to be law 3 months from the 20 June 2014, unless a referendum is
called by the Swiss people. Regular naturalisation is granted not by the
central government but by the cantons. Citizenship in Switzerland may be
obtained by a permanent resident who lived in Switzerland for at least 12
years and lived in the country for 3 out of the last 5 years before applying for
citizenship. One should be able to speak in at least one of German, French,
Italian or Romansch and show the following:
integration into the Swiss way of life; familiarity with Swiss habits, customs
and traditions; compliance with the Swiss rule of law;
no danger to Switzerland's internal or external security.
Simplified naturalisation = Confederation=
Certain categories of non-Swiss may apply for simplified naturalisation,
including: women who lost Swiss citizenship through
marriage to a non-Swiss citizen, or through the loss of Swiss citizenship by
a husband, before 23 March 1992 children born to Swiss mothers who lost
their citizenship due to the marriage of a non-Swiss before 23 March 1992 but
became re-naturalised children born to Swiss mothers who
acquired Swiss citizenship themselves on the basis of a previous marriage to a
Swiss husband persons born before 1 July 1985 whose
mother acquired Swiss citizenship by descent, adoption or naturalisation
children whose mother acquired Swiss citizenship by marriage to a Swiss
husband a spouse of a Swiss national who lives
abroad after six years of marriage, and who has "close relations to Switzerland"
i.e. travelling regularly to Switzerland, being an active member of a
Swiss club abroad and having close relations to the family of the Swiss
spouse children of Swiss parents born abroad
who were not registered at a Swiss representation abroad before their 22nd
birthday can be "re-naturalised" within ten years after their 22nd birthday.
children who have let more than ten years pass for their "re-naturalisation"
can be re-naturalised, if they can prove a "close relationship with Switzerland"
All these categories have additional requirements to be fulfilled. Normally,
a successful applicant acquires the cantonal and municipal citizenship of
the Swiss mother, father, or spouse. Simplified naturalisation by virtue of
marriage A person married to a Swiss citizen may
apply for Swiss citizenship by facilitated naturalisation after living
in Switzerland for five years and having been married for at least three years.
No language test is required, but one must show the following:
integration into the Swiss way of life; compliance with the Swiss rule of law;
no danger to Switzerland's internal or external security.
Children from the person's previous relationships are given citizenship
along with the partner. It is also possible for the spouse of a
Swiss citizen to apply for facilitated naturalisation while resident overseas
after the following: six years of marriage to a Swiss
citizen; and close ties to Switzerland.
Spouses acquiring Swiss citizenship by facilitated naturalisation will acquire
the citizenship of the municipality and canton of their Swiss spouse.
= Canton of Vaud= The Canton of Vaud legislated in 2004 to
allow for 2nd and 3rd generation foreigners to acquire Swiss nationality
more easily. The conditions are five years of obligatory schooling in
Switzerland and for the candidate to be aged between 18 and 24.
= Demographics= The yearly rate of naturalisation has
quintupled over the 1990s and 2000s, from roughly 9,000 to 45,000
naturalisations per year. Relative to the population of resident
foreigners, this amounts to an increase from 8% in 1990 to 27% in 2007, or
relative to the number of Swiss citizens from 0.16% in 1990 to 0.73% in 2007.
Loss of Swiss citizenship = Loss due to cessation of paternity=
A child whose Swiss citizenship depends on paternal links loses citizenship when
those are cut. = Loss due to adoption=
A Swiss child adopted by foreign parents is considered to have lost Swiss
citizenship. Annulled adoptions
Where a former Swiss citizen lost citizenship due to adoption by foreign
parents and that adoption is later annulled, the Swiss citizenship is
considered to never have been lost. = Loss due to birth abroad=
A Swiss citizen born abroad to at least one Swiss parent and holding at least
one other nationality loses Swiss citizenship at age 25 if:
(S)he has never been announced to the Swiss authorities, or
(S)He has never written to the Swiss authorities expressing her/his desire to
retain Swiss citizenship, or (S)He have never sought to procure Swiss
identity documents for her/him, i.e. a passport or an identity card.
Equally, the child of a person who thus loses Swiss nationality equally loses
Swiss nationality. Exceptionally, a person who has been prevented, against
their will, from taking the necessary actions to retain Swiss citizenship may
undertake the required actions within a delay of 1 year following the cessation
of such delays. Triple citizenship level within Swiss
citizenship Each municipality in Switzerland
maintains its own registry of citizens, which is separate from the registry of
people living in the municipality. Most Swiss citizens do not live in their
municipality of origin; therefore, they are often required by the municipality
in which they live to get a certificate of citizenship from their place of
origin. In practice, there is no difference in rights or obligations
between citizens of different municipalities, except for the extra
paperwork that may be involved. = Dual nationality=
According to the Federal Office for Migration, there has been no restriction
on multiple citizenship in Switzerland since 1 January 1992. Thus, foreigners
who acquire Swiss citizenship and Swiss citizens who voluntarily acquire another
citizenship keep their previous citizenship, as was the case before this
date. An estimated 60% of Swiss nationals living abroad in 1998 were
multiple citizens. Since many nationality laws now allow
both parents to transmit their nationality to their common child, many
children automatically acquire multiple citizenship at birth. This is especially
frequent in Switzerland, since a relatively high proportion of the
population holds a foreign passport. However, the Federal Office for
Migration specially notes that this has not resulted in any practical problems
worth mentioning. Military service, the most likely problem to arise, is usually
done in the country where the applicant resides at the time of conscription.
Even though Swiss nationality law permits multiple citizenship, a Swiss
national who also holds another country's citizenship may be required to
renounce the foreign citizenship, under the foreign country's nationality law. A
dual Swiss-Japanese national must, for instance, make a declaration of choice,
to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, before turning 22, as to whether he or
she wants to keep Swiss or Japanese citizenship.
After two referendums rejected laws to facilitate naturalisation in September
2004, some opponents attempted to go back to the pre-1992 situation, in which
multiple citizenship was forbidden. Political discussions and referendums
about Swiss citizenship in Switzerland in recent years
Swiss citizenship laws have been widely debated over recent years. In comparison
to other nationality laws, access to Swiss citizenship is relatively narrow
and restricted, and several modifications to widen access to Swiss
citizenship via constitutional initiatives and referendums have been
proposed. The referendums on the matter – held in 1983, 1994 and 2004 – were all
rejected by Swiss voters. In particular, during the referendum held in September
2004, Swiss voters rejected proposals to give some long-resident Swiss-born
persons aged between 14 and 24 the right to apply for facilitated naturalisation
and grant automatic Swiss citizenship to persons born in Switzerland with a
parent also born in Switzerland. While minimal requirements for obtaining
Swiss citizenship by naturalisation are set at the federal level, Swiss cantons
and municipalities are free to introduce more stringent requirements. Some
municipalities had previously had no procedure for allowing naturalisations,
effectively rendering it impossible, such as in La Chaux in the Canton of
Vaud. In 1999, the municipality of Emmen and the canton of Lucerne began using
referendums to decide the outcome of naturalisation requests. The practice
was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in July 2003. A referendum
directed at legalizing this practice was rejected on 1 June 2008.
Rights and obligations of Swiss citizens Swiss citizens are entitled to
vote in political elections upon reaching the age of 18;
run for political office, including the Swiss Federal Council without being a
member of any political party; start and sign a petition or citizen's
initiative for a referendum; obtain a Swiss passport or a Swiss
identity card granting them the right to return to Switzerland at any time;
avoid deportation from Switzerland; be able to live, work, study, buy
property and open up a business anywhere in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and
Norway; be required to perform military service
or civilian service if male. See also
Swiss passport Swiss identity card
Swiss References
External links Swiss nationality page of the Federal
Office for Migration Loi sur la nationalité Suisse 2014