James N., originally from the UK, has lived in Switzerland for the last 30 years. His professional career has led him to work in radio and in banking. In 2023, James was encouraged to apply for Swiss citizenship through the simplified naturalization process, as he was married to a Swiss national and had lived in the country long enough.
James (last name withheld) carefully documented his process of becoming a Swiss citizen, and has kindly allowed us to publish his journal. This real-life account serves as an example of what other expats in Switzerland can expect on their way to citizenship:
April 2023
James receives a letter from the Bern city council, signed by both the mayor and the town clerk. They note the amount of time James has been living in Switzerland, alongside his C-level residence permit, and kindly invite him to apply for Swiss citizenship, which would allow him to fully participate in the democratic process. As he was married to a Swiss national, he would qualify for the simplified procedure.
13 May 2023
James sends an email to the SEM state secretariat for migration in Bern, asking for the naturalization application form, and he quickly finds out what the ‘simplified’ procedure entails. The SEM requests countless documents, among them are:
They also request the contact information of three Swiss citizens who can vouch for him. Undeterred, James presses on and gets started with the paperwork.
30 June 2023
To receive a language certificate, James must complete a proficiency test, where his reading, listening, and speaking competence is checked. He arrives at the Bern test centre and easily breezes through the whole procedure with only minor difficulty, impressing the examiner along the way. The only nuisance is the price point: CHF 250 to take the test. Weeks later, his results arrive – passed with a score of 94%.
26 August 2023
James spent the last few weeks gathering the necessary paperwork from several state departments – if you’re familiar with Swiss bureaucracy, you understand how painful this process can be. After much back and forth, everything is finally in one place, but getting the various documents and certificates costs James an additional CHF 111.40 (including postal fees). He sends the entire package off to the SEM office.
14 September 2023
A letter arrives – the SEM say they have received James’ application and that a bill should arrive soon. The official application process can take up to 18 months, but will only start once he pays this bill.
3 October 2023
The aforementioned bill of CHF 900 arrives in the mail – the payment has to be made within 30 days, but the bill is dated to September 19, much to James’ annoyance. He pays immediately via e-banking. Curiously, this money is non-refundable, even if the application were to be rejected. Had the payment not been made within 30 days, the application would also have been cancelled without communication.
14 November 2023
James doesn’t hear back about his payment. Only at his request does the SEM send out a one-line email confirmation that they received the money and that the application is being processed. This ‘no communication, don’t bother us’ attitude irks James, but now there is nothing to do but wait.
4 March 2024
Months pass, and finally James receives a phone call – it is a Mr. G. of the cantonal police of Bern, inviting him to an interview at the main police station by Waisenhausplatz, in connection to his application for Swiss citizenship. Mr. G informs him there is nothing he can do to prepare, and they set the interview for next week.
11 March 2024
James arrives at the police station in a dark suit, where he meets Mr. G – a young, uniformed police officer, who takes him to a sparsely-furnished interview room. He explains that he has to find out how well James is integrated into Switzerland, and begins to ask prepared questions from a list.
Among other things, James has to name three types of Swiss cheese, three brands of Swiss Chocolate, three German-speaking cantons and three French-speaking cantons. He also has to name the current president of the Swiss confederation (for good measure he also names the other six federal councilors), and explain the difference between a referendum and a people’s initiative. James feels that Mr G. is embarrassed at some of the questions (“Is Switzerland a member of the EU?”) and several times they both burst out laughing.
Finally, with the last question being about Swiss personalities in the world of sports, arts and entertainment, the light-hearted interview ends at the 40-minute mark to Mr. G’s satisfaction. He notes James’ punctuality on his report to the SEM, and reckons that his naturalization application is in the final stages of the process. Not much longer to go now.
10 April 2024
James receives a letter from the SEM saying that the federal authorities have approved his application for citizenship. There now follows a 30-day period during which the cantonal and municipal authorities can lodge any objections. If none come up, the SEM will write again within three months for more details. His legal hometown will be Sempach in the canton of Lucerne, his wife’s place of birth.
7 June 2024
James receives several letters over just a few days – the SEM informs him that the positive status on his application became legally binding, the civil registry office of Sempach sends updated family identification documents, and the Bern police inspectorate lets him know that he can now apply for a Swiss passport and/or identity card.
19 June 2024
James arrives at the passport office to get his photo taken & fingerprints recorded. This naturally brings about another fee, this time for CHF 158. A few days later, James collects his Swiss passport and identity card from the post office. He writes a letter to the mayor and town clerk of Bern, thanking them for their encouragement the year before to apply for Swiss citizenship.
Now, after over a year of bureaucracy and CHF 1419.40 of expenses, James is a Swiss citizen, fully able to take part in the democratic process.
If you too are an expat on the way to Swiss citizenship, please note that this journal is merely an outline of what you can expect – the exact process will differ from person to person. For more information on the naturalization process, visit the SEM’s website.
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