Swiss naturalisation: requirements, steps and documents

Since 1 January 2018, naturalisation has been governed by the Swiss Citizenship Act (LN) and its ordinance (OLN). The Confederation sets minimum requirements, but cantons and communes can go further. This is why the procedure, processing times and fees vary considerably from one place to another. Before submitting your application, get information from the cantonal naturalisation service or your commune of residence.

The formal requirements for ordinary naturalisation are set out in art. 9 LN. You must hold a settlement permit (C permit) when you submit your application, and you must have lived in Switzerland for at least ten years, three of which in the five years before the application. Years spent in Switzerland between the ages of 8 and 18 count double, but your actual residence must be at least six years. Other residence permits are not all counted in the same way: in principle, time spent with provisional admission (F permit) only counts for half.

On top of these federal requirements, there is a minimum period of residence in the canton and often in the commune. The law leaves it to the cantons to set this at between two and five years (art. 18 LN). Moving home can therefore delay your application: if you are planning to naturalise, check the rules of your new canton before you change your place of residence.

Integration is assessed under art. 12 LN. The applicant must respect public safety and order and the values of the Federal Constitution, be able to communicate in everyday situations in a national language, take part in economic life or be in education or training, and support the integration of their family members. At federal level, the OLN requires at least level B1 for speaking and A2 for writing, usually proven by a recognised certificate. Several cantons ask for more. Having received social assistance in the three years before the application is in principle an obstacle, unless the amounts have been repaid in full. Many cantons also hold a test or an interview on geography, history, politics and local life.

The procedure takes place at three levels. Depending on the canton, the application is submitted to the commune or the cantonal authority, which assess your integration and your familiarity with living conditions in Switzerland. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) then issues the federal naturalisation authorisation, after which the canton and the commune grant citizenship. Expect it to take one to three years between submission and the final decision, depending on the authorities' workload.

The application file usually includes an identity document, your residence permit, a family certificate or civil status documents, a certificate of residence listing your periods of residence, a criminal record extract, an extract from the debt enforcement register, tax certificates proving that your taxes are paid, and the language certificate. Fees are set at each level and can total anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand francs. Ask for the scale of fees that applies in your canton and commune.

The spouse of a Swiss citizen can benefit from facilitated naturalisation (art. 21 LN), which is handled directly by the SEM. In particular, you must have been living in marital union for three years and have lived in Switzerland for five years in total, including the year before the application. The C permit is not required in this case, but the integration criteria do apply.

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