Swiss nationality law


The primary law governing nationality of Switzerland is the Federal Act on Swiss Citizenship, which came into force on 1 January 2018. Switzerland is a member state of the European Free Trade Association and the Schengen Area. All Swiss nationals have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any European Union or EFTA country.
Swiss nationals are citizens of their municipality of origin, their canton of origin, and the Confederation, in that order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the citizenship of a Swiss municipality. They are entered in the family register of their place of origin. The manner by which Swiss citizens acquire their place of origin differs depending on whether they acquired Swiss citizenship by filiation, ordinary naturalisation, or facilitated naturalisation. Marriage has in and of itself no effect on the places of origin of the spouses.

Terminology

The distinction between the meaning of the terms citizenship and nationality is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers a person's legal belonging to a country and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of a state; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation.
In German-speaking Switzerland, the term citizenship encompasses a person's affiliation and obligations to the state on three divisional levels: municipal, cantonal, and federal. In French-speaking cantons, "nationality" is used to describe a person's legal relationship to the federal state while "citizenship" refers to associations on the local and municipal levels.

Acquisition of Swiss citizenship

Entitlement by birth, descent, or adoption

Children born in Switzerland automatically receive Swiss nationality at birth if at least one married parent is a Swiss national, or they are born to an unmarried Swiss mother. Individuals born overseas to a married Swiss parent or unmarried Swiss mother are also Swiss nationals by descent if their births are registered with the Swiss government and they formally declare intent to retain Swiss nationality before the age of 23. Children of unmarried Swiss fathers must have their paternity established before they may claim Swiss nationality. Children born to two Swiss parents are assigned the municipal and cantonal citizenship of the parent whose surname they acquire.
Adopted children are automatically granted nationality retroactively applied to their birth. Abandoned children found in Switzerland with unclear parentage are assumed to be citizens of the canton they were found in; if their origin is determined before age 18, they automatically lose Swiss nationality unless that loss causes them to be stateless.

Naturalisation

Ordinary naturalisation

Ordinary naturalisation in Switzerland is a cantonal competency but regulated by federal legislation.
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 requirement was increased to 10 years. The time spent in Switzerland between the ages of 8 and 18 is doubled when counted for purposes of applying for naturalisation, however, an applicant must have spent at least 6 years in Switzerland. The 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 commonly referred as a C permit. Additionally, time spent in Switzerland with temporary admission is halved counting the years spent in Switzerland for the purposes of naturalisation. The 2014 Total Revision of the Federal Law Concerning the Acquisition and Loss of Swiss Nationality entered into force on 1 January 2018.
Applications for naturalisation submitted prior to the entry into force of the new nationality law will continue to be processed under the 1952 law.
The federal nationality law of 2014 imposes two formal conditions which an applicant for naturalisation must satisfy:
  • Ten years of lawful residence in Switzerland including three of the five years immediately preceding the application. The time spent in Switzerland between the ages of 8 and 18 is doubled when counted for purposes of applying for naturalisation, however, an applicant must have spent at least six years in Switzerland. An exception is made for registered partners of Swiss citizens where the registered partnership has lasted at least three years and the Swiss citizen was already a Swiss citizen at the moment of the conclusion of the partnership: the foreign registered partner must have lived a total of five years in Switzerland, including the year immediately preceding the application. Absences above 6 months are considered as ending residency.
  • Be a permanent resident.
In addition to the aforementioned formal conditions, the federal nationality law of 2014 also imposes material conditions which an applicant for naturalisation must meet:
  • The applicant must be well integrated,
  • The applicant must be familiar with life in Switzerland,
  • The applicant must not endanger Switzerland's interior or exterior security,
  • The applicant must show respect for public order and security,
  • The applicant must respect the values of the federal constitution,
  • The applicant must be able to communicate in a national language, both orally and in writing,
  • The applicant must participate in the economy or be in education,
  • The applicant must—if married, in a registered partnership, or a parent—encourage and support the integration of their spouse and/or minor children
Cantons can impose further requirements which are complementary to the federal requirements.

Simplified naturalisation

Foreigners in the following categories may apply for simplified naturalisation:
  • The spouse of a Swiss citizen
  • A person who was mistakenly treated as a Swiss citizen and believed themselves to be a Swiss citizen
  • Women who lost Swiss citizenship through marriage to a non-Swiss citizen, or through the loss of Swiss citizenship by their husband, before 23 March 1992
  • The child of a naturalised person
  • Third-generation immigrants: specifically, until 15 February 2023, a person under the age of 40 who is a member of a foreign family that has lived in Switzerland for three generations
  • Children born to Swiss mothers who lost their citizenship due to marriage to a foreigner before 23 March 1992 but who later reacquired their former Swiss nationality
  • Children born to Swiss mothers who had acquired Swiss citizenship themselves on the basis of a previous marriage to a Swiss husband
  • Persons born before 1 July 1985 whose mothers had acquired Swiss citizenship by descent, adoption, or 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. One must also show the following:
  • ability to communicate in at least one of Switzerland’s national languages at a spoken B1 level and written A2 level at a minimum, proven with a certificate from an approved language testing organization.
  • integration into the Swiss way of life;
  • compliance with the Swiss rule of law;
  • no danger to Switzerland's internal or external security.
It is also possible for the spouse of a Swiss citizen to apply for facilitated naturalisation while residing overseas after the following:
  • six years of marriage to a Swiss citizen.
  • close ties to Switzerland, i.e. travelling regularly to Switzerland, being an active member of a Swiss club abroad, and/or having close relations to the family of their Swiss spouse.
Spouses acquiring Swiss citizenship by facilitated naturalisation will acquire the citizenship of their Swiss spouse's place and canton of origin.
For third generation immigrants
The federal constitution declares that the Confederation will facilitate the naturalisation of third generation immigrants. Legislation has yet to be introduced describing the precise requirements for an application for facilitated naturalisation under article 38 §3 part a.
Canton of Vaud
The Canton of Vaud legislated in 2004 to allow for second-generation foreigners to acquire Swiss nationality more easily under the following conditions:
  • The applicant must meet the requirements set by federal law.
  • Aged between 14 and 25 years.
  • Has completed at least five years of compulsory education in Switzerland.
  • Has at least two years' residence in Vaud.
  • Has not lived abroad since the end of their compulsory education, with the exception of temporary stays abroad for purposes of education.
  • One of the applicant's parents must currently be lawfully resident in Switzerland or have been so in the past.
  • Integration and command of the French language.
  • Lawful behaviour.
  • The applicant must not represent a danger for Swiss national security.
The 2004 law also facilitates the naturalisation of foreigners of the 3rd generation under the following conditions:
  • The applicant must meet the requirements set by federal law.
  • At least two years' residence in Vaud.
  • The applicant must have not resided outside Switzerland since their birth, with the exception of temporary stays abroad for purposes of education.
  • Integration and command of the French language.
  • The applicant must not represent a danger for Swiss national security.