Swiss nationality law
Encyclopedia
Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen
of Switzerland
and it can be obtained by birth, marriage or naturalisation.
The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles:
Each Swiss is a citizen of his place or community of origin, his canton of origin and the Confederation, in this order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the citizenship of a Swiss municipality (art. 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution
). He is entered in the family register of his place of origin. The place of origin is the place where the family (usually the father) comes from. It is not to be confused with the place of birth. The place of origin can be the same as the place of birth, but this is not necessarily the case.
Swiss citizenship is propagated by Jus sanguinis
. A person is a Swiss citizen at birth (whether born in Switzerland or not) if he or she is:
Where parents marry after birth and only the father is Swiss, the child acquires Swiss citizenship at that point.
There are exceptions if only the mother is Swiss and she acquired Swiss citizenship on the basis of a previous marriage to a Swiss citizen.
Jus soli
does not exist in Switzerland, hence birth in Switzerland in itself does not confer Swiss citizenship on the child.
Citizenship in Switzerland can be obtained by a permanent resident who has lived in Switzerland for at least twelve years (any years spent in Switzerland between the 10th and the 20th years of age count double), and has lived in the country for the last three out of five years before applying for citizenship. One should be able to speak in at least one of German
(preferably Swiss German
), French
, Italian
or Romansch (depending on the community) and show:
Children from the person's previous relationships are given citizenship along with the partner. This clause is not valid for same-sex couples.
It is also possible for the spouse of a Swiss citizen to apply for facilitated naturalisation while resident overseas after:
Spouses acquiring Swiss citizenship by facilitated naturalisation will acquire the citizenship of the community and canton of their Swiss spouse.
All these categories have additional requirements to be fulfilled. Normally a successful applicant acquires the cantonal and communal citizenship of the Swiss mother or spouse.
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 1.6‰ in 1990 to 7.3‰ in 2007.
, GE
and Meyrin
, GE and ‘international multiple citizenship’ like being a citizen of France
and Switzerland. In Swiss passports and identity cards, all the communities are listed, but one only has one passport or identity card for inter-communal multiple citizenship.
in Switzerland since 1 January 1992, meaning that foreigners who acquire Swiss citizenship, or Swiss citizens who voluntarily acquire another citizenship, do not automatically lose their previous citizenship, as was the case before this date. Of course, the non-Swiss citizenship can still be lost if the laws of the other country do not recognise multiple citizenship. An estimated sixty percent of Swiss nationals living abroad in 1998 were multiple citizens.
Since many nationality law
s now allow both parents to transmit their nationality to their common child (and not only the father, as was often the case in the past), 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 (up to 54% in Geneva
). 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.
After two referendums rejected laws to facilitate naturalisation in September 2004, some of the opponents (in particular from the Swiss People's Party
) proposed to go back to the pre-1992 situation where multiple citizenship was forbidden; as of November 2005, this suggestion has not been followed by any formal proposal.
s, access to Swiss citizenship is relatively narrow, and several modifications to widen access to Swiss citizenship were proposed over the years. Those that were voted upon during referendum
s in 1983, 1994 and 2004 were all rejected. In particular, during the referendum of September 2004, Swiss voters rejected proposals which would have:
While minimal requirements for obtaining Swiss citizenship by naturalisation are set at the federal level, Swiss cantons and communities are free to introduce more stringent requirements, with some communities even deciding not to allow any naturalisation at all on their territory . In 1999, Emmen
and the canton of Lucerne
began using popular referendums to decide the outcome of naturalisation requests; however, the practice was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
in July 2003. A referendum
directed at legalizing this practice was defeated on 1 June 2008.
Swiss (people)
The Swiss are citizens or natives of Switzerland. The demonym derives from the toponym of Schwyz and has been in widespread use to refer to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 16th century....
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and it can be obtained by birth, marriage or naturalisation.
The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles:
- Triple citizenship level (Swiss Confederation, cantonCantons of SwitzerlandThe 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
and communityMunicipalities of SwitzerlandCommunes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
) - Acquisition of citizenship through descent (jus sanguinisJus sanguinisIus sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...
) - Prevention of statelessnessStatelessnessStatelessness is a legal concept describing the lack of any nationality. It is the absence of a recognized link between an individual and any state....
Each Swiss is a citizen of his place or community of origin, his canton of origin and the Confederation, in this order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the citizenship of a Swiss municipality (art. 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution
Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the...
). He is entered in the family register of his place of origin. The place of origin is the place where the family (usually the father) comes from. It is not to be confused with the place of birth. The place of origin can be the same as the place of birth, but this is not necessarily the case.
Birth
Jus sanguinis
Ius sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...
. A person is a Swiss citizen at birth (whether born in Switzerland or not) if he or she is:
- born to a Swiss father or mother, if parents are married
- born to a Swiss mother, if parents are not married
Where parents marry after birth and only the father is Swiss, the child acquires Swiss citizenship at that point.
There are exceptions if only the mother is Swiss and she acquired Swiss citizenship on the basis of a previous marriage to a Swiss citizen.
Jus soli
Jus soli
Jus soli , also known as birthright citizenship, is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognized to any individual born in the territory of the related state...
does not exist in Switzerland, hence birth in Switzerland in itself does not confer Swiss citizenship on the child.
Naturalization
The right to regular naturalization is granted not by the central government but by a canton.Citizenship in Switzerland can be obtained by a permanent resident who has lived in Switzerland for at least twelve years (any years spent in Switzerland between the 10th and the 20th years of age count double), and has lived in the country for the last three out of five years before applying for citizenship. One should be able to speak in at least one of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(preferably Swiss German
Swiss German
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
), French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
or Romansch (depending on the community) and show:
- 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.
Marriage (facilitated naturalisation)
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, however one must show:- 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. This clause is not valid for same-sex couples.
It is also possible for the spouse of a Swiss citizen to apply for facilitated naturalisation while resident overseas after:
- 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 community and canton of their Swiss spouse.
Simplified naturalisation
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 March 23, 1992 but became renaturalized
- children born to Swiss mothers who acquired Swiss citizenship themselves on the basis of a previous marriage
- persons born before 1 July 1985 whose mother acquired Swiss citizenship by descent, adoption or naturalisation
- children whose mother acquired Swiss citizenship by marriage
- A spouse of a Swiss national who lives abroad may acquire citizenship after six years of marriage.
All these categories have additional requirements to be fulfilled. Normally a successful applicant acquires the cantonal and communal citizenship of the Swiss mother or spouse.
Demographics
The yearly rate of naturalization has quintupled over the 1990s and 2000s, from roughly 9,000 to 45,000 naturalizations 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 1.6‰ in 1990 to 7.3‰ in 2007.
Triple citizenship level
Each community in Switzerland maintains its own registry of citizens, which is separate from the registry of people living in the community. Most Swiss citizens do not live in the community that is their place of origin; therefore, they are often required by the community they live in to get a certificate of citizenship (acte d'origine/Heimatschein/atto d'origine) from their place of origin. In practice, there is no difference in rights or obligations between citizens of different communities, except for the extra paperwork that may be involved.Multiple citizenship
Because one is a citizen of a community rather than a citizen of state, there are two forms of multiple citizenship, ‘inter-communal multiple citizenship’, like being a citizen of GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, GE
Canton of Geneva
The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland,...
and Meyrin
Meyrin
Meyrin is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It is the city located nearest to the CERN particle physics laboratory.Meyrin was originally a small agricultural village until the 1950s, when construction of CERN began just to the north...
, GE and ‘international multiple citizenship’ like being a citizen of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland. In Swiss passports and identity cards, all the communities are listed, but one only has one passport or identity card for inter-communal multiple citizenship.
International multiple nationality
According to the Federal Office for Migration , there is no restriction on multiple citizenshipMultiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...
in Switzerland since 1 January 1992, meaning that foreigners who acquire Swiss citizenship, or Swiss citizens who voluntarily acquire another citizenship, do not automatically lose their previous citizenship, as was the case before this date. Of course, the non-Swiss citizenship can still be lost if the laws of the other country do not recognise multiple citizenship. An estimated sixty percent of Swiss nationals living abroad in 1998 were multiple citizens.
Since many nationality law
Nationality law
Nationality law is the branch of law concerned with the questions of nationality and citizenship, and how these statuses are acquired, transmitted, or lost. By custom, a state has the right to determine who its nationals and citizens are. Such determinations are usually made by custom, statutory...
s now allow both parents to transmit their nationality to their common child (and not only the father, as was often the case in the past), 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 (up to 54% in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
). 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.
After two referendums rejected laws to facilitate naturalisation in September 2004, some of the opponents (in particular from the Swiss People's Party
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
) proposed to go back to the pre-1992 situation where multiple citizenship was forbidden; as of November 2005, this suggestion has not been followed by any formal proposal.
Discussions about Swiss citizenship
Swiss citizenship laws have been widely debated over the years. In comparison to other nationality lawNationality law
Nationality law is the branch of law concerned with the questions of nationality and citizenship, and how these statuses are acquired, transmitted, or lost. By custom, a state has the right to determine who its nationals and citizens are. Such determinations are usually made by custom, statutory...
s, access to Swiss citizenship is relatively narrow, and several modifications to widen access to Swiss citizenship were proposed over the years. Those that were voted upon during referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s in 1983, 1994 and 2004 were all rejected. In particular, during the referendum of September 2004, Swiss voters rejected proposals which would have:
- given some long resident Swiss-born persons aged between 14 and 24 the right to apply for facilitated naturalisation (which bypasses canton and community requirements); and
- granted 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 communities are free to introduce more stringent requirements, with some communities even deciding not to allow any naturalisation at all on their territory . In 1999, Emmen
Emmen, Switzerland
Emmen is a city in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.-Geography:Emmen has an area of . Of this area, 46.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 33.3% is settled and the remainder is non-productive . , 18.19% of the...
and the canton of Lucerne
Canton of Lucerne
Lucerne is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton is . , the population included 57,268 foreigners, or about 15.8% of the total population. The cantonal capital is Lucerne.-History:...
began using popular referendums to decide the outcome of naturalisation requests; however, the practice was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland is the supreme court of Switzerland. It is located in Lausanne.According to the Constitution of Switzerland, the court has jurisdiction over violations of:*federal law;*public international law;*intercantonal law;...
in July 2003. A referendum
Swiss referendum, June 2008
A referendum on three questions was held in Switzerland on 1 June 2008:* people's initiative against publicly funded information campaigns by the government, also known as the "muzzle initiative";...
directed at legalizing this practice was defeated on 1 June 2008.
Rights and obligations of Swiss citizens
All Swiss citizens are:- able to vote in political elections upon reaching the age of 18.
- able to run for political office, including the Swiss Federal CouncilSwiss Federal CouncilThe Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
without being a member of any political party. - able to start and sign a petition or citizen's initiative for a referendumReferendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
. - able to obtain a Swiss passportSwiss passportA Swiss passport is a document known as the passport of the Swiss Confederation.Swiss passports are issued to citizens of Switzerland to facilitate international travel. For traveling inside the European community, Swiss citizens can use an identity card.-History of Swiss passports :The first Swiss...
, granting them the right to return to Switzerland at any time. - prevented from getting deported from Switzerland.
- obligated to perform military service or civilian serviceSwiss Civilian ServiceCivilian service is a Swiss institution, created in 1996 as an alternative to military service.Any man who is unable to do compulsory military service for reasons of conscience can submit an application to be allowed to do substitute civilian service instead. The applicant is then forced to attend...
(men only).