Switzerland · Einbürgerungstest

Swiss citizenship practice test: Einbürgerungs­test

Switzerland has no national citizenship test. Federal law asks for basic knowledge of Swiss geography, history, politics and society, and your canton decides how to check it: a written test, an interview or both. Here are ten practice questions with answers, and what each canton has published.

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The test is one step. See the whole journey on belongswiss.app

What the knowledge check asks of you

How your canton checks it, all 26

What has not been published

  • A federal question catalogue, a national pass mark or a national calendar. None of the three exists: each canton, and in many cantons each commune, sets its own.
  • The format of every cantonal test. Uri and Appenzell Ausserrhoden publish no number of questions, length or pass mark, and Geneva's pass conditions are in directives that are not on its public pages.
  • A test fee in several cantons, among them Zurich, where it depends on the commune and the test provider.
  • The test questions in most cantons. Zurich, Aargau, Vaud and Neuchâtel publish theirs; Geneva and Valais publish study questions with answers.
The federal rule is one article of an ordinance. Everything else, the format, the pass mark, the fee and the questions, is up to your canton, and in many cantons to your commune.
Practice

10 sample questions, with answers

Of these, three on geography, three on history, two on politics and two on society, in the order of the four areas of the Citizenship Ordinance. They are in Swiss Standard German, as the app’s whole bank is, with an English translation underneath. The correct answer is marked.

  1. Question 1 · Geografische Verhältnisse (Geography)

    Mit wie vielen Staaten hat die Schweiz eine gemeinsame Landesgrenze?

    With how many countries does Switzerland share a national border?

    • Mit fünf Staaten (Five countries) ✓ correct answer
    • Mit vier Staaten (Four countries)
    • Mit sechs Staaten (Six countries)
    • Mit sieben Staaten (Seven countries)
  2. Question 2 · Geografische Verhältnisse (Geography)

    Nach wem ist die Dufourspitze benannt?

    After whom is the Dufourspitze named?

    • Nach General Guillaume-Henri Dufour (General Guillaume Henri Dufour) ✓ correct answer
    • Nach dem Bergführer Ulrich Lauener (The mountain guide Ulrich Lauener)
    • Nach dem Bergsteiger Edward Whymper (The mountaineer Edward Whymper)
    • Nach dem Naturforscher Louis Agassiz (The naturalist Louis Agassiz)
  3. Question 3 · Geografische Verhältnisse (Geography)

    In welchen Fluss mündet der Ticino (Tessin) in Italien?

    Into which river does the Ticino flow in Italy?

    • In die Donau (The Danube)
    • In die Etsch (The Adige)
    • In den Po (The Po) ✓ correct answer
    • In die Rhone (The Rhone)
  4. Question 4 · Historische Verhältnisse (History)

    Zu welchem Volk gehörten die Helvetier?

    Which people did the Helvetii belong to?

    • Zu den Kelten (The Celts) ✓ correct answer
    • Zu den Römern (The Romans)
    • Zu den Etruskern (The Etruscans)
    • Zu den Germanen (The Germanic peoples)
  5. Question 5 · Historische Verhältnisse (History)

    In welchem Jahr fand die Schlacht am Morgarten statt?

    In which year did the Battle of Morgarten take place?

    • 1291
    • 1388
    • 1315 ✓ correct answer
    • 1386
  6. Question 6 · Historische Verhältnisse (History)

    Bis zu welchem Jahr bestand die Eidgenossenschaft der dreizehn Orte?

    Until which year did the Confederacy of the thirteen places exist?

    • Bis 1798 (Until 1798) ✓ correct answer
    • Bis 1848 (Until 1848)
    • Bis 1815 (Until 1815)
    • Bis 1648 (Until 1648)
  7. Question 7 · Politische Verhältnisse (Politics)

    Mit welchen Worten beginnt die Präambel der Bundesverfassung?

    With which words does the preamble of the Federal Constitution begin?

    • Im Namen Gottes des Allmächtigen (In the name of Almighty God) ✓ correct answer
    • Wir, das Volk der Schweiz (We, the people of Switzerland)
    • Einer für alle, alle für einen (One for all, all for one)
    • Im Namen der Freiheit und des Rechts (In the name of freedom and the law)
  8. Question 8 · Politische Verhältnisse (Politics)

    Wonach richtet sich die Autonomie der Gemeinden?

    What determines the autonomy of the communes?

    • Nach einem Bundesgesetz (A federal act)
    • Nach dem kantonalen Recht (Cantonal law) ✓ correct answer
    • Nach dem Völkerrecht (International law)
    • Nach einem Bundesratsbeschluss (A decision of the Federal Council)
  9. Question 9 · Gesellschaftliche Verhältnisse (Society)

    Welches Grundrecht steht in der Bundesverfassung am Anfang der Grundrechte (Art. 7)?

    Which fundamental right opens the list of fundamental rights in the Federal Constitution (Art. 7)?

    • Die Wirtschaftsfreiheit (Economic freedom)
    • Die Menschenwürde (Human dignity) ✓ correct answer
    • Die Eigentumsgarantie (The guarantee of property)
    • Die Meinungsfreiheit (Freedom of opinion)
  10. Question 10 · Gesellschaftliche Verhältnisse (Society)

    Was ist nach Art. 10 BV ausnahmslos verboten?

    What does Art. 10 of the Federal Constitution prohibit without exception?

    • Jede Durchsuchung einer Wohnung durch die Kantonspolizei (Any search of a home by the cantonal police)
    • Jede Identitätskontrolle auf der Strasse oder im Zug (Any identity check in the street or on a train)
    • Folter und jede grausame oder erniedrigende Behandlung (Torture and any cruel or degrading treatment) ✓ correct answer
    • Jede Freiheitsstrafe für Personen unter 25 Jahren (Any prison sentence for people under 25)
These questions are written by Belong Switzerland around the four areas of article 2 of the Citizenship Ordinance. They are not any canton’s official questions, and they can contain mistakes. Each has exactly one correct answer. If your canton publishes its own questions, as Zurich, Aargau, Vaud and Neuchâtel do, study those as well, together with whatever it asks about the canton and your commune.

That was ten. There are 408 more.

418 questions on geography, history, politics and society, drilled area by area in the order the Citizenship Ordinance sets them, with a mistakes deck and spaced repetition. There is no mock test, because there is no national paper to copy.

Written by Belong Switzerland around the four areas of BüV article 2. They are not any canton’s official questions, and the questions on your canton and your commune are not ours to write.

iPhone

Coming to the App Store

7 day free trial. Your tracker stays on the phone.

Coming very soon
Android

Android, after the iPhone

The same tracker, the same 418 questions, the same Swiss rules.

Not on Google Play yet

7 days free, then CHF 35.00 a year in Switzerland. No account, no tracking.

Common questions

Passing the Einbürgerungstest

Is there a national Einbürgerungstest in Switzerland?

No. Federal law asks for basic knowledge of Swiss geography, history, politics and society (BüV article 2), which your canton checks; it decides how, and whether with a test. There is no federal question catalogue and no national pass mark.

How many questions are there, and how many do you need to pass?

It depends on your canton. Zurich's cantonal test asks 50 and passes you with 30, Aargau asks 45 and passes you with 34, Vaud asks 48 and passes you with 70 percent, and Neuchâtel asks 16 orally and passes you with 10. Bern passes you with 60 percent in a 90 minute test. Several cantons check your knowledge in an interview instead.

Can you take the Einbürgerungstest in English?

None of the cantonal pages we read offers it in English. It is also a separate requirement from the language proof, at least B1 spoken and A2 written in a national language, and a pass does not replace that proof.

What does the Einbürgerungstest cost?

It depends on the canton. Aargau charges CHF 50 a sitting and Obwalden's school CHF 60. In Bern the canton's guidance puts it between CHF 260 and CHF 390, set by your commune, and in Zurich the fee depends on the commune and the test provider. Solothurn's compulsory course with its exam costs CHF 400.

Who does not have to take it?

Each canton sets its own exemptions. Common ones are five years of compulsory school in Switzerland or upper secondary education completed here, as in Zurich, Bern, Vaud and Neuchâtel, and an age limit: under 12 in Zurich, Vaud and Geneva, under 16 in Bern, Uri and Aargau.

How do I prepare?

Start with your canton's own material. Zurich, Aargau, Vaud and Neuchâtel publish their test questions, Geneva and Valais publish study questions with answers, and Zug, Fribourg and Appenzell Innerrhoden publish study guides. For the four federal areas, Belong Switzerland's practice questions drill geography, history, politics and society in Swiss Standard German with an English line.

Knowledge is one requirement out of 6

Ordinary naturalisation also asks for 10 years in Switzerland, three of them in the five before you apply, a C permit on the day you apply, B1 spoken and A2 written in a national language, work or education and respect for public safety and order. Living abroad for more than six months counts as giving up your residence in Switzerland.

See all Swiss citizenship requirements

Rules as of 1 October 2026 (snapshot 2026.1). Your commune and canton decide, with the federal naturalisation permit from SEM.

More on the Einbürgerungstest and the rules

The four areas the federal rule names

The four areas of article 2 of the Citizenship Ordinance, from its own wording. What you are asked about your canton and your commune is set by your canton.

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