Switzerland · The procedure

Commune, canton and Confederation: how ordinary naturalisation is decided

You become Swiss at three levels at once: a citizen of your commune, of your canton and of Switzerland. All three have a say, in a fixed order.

3 levelsCHF 100 federal fee1 year to decide

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.

This is one piece of it. See the whole journey on belongswiss.app

The order of things, as the law sets it

Every line is from the Citizenship Act (BüG), the Citizenship Ordinance (BüV) or SEM's own page.

Your canton names the office where you apply (BüG article 13). In some cantons that is the commune, in others a cantonal office.
The canton and, where cantonal law says so, the commune check your integration and your knowledge of Switzerland first.
If they would grant it, they send your file to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
SEM issues the federal naturalisation permit when every federal condition is met, as a rule within eight months of having the complete file (BüV article 23).
The canton then decides within one year of the federal permit. After that the federal permit lapses (BüG article 14).
You become Swiss when the cantonal decision takes legal effect, with the citizenship of your commune and canton.

Why it differs so much from place to place

The Confederation sets the minimum: ten years in Switzerland, a C permit, successful integration, familiarity with Swiss life and no threat to security. The procedure in the canton and the commune is left to cantonal law (BüG article 15).

So cantons differ in how long you must have lived with them, from two to five years (BüG article 18), in whether they test your knowledge in writing or in an interview, in the extra integration criteria they may add (BüG article 12) and in their fees. Some communes let a council or even the communal assembly vote on applications. A refusal must always give reasons (BüG article 16), and you can appeal it to a cantonal court (BüG article 46).

What it costs

SEM's fee for the federal permit: CHF 100 for an adult, CHF 150 for a married couple applying together, CHF 50 for a minor applying alone (BüV article 25).
Children included in a parent's application pay no federal fee.
If SEM refuses the federal permit, its fee is CHF 300 (BüV article 25).
The canton and the commune charge their own fees on top. The law only says they may not exceed their costs (BüG article 35), so the amounts differ widely: ask your canton.

Moving during the procedure

Once the canton and commune have finished their checks, they stay responsible even if you move to another commune or canton (BüG article 18, BüV article 12). Moving before that can mean starting the cantonal and communal count again.

Questions people ask

Can I keep my current passport?

Switzerland has recognised dual nationality without restriction since 1 January 1992. Whether you may keep your current one depends on the law of your other country, and SEM says to ask that country's authorities.

Is there a deadline for the commune and the canton?

No federal law sets one. The eight months in the ordinance is SEM's target for the federal permit, and the one year is the canton's limit after it.

Do my children come with me?

Minor children living with you are included as a rule. From age 12 their own integration is checked in a way that fits their age, and from 16 they must declare in writing that they want to become Swiss (BüG articles 30 and 31).

There are 418 practice questions in the app.

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.