Since 1 January 2018, Swiss citizenship has been governed by the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0) and its ordinance (SCO, SR 141.01). To naturalise in the ordinary way you need a C permit, ten years of residence in Switzerland, successful integration and spoken B1 and written A2 in a national language, and the Confederation, your canton and your municipality must all agree. This page explains the key rules and terms. For a plain overview of the routes, see routes to Swiss citizenship.

In short

  • Three routes: ordinary naturalisation, facilitated naturalisation (for example for spouses of Swiss citizens) and re-naturalisation.
  • Ordinary route: a C permit and ten years in Switzerland, three of them in the five years before you apply. Years between ages 8 and 18 count double.
  • Integration: respect for public order and constitutional values, language skills, work or education, and supporting your family's integration.
  • Language: B1 spoken and A2 written in the national language of where you live.
  • Three decisions: the SEM grants a federal naturalisation permit, then the canton and the municipality decide.
  • Dual nationality is allowed by Switzerland, but your other country may not allow it.

The 2018 Act

The SCA and the Swiss Citizenship Ordinance of 17 June 2016 (SCO) govern how Swiss citizenship is acquired, lost and regained at federal level. Cantons and municipalities have their own citizenship laws, which add to federal law but cannot contradict it.

Under Art. 37 of the Federal Constitution (Cst.), a Swiss citizen is someone who holds the citizenship of a municipality and a canton. The three always go together: to become Swiss you must also acquire municipal and cantonal citizenship.

The 2018 reform:

  • made the C permit a requirement for ordinary naturalisation (Art. 9 para. 1 let. a SCA); before, other permits were enough;
  • set a single federal list of integration criteria (Art. 12 SCA with Art. 2 to 9 SCO), where practice had mostly been cantonal;
  • set minimum spoken and written language levels (Art. 6 SCO);
  • introduced facilitated naturalisation for the third generation, in force since 15 February 2018 (Art. 24a SCA).

The act has been amended several times and refined by Federal Supreme Court rulings. This page reflects the law as of 1 January 2024.

The three routes

Ordinary naturalisation (Art. 9 to 15 SCA)

This is the standard route for people who have lived in Switzerland for a long time. The Confederation, the canton and the municipality each decide.

The formal conditions are in Art. 9 SCA. When you apply you must:

  • hold a C settlement permit; and
  • have lived in Switzerland for ten years in total, three of them in the five years before your application.

Years you lived in Switzerland between the ages of 8 and 18 count twice, but you must have actually lived here for at least six years (Art. 9 para. 2 SCA).

The substantive conditions (suitability) are in Art. 11 SCA, with the integration criteria in Art. 12 SCA. Cantons and municipalities add their own residence periods (Art. 18 SCA), typically 2 to 5 years in the canton and 3 years in the municipality, depending on the canton.

Facilitated naturalisation (Art. 21 and 22 SCA)

Facilitated naturalisation is decided by the Confederation alone; the canton is only consulted (Art. 25 para. 1 SCA). It is open to defined groups.

Spouses of Swiss citizens (Art. 21 SCA). If you live in Switzerland, you can apply after:

  • five years of residence in Switzerland in total;
  • the last year living here; and
  • three years of marriage and life together with your Swiss spouse.

If you live abroad, you can apply after six years of marriage and life together, if you have close ties to Switzerland.

Mistaken belief in Swiss citizenship (Art. 22 SCA). Facilitated naturalisation is also possible if you lived for five years in the good-faith belief that you were Swiss.

Re-naturalisation (Art. 26 and 27 SCA)

Re-naturalisation is for people who lost Swiss citizenship, for example by giving it up (Art. 37 SCA), or by being born abroad and not being registered by the end of your 25th year (Art. 7 SCA).

  • Deadline: you can apply within ten years of losing it; after that, you need three years of residence in Switzerland (Art. 27 SCA).
  • Conditions (Art. 26 SCA): if you live in Switzerland, integration; if you live abroad, close ties to Switzerland.

Integration criteria

Successful integration is the key condition for every naturalisation. Under Art. 12 para. 1 SCA it means:

  • respecting public safety and order;
  • respecting the values of the Federal Constitution;
  • being able to communicate, spoken and written, in a national language in everyday life;
  • taking part in economic life or in education; and
  • encouraging and supporting the integration of your spouse, registered partner or minor children in your care.

If a disability, illness or other serious personal circumstance makes the language or work criteria impossible or very hard to meet, the authorities must take this into account (Art. 12 para. 2 SCA). Cantons may add further criteria (Art. 12 para. 3 SCA).

The ordinance sets out each criterion in detail: Art. 4 (public safety and order), Art. 5 (constitutional values), Art. 6 (language), Art. 7 (work or education) and Art. 8 (family integration).

Public safety and order (Art. 4)

This means obeying the law, in particular criminal law, debt enforcement and bankruptcy law, tax law and public law. Criminal records, open debt enforcement, certificates of unpaid debt and tax arrears are looked at case by case. Cantonal and municipal practice varies, and the courts have set proportionality principles.

Constitutional values (Art. 5)

This covers the democratic rule of law, fundamental rights including equality between women and men, tolerance and respect for religious diversity. It is usually checked in the naturalisation interview and a written test; the cantons decide how.

Language (Art. 6)

You need B1 spoken and A2 written under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), in the official language of where you live: German, French, Italian or Romansh (Art. 12 para. 1 let. c SCA with Art. 6). The same level applies to facilitated naturalisation and re-naturalisation.

You can prove your level with:

  • a language certificate recognised by the SEM, such as fide (which rates spoken and written skills separately), telc at B1 and A2, Goethe B1, DELF B1, TCF, ÖSD, or CELI, CILS or PLIDA for Italian;
  • schooling: at least five years of compulsory school in a national language;
  • education: completed vocational training, upper secondary or tertiary education in a national language.

If you cannot provide proof because of a disability, illness or other serious personal circumstances, the authorities must give this due consideration (Art. 12 para. 2 SCA with Art. 9). How cantons apply this varies.

Work or education (Art. 7)

This includes a job or self-employment, education or training, receiving old-age benefits, running a household, childcare and caring for relatives. Receiving social assistance in the three years before you apply usually counts as a sign that you are not taking part in economic life (Art. 7 para. 3). Administrative and Federal Supreme Court decisions refined this in 2023 to 2024.

Supporting your family's integration (Art. 8)

You must actively encourage the integration of your spouse, registered partner and minor children in your care.

Refusal and annulment

Criminal record (Art. 11 SCA with Art. 4)

These entries usually lead to refusal:

  • convictions for crimes or offences that are still on the criminal record;
  • fines or prison sentences, suspended or not, while they are still visible.

Minor contraventions and deleted entries usually do not. The federal and cantonal authorities judge proportionality.

Annulment (Art. 36 SCA)

The SEM can declare a naturalisation void, with the consent of the canton of origin, if it was obtained through false statements or by hiding important facts. It must act within two years of learning the facts, and no later than eight years after citizenship was granted. Annulment works backwards: you lose Swiss citizenship. Under Art. 36 para. 4 SCA it also extends to your children whose citizenship rests on it, unless they would become stateless or are over 16 and meet the requirements themselves. Withdrawal of citizenship is a separate rule for dual nationals (Art. 42 SCA).

Three decisions: Confederation, canton, municipality

Art. 14 SCA sets out the procedure:

  1. The cantonal authority checks whether you meet the conditions and asks the SEM for the federal naturalisation permit.
  2. The SEM issues the federal permit, which checks the federal conditions (Art. 9 to 12 SCA). Without it, neither the canton nor the municipality can grant citizenship.
  3. The canton then decides on cantonal citizenship, checking its own extra conditions.
  4. The municipality decides on municipal citizenship under cantonal law.

You need all three. The federal permit does not replace the other two: the canton, and then the municipality, can still refuse for their own reasons. But in BGE 138 I 305 and later rulings, the Federal Supreme Court held that a refusal must give reasons, must not discriminate (Art. 8 para. 2 Cst.) and must be proportionate.

Social assistance: Aargau case law

In 2024, the Administrative Court of the Canton of Aargau ruled in several cases that social assistance you received in the assessment period, usually the three years before applying, can count against you even if it has ended. You must prove you are financially independent again. Several German-speaking cantons followed this approach; French-speaking cantons and Ticino tend to be more lenient. The outcome depends on your canton, your facts and current Federal Supreme Court case law. For your own case, ask a lawyer on the cantonal bar register.

Municipal interviews and votes

Art. 14 para. 4 SCA leaves the municipal decision to municipal law, and practice varies widely:

  • Administrative decision without an interview: common in many French-speaking cantons and some larger German-speaking cities.
  • Personal interview with a naturalisation commission: standard in most German-speaking municipalities.
  • Vote at a municipal assembly: still used in some small municipalities. Since BGE 129 I 232 and later rulings, such votes must give reasons and must not discriminate.

From 2025, the Canton of Zurich replaced the compulsory interview with a written procedure in some cases. Practice is changing and differs by municipality; ask your cantonal citizenship office for current guidelines.

How double counting works

Years between ages 8 and 18 count twice (Art. 9 para. 2 SCA). For example, if you arrived aged 5 and lived here continuously, by age 14 you have 3 years (ages 5 to 7) plus 6 years (ages 8 to 14) counted twice, so 15 credited years, more than the 10 required.

You must still have actually lived here for at least six years. And cantonal and municipal residence periods (Art. 18 SCA) do not count double: you must meet them in real time.

Stateless children (Art. 23 SCA)

A stateless minor can apply for facilitated naturalisation after five years in Switzerland in total, including the year before the application. Any lawful residence counts. Statelessness is recognised under the UN Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons of 28 September 1954 (SR 0.142.40). The SEM decides on statelessness in a separate procedure, and recognition is required first.

Dual nationality (Art. 1 with Art. 28 SCA)

Since 1992, Switzerland has allowed multiple citizenship: you do not have to give up your existing nationality. Whether your other country allows it is up to its law. Some countries, such as India, China and Japan, require you to give up their citizenship when you become Swiss. Check with your country's consulate or embassy.

Terms

  • SCA: Federal Act on Swiss Citizenship (SR 141.0), in force since 1 January 2018.
  • SCO: Swiss Citizenship Ordinance (SR 141.01), in force since 1 January 2018.
  • Old act: the Citizenship Act of 29 September 1952, in force until 31 December 2017.
  • SEM: State Secretariat for Migration, the federal authority for naturalisation. Its former name was BFM, until 2014.
  • BJ: Federal Office of Justice, responsible for general citizenship and civil law matters.
  • Federal naturalisation permit: issued by the SEM under Art. 13 SCA; required before the canton and municipality can decide.
  • Cantonal naturalisation decision: the decision of the cantonal citizenship authority after the federal permit.
  • Municipal naturalisation decision: the decision of your municipality after cantonal approval; details depend on cantonal law.
  • Naturalisation interview: a personal interview with a naturalisation commission; not compulsory everywhere.
  • Naturalisation assembly: a decision at a municipal assembly, still used in some small municipalities.
  • Third-generation facilitated naturalisation: under Art. 24a SCA, in force since 15 February 2018, for children of foreign parents born in Switzerland, with a grandparent born in or entitled to live in Switzerland; apply before age 25.
  • fide: the federal language certificate for migration purposes, rating spoken and written skills separately.
  • CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2).
  • LLCA: Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers (SR 935.61), which governs the right of lawyers on the cantonal bar register to represent clients (Art. 8 LLCA).
  • Double counting: years between ages 8 and 18 count twice (Art. 9 para. 2 SCA).
  • Annulment: cancelling a naturalisation obtained through false or hidden information (Art. 36 SCA), possible within 8 years.
  • Re-naturalisation: regaining Swiss citizenship after giving it up or losing it (Art. 26 and 27 SCA).
  • Statelessness: status under the UN Convention of 28 September 1954, which opens facilitated naturalisation to minors under Art. 23 SCA.

This page explains federal law. For advice on your own application, or representation, contact a lawyer on the cantonal bar register.

Sources