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Swiss nationality law
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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 (EFTA) and the Schengen Area. All Swiss nationals have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any European Union (EU) 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 (article 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution). 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 (jus sanguinis), ordinary naturalisation, or facilitated naturalisation. Marriage has in and of itself no effect on the places of origin of the spouses.
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 (German: Bürgerrecht) encompasses a person's affiliation and obligations to the state on three divisional levels: municipal (German: Gemeindebürgerrecht), cantonal (German: Kantonsbürgerrecht), and federal (German: Staatsbürgerrecht). In French-speaking cantons, "nationality" (French: nationalité) is used to describe a person's legal relationship to the federal state while "citizenship" (French: droit de cité) refers to associations on the local and municipal levels.
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.
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 (Révision totale de la loi sur l'acquisition et la perte de la nationalité suisse). 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 (lower house) and the more liberal Council of States (upper house), 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 (Autorisation d'établissement), which is commonly referred as a C permit. Additionally, time spent in Switzerland with temporary admission (Permis d'admission provisoire) 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:
In addition to the aforementioned formal conditions, the federal nationality law of 2014 also imposes material conditions which an applicant for naturalisation must meet:
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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 (EFTA) and the Schengen Area. All Swiss nationals have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any European Union (EU) 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 (article 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution). 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 (jus sanguinis), ordinary naturalisation, or facilitated naturalisation. Marriage has in and of itself no effect on the places of origin of the spouses.
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 (German: Bürgerrecht) encompasses a person's affiliation and obligations to the state on three divisional levels: municipal (German: Gemeindebürgerrecht), cantonal (German: Kantonsbürgerrecht), and federal (German: Staatsbürgerrecht). In French-speaking cantons, "nationality" (French: nationalité) is used to describe a person's legal relationship to the federal state while "citizenship" (French: droit de cité) refers to associations on the local and municipal levels.
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.
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 (Révision totale de la loi sur l'acquisition et la perte de la nationalité suisse). 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 (lower house) and the more liberal Council of States (upper house), 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 (Autorisation d'établissement), which is commonly referred as a C permit. Additionally, time spent in Switzerland with temporary admission (Permis d'admission provisoire) 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:
In addition to the aforementioned formal conditions, the federal nationality law of 2014 also imposes material conditions which an applicant for naturalisation must meet:
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