I arrived at the embassy and was greeted by the lady who would be conducting my interview. I had communicated with her by email a number of times. Also, by a stroke of luck, I had met her a few weeks earlier at the Swiss National Day event. She went through my documents to check everything was ok. I then paid the fee, and then it was interview time.
The interview was conducted in German, but when my answers got more complex I switched to English. I’ve only been learning German for 9 months or so. I have written the A1 exam and will be writing the A2 exam in December. Understanding German is obviously far easier than speaking. But I tried to demonstrate that I could make myself understood. Also as an aside – I believe that from 01.01.2018 the language requirement will be more stringent so that is something to keep in mind.
During the interview she asked all the typical general knowledge questions. What follows is a list of more or less what I can remember. I had really learnt hard for a number of months so I think my general knowledge was strong. I must say however, some of the questions could not merely be learnt parrot-fashion. An example that comes to mind was when I was asked to list a few rivers. I did so, and then she proceeded to ask some of the paths that those rivers took. Also if I had “experienced” the river. Luckily I remembered the Aare river in Bern that I had actually swum down on one of my Swiss trips so I was able to mention that. She asked the name of the main Zurich river, which I couldn’t remember but is of course the Limmat. Another thing that served me well was really learning the members of the Federal Council (their names, their parties, spelling etc) as at one stage I was asked to write down the names of 4 of the current members. I was also asked which mountains I had actually hiked or been on, luckily I could remember a handful of mountains I had been on.
There were also some questions that flowed from normal conversation. I can't remember them all but she asked which canton has a bear on the flag which I knew was Bern, and then she followed that with what colours are the Bern flag which I know are red & yellow. When we were chatting about my kids during one part of the interview she asked if we (my spouse & I) are teaching them German and some of the culture etc.
I devoted a lot of time in the days leading up to the interview reading sites like swissinfo.ch. Also all the recent referendums and referendums coming up.
I read 2 books that were incredibly helpful:
Swissness in a nutshell – Gianni Haver, Mix & Remix
Swiss history in a nustshell – Gianni Haver, Mix & Remix
Questions (in no particular order):
- Name some Swiss foods.
- Name 2 Swiss lakes.
- Name 2 Swiss mountains.
- Name the official Swiss languages.
- List 5 major cities.
- How many cantons are there?
- How many members are there of the Federal Council, National Council and Council of States
- Name 4 members of the Federal Council
- Name the current President
- Name 3 famous Swiss
- Name some of the last referendum topics.
- Name the mythical Swiss figure who shot an apple on his son’s head.
- Name the founding cantons.
After doing all the questions verbally, I had to then write them down on a piece of paper. And then that was that. The whole process was an hour or so. The lady explained that the process could take 1 to 2 years. She said that she doesn’t think my application would be rejected or that she foresees any problems but she stressed that it was not up to her at all, it’s all the SEM, and that sometimes Bern simply turns you down.
All in all it was very professional and well done - very Swiss basically! Good luck to everyone going through the same thing - put in the hours and you will be good!
I then had to fill in a registration form. I was then registered as a Swiss abroad. Once that was done I was able to apply for a passport on the official website.
On the 26.03.2018 I had to go in for the biometrics for the passport.
On the 11.04.2018 I received an email that my passport and ID card were ready for collection.
It was an emotional experience for me and my family the day I held the red passport in my hands. It was an 8 year journey with a lot of time and effort involved. Learning a new language. Learning about a new country. Immersing myself in all things Swiss. I felt immensely proud.
Looking back, I realise my application process actually went pretty quickly. For that I am thankful. To those still waiting - hang tight and keep the faith. It will be worth it in the end. Good Luck!
ParisRoubaix, congratulations! That was indeed super quick! Glad to hear your solid preparations paid off - it’s well earned.
To both of you: thank you for sharing your interview experiences, which certainly helped guide me in my own preparations.
I'm surprised at the amount of variation in the process, such as some people get information via e-mail while others get recorded mail. And I didn't hear directly from Bern about these other forms, but it came through the consulate. I'm sure there's a good explanation about the variation but without knowing what it is it does seem a bit chaotic. Fortunately most people don't go through the process multiple times so if it weren't for a forum like this where people can share their experience the variation would never be apparent.
My wife is applying for the second time for Facilitated Naturalisation from abroad. The application was apparently rejected the first time as a result of not having met the travel requirements to Switzerland which has now been met. She had applied a few years ago (before the laws were change in January 2018), and had no issues whatsoever with the knowledge test/interview.
My questions are:
1) has the knowledge test/interview changed since the introduction of the new law? Is the test still verbal or has that also changed?
2) Specifically, is the interview required to be conducted in a national language, or preferred?
3) Has anybody had experience of applying more than 1 time and ultimately being successful?
Any recent experience would be really appreciated. Thank you in advance.
I did my registration and I head to the NY Consulate in a couple weeks for passport biometrics. Looking forward to using my red passport during an extended stay this summer!
What you trying to sell ?