He could stay registered in CH, or come back in the holidays, re-register and deregister at the end of the holidays? I'm sure in a case like this there could be exceptions made to the rules - after all kicking someone out of the country they are born in is a bit much.
Just get him to watch the film "Actung, Fertig, Charlie" and see if he still wants to become Swiss. On the positive side, at least he won't actually have to FIGHT in the military, so you won't be like mothers who are seeing their sons being sent off to eye-rack.
Mark
Great forum. Found it by accident online. I am a Canadian that has been living in Basel for 3 years.
I was wondering if I get my citizenship through facilitated naturalization (I am married to a Swiss) will I have to do military service? I will be 31.
Also, what is the process for facilitated naturalization?
i.e
-how long does it take
-will I have to do exams
-will I have too make a certain income (I am working on a master's degree and not working at the moment)
Discussed at great length here:
http://www.englishforum.ch/showthread.php?t=426
But short and sweet:
Legally you are eligible for military service, but at 31 they will probably put you down for civilian duties. More than likely they won't call you up, they will just get you to pay WPEG (3% of taxable income).
Facilitated naturalisation can take between 6 months and two years (closer to the latter).
You must prove local language proficiency and that you are integrated into the Swiss way of life.
Income is not really relevant, but it would be beneficial to show you are self-supporting (read not sponging off social security). You must have a clean criminal and financial history. You must have been married to your swiss miss for at least 3 years and have lived in Switzerland for 5 years.
I heard from somebody that if your married to a Swiss, that the facilitated naturalization process has no language proficiency test.
If it does has anybody taken this test?
If you can't communicate in one of these languages, you might have a problem getting approval. Having said that, if you can't communicate in one of these languages after 5 years here then you are doing yourself a big disfavour.
I am about 4 months from starting the process, so I will most likely document the process in this forum as I go along. But if you are two years away, I wouldn't be worrying about it right now.
There is usually an interview for becoming Swiss be it as someone married to a Swissie or not. It just depends on how big your community is and if they already know you and ..... if they can be bothered.
I know people who've done it with a test and people who've been lucky and not needed one.
Litespeed did originally highlight that this was being discussed on another thread, so rather than have two conversations running about the same thing I am going to merge this thread back to the one litespeed originally referenced.
Baselboy - please remember the basic unwritten rule of forums - if it's being discussed already discuss it on that thread, don't start a new one for the same purpose. Tip: use the search function, or just look down the list of posts, the original one was about 6 posts under your own.
As Litespeed pointed out Swiss German (despite what some people seem to think) is not a national language in this country!
If your friend had asked to be tested in French then they should have tested him in French. After all - they all did years and years of it at school. Right? lol... As far as I am aware the choice of national language is up to the candidate not the interviewer!
Mind you, it must be pretty hard to fail the test...
There is NO language tests or other "tests" of any nature. All decisions are handled by the Confederation i.e "the office in Berne". Facilitated Naturalization (assuming you are married to a Swiss) does NOT involve the community or kanton at all (they can have a right to be heard but that's it, they have no say). In Basel, the police due a quick security check and Berne handles the rest. It is a very simple procedure if you are a spouse of a Swiss citizen born here (not an immigrant and then became Swiss, THIS requires language test/interview).
If you are married to a Swiss, they would "hope" for you to be "integrated" into the society and are able to "hopefully" manage a Swiss language BUT even if you do not speak 1 of the 3 languages you can STILL get citizenship as they want you to be involved into society more important I was told.
You fill out forms and send them back to Berne and it can take "up to" 1 year but is usually completed within 3 months if you have no issues which would require longer waiting. The cost is 750chf.
This is the info I got directly speaking with Berne today.
I do find it interesting that they officially make a difference between a "real Swiss" (one born here) and one that became Swiss afterwards (immigrant). To my mind you are either a citizen of a country or your are not. End of story. I was naturalised as an Australian when I was 12. I'm no less Australian than someone descended from the convicts . Mind you, if I married my wife would get an Aussie passport straight away, and it wouldn't take long at all, and it wouldn't cost CHF750!
But at least you don't have to jump through all the hoops that people have to follow on the "normal" track.
By the way - if you think you are somehow going to accepted by the Swiss because you have a passport (or a Swiss wife) think again... It's going to cost you an awful lot of money over the next 10-12 years. Think about it carefully...
Funny enough, I was reading a couple of months ago that the son-in-law of a high-profile member of the Bundesrat (the one who luuuuuvvves foreigners ) was refused facilitated citizenship. Why? Because he had too many registered debts.
Given that citizenship is like adoption (once your a citizen, its really hard to get rid of you) its seems no suprise that Switzerlands biggest concern is this: are you a financial liability?
So, just work hard, pay all your taxes and bills, keep some money in the bank...you'll be just fine.