Facilitated naturalization interview

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
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Tim, if you ask me, it seems it went extremely well. Didn't everyone tell you it would be easier than you expected?

This was the case for me here in Chile. I had to present all the paperwork at once, so my children were part of my application from the very beginning. It may seem bothersome when you get started, but it does make things easier as you move along.

Exactly my thoughts...

It is positive. From what I recall, language is not a hard requirement, but only an assessment of your ties to the (future) motherland.

In short, congratulations are in order. Now, arm yourself with lots of patience. This thing takes longer than pregnancy!

122
Okay (and thanks), I guess I just discounted those kinds of comments, and was afraid of taking too much for granted.

Right, but it just didn't get clearly through to me that the registration affidavits should accompany the birth certificates. As I recall, the form instructions didn't specify anything but birth certificates themselves. In any case, the right stuff is now getting done.

Thanks to you (and everyone else) for the support and encouragement — and especially to you, Gonzus, for starting this thread in the first place! Without it, I might never have learned that the laws had changed to allow folks like us to apply for this process!

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My pleasure! As you know very well, I have my own reasons to be thankful to you. Great to be able to reciprocate.

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Hi

I thought to give an update on my case, today i submitted my application for facilitated naturlization based on six years of marriage, they took all the papres and asked me to come for an interview next week, I will keep you updated on the interview as soon as I go through, they gave me the impression that it is an easy thing, i hope so.

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Good luck! Keep us posted.

126
Hello everybody.

Just a quick update, yesterday I had my interview. I was surprised how easy it was, very general questions about politics such as how many people in the federal council, who is the president of CH, Geography such as name three lakes, three rivers and three mountains, few sentences in french, probably anyone can pass them.

it lasted for about 30 - 45 minutes, I must say that I over "learnt" which is great, I think by now my knowledge of Switzerland is more than what an average swiss would know.

The interview was very very friendly, the guy was very polite and profissional, he said that it might take upto two years but an average of one year should be fine and i should not contact them within two years.

I have been encouraged alot by Gonzus, I really thank you for everything and believe me, without your help, I probably wouldn't have gone through this as I used to think it much different.

Emuelly thank you also for your help.

anyways! from this experience, I believe everyone should go for it, and probably most of you who are about to apply, have over learnt, when I used to see the comments about how easy it was, i thought, i still needed to learn more, you do not need to know the very details of history, it is gone.

Gonzus! Maybe it is time for us to have our degrees from ETH or EPFL ! since "if I become Swiss".

any questions, I will be happy to help.

I will keep everyone updated.

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Thanks for the update!

"Now, we wait..."

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Hey, this is great news. Thanks also for the kind words; I am very happy when I can help people out with knowledge or previous experiences.

Wouldn't mind that at all... "Dr. Gonzus"...

129
Just a quick update, recently, the Swiss authorities have sent a form to my contacts whom I listed on my application to confirm links, I don't yet know what the content of the forms but I thought I let you know.

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Thanks, this is helpful, indicating that — if all goes well — those forms go out about a year after the application is submitted to Bern (which puts it at next Spring for me...).

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Johnny, thanks for the update. From what I recall, in my case my contacts received these forms six months after I handed in my documentation. Good luck!

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Hi Gonzus

Today I called my contacts, they received them mid May, I am surprised that it is going quicker than I thought, it has only been 3 months since I applied. they received them 2.5 months after application, it seems Swiss authorities are becoming Europeans :P in terms of speed of dealing with things.

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No, in my case, they have sent them 2 and a half months after submission.

134
Oh!! . My mistake!

...I must have lazily looked at your "joined date" (which is about a year ago) instead of the post's date on the post where you announced your interview. But hey, that's great news, and a very pleasant surprise! Thanks for correcting me (I couldn't be more delighted about being wrong!).

135
Hi everyone, 3 weeks ago I received a letter stating that the federal office of police and migration approved my naturalization application on 22 August and I could apply for a passport and id, I rang the embassy and they confirmed it, I registered with them as a swiss resident abroad, I asked them if it is a requirement by law to apply for a passport, they said no, I will probably apply next year if I am to move to live in Switzerland.

application took 5 and a half months from start to end.

Thanks for everyone who contributed, probably I wouldn't have applied if it wasn't for this site.

I created this account last summer to enquire whether it is possible to apply as I read it somewhere, now I am a citizen, therefore guys, go for it, it was very easy and way way easier than I thought, all you need is to book an appointment, then you will be forced to do the rest, which nothing more than formalities.

I wish everyone success in their current or future applications and would love to welcome you as fellow citizens.

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Swiss Johnny, congratulations and welcome to the club!

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Yeah! Congrats, Johnny!

5 months is amazing. Did they give you an estimate of how long it should take?

(I was told it could take as long as two years, so I have no expectation of repeating your experience.)

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I remember they told me at the interview that I would take roughly 12 - 18 months as an estimate and anything earlier than that would be a sort of "bad news", the official time is up to two years, i think it was fairly quick.

I once met an immigration advisor, he told me that European applicants tend to be processed quicker than non Europeans, I am not sure about this.

anyway best of luck, how long has it been since you applied?

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I think that's credible, actually. While not necessarily homogenous, I can imagine record-keeping processes and standards being more similar among European countries than non-European ones.

I actually began the application process in February 2010, but because I was asked to supply additional documents, I don't think my application was sent to Bern until April or May.

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Hey Texaner - my friend also started the process in Feb. 2010. Any movement on your end? My friend hasn't hear anything since getting the letter that states the application has been received and not to contact them/the process will take 12-18 months or so.