Wow, the Fide test is really taking off among expats these days! According to the latest newsletter, its popularity has jumped by 13.5% since 2023. No wonder more schools and teachers are offering prep courses for it (and honestly, I get it—I’m a French teacher myself ).
But here’s what I keep asking myself: do all these courses really prepare you well? Are the coaches trained enough? Why are there so few mock exams online? And why does everyone I talk to seem to have a completely different experience with the test?
For a lot of people, the Fide test feels like this big mystery, but honestly, once you break it down, it’s not that scary. Here’s what the speaking part (the bit most of us stress about) usually involves:
Talking about everyday stuff—your life in Switzerland, your job, hobbies, neighborhood. Super simple if you practice a bit beforehand.
Sharing past experiences or funny little stories—your first job interview, a hospital visit, a car accident, a chat with the police (hopefully a good story! ).
The “final boss”: giving your opinion on bigger topics like housing costs, bilingualism, safety, wellbeing, and even throwing out hypothesis like what you’d do if you were mayor of your town.
How about you guys—have you tried preparing for the Fide? What part do you find the trickiest? Happy to go into more detail if anyone’s interested!
The immigration support officer that was recently advising me on the process was very clear — " Fide test is reserved for non qualified individuals; people with studies are required to take the standard Goethe Institute test…or you will have many, many more difficulties on the process". Cheers.
I took the FIDE exam for the first time in Q4 of 2024, in German. After completing a general online course up to A2 level, I achieved B1 in the written part and A2 in the oral part.
The writing section felt very easy—I scored 100%. The speaking part was more challenging; I scored below 70%, which placed me in the A2–B1 range. My goal was to meet the language requirement for ordinary naturalisation.
Last week, I retook the oral exam. I even bought the official FIDE Lernkarten for 20 CHF, but honestly, they weren’t helpful for my level. I ended up spending 28 CHF in total and felt it wasn’t worth it. In my opinion, the best way to prepare is to use German regularly in everyday situations—interacting in shops, making phone calls, chatting briefly at work, in the supermarket, or on public transport.
I also took six private online lessons with a teacher, which were enough to cover the full list of topics (“Lernenkarte”) available on the FIDE website.
I’m still waiting for the results, but I’m hopeful that my German was strong enough to reach B1 this time. I’ve been making an effort to use it more in interactions with public offices, which I believe helps more than a full prep course.
FIDE seems to be gaining popularity among expats, especially because it’s relatively easy to reach A2 in both written and oral parts—the minimum requirement for B/C permit applications. You can take both parts together or separately, which isn’t possible with TELC (unless you’re aiming for B1 or higher, if I remember correctly).
SDS is also a valid alternative, but I chose FIDE because it’s officially recognized by the city of Zurich for the naturalisation process. I got my C permit back when language wasn’t a requirement
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I hope you’ll reach the minimum 79% needed to pass the B1 level—it must be quite challenging in German. I grew up very close to the German border, but I never really studied the language. Wishing you the best of luck!
SDS and Fide seem to be valid at least until 2029 (source SEM) - however for the naturalisation, Zurich city does not consider SDS valid, but for C/B permits it does.
I would recommend doing Fide, totally worth it, I did it for my C-permit and also used the Fide certificate for my naturalization like 1-2 years later. It was quite easy I did A1c then A2a courses in ECAP Schule (not A2b or A2c) and managed to get 90% on my Fide, indicating I speak B2 and write A2. Its officially recognized by all Kantons as it’s from SEM. I recommend to do some language courses, and my Schule also conducted the SEM test at their premises, so check which Schule offers the SEM test.
Me and my wife both did the fide in Italian for our citizenship application. We could already speak decent italian and found it straight forward. Another thing I found is that the invigilators were very friendly…felt like they really wanted us to pass. Not sure if thats the case with others.
).
).
I grew up very close to the German border, but I never really studied the language. Wishing you the best of luck!