I'm new to the forum but had some questions in mind already!
I've lived in the Canton of Geneva for 10 years and just moved to Canton Vaud half a year ago. I've applied for my Citizenship and just received my attestation de Sejour today in the mail! What is the 2nd step?? And what else is involved in this process? I was told that I would have to do an examination, in regards to culture & language.. Do I have to learn the Swiss Anthem?? Anyways, All Help is Appreciated!
You need 12 years continuous residence in Switzerland before you can apply for naturalisation, unless you qualify for the facilitated route. Your first post suggests you're only up to 10.5 years so you have at least another 18 months to go. Moreover, each canton has additional residence requirements which you must meet - I believe Vaud is one of the shorter ones but you can look it up here or on the Swiss government site. To give you a concrete example, Zurich requires you to have lived in your community for 2 years prior to application. I moved 18 months prior to eligibility and stayed within my community for that very reason. If I'd moved to another community within Zurich, I wouldn't have been able to apply until I'd been in Switzerland for 12.5 years; if I'd moved to, say, Graubünden at that point I wouldn't have been able to apply until I'd been in Switzerland 16.5 years because that canton requires you to have lived in the canton for 6 years prior to application.
All the documents you have to collect for your application need to be no more than 6 months old, so there's no point starting to collect them until you reach the 12 years.
The best source of information is almost always your community. I don't suppose there's anything to stop you putting in an application - the authorities will very carefully check it, determine that you're not yet eligible for regular naturalisation and send you a nice letter to say so, along with a bill for their work.
This is a salutary lesson to anyone who is thinking of naturalising in due course - check out the residence requirements before simply moving if you are within even 6 years of eligibility!
I would advise you to move back to Geneva as the residency requirement for Geneva is 2 years (no mention of consecutive).
And when you say "they are in favor" of it, what do you mean exactly? Who is in favor of it?
In any event, I fail to see the logic of relocating to Vaud as the clok starts again and you have to wait 4.5 years!
How that relates to a citizenship application....?
To answer Carlito's question - obtaining a CDL has NO BEARING on your citizenship application. It is simply a card that allows you passage into and out of Switzerland. Think of a CDL like a U.S. Green Card. I've held a CDL for my whole life (25 years), until I recently acquired Swiss citizenship two weeks ago. At that point, I had to give up my diplomatic CDL because a Swiss citizen can't be a Diplomat in Switzerland and a Swiss citizen at the same time.
Also, Carlito, to further clarify your understanding - Yes, the years between 10-20 years of age do count double. However, you also need to satisfy the regional (gemeinde/Cantonal) requirements. Something you have to clarify with the Gemeinde is this: If you lived in your Gemeinde between the years of 10-20 years of age, do those years count double towards of your residency requirements of that Gemeinde?
The way I understand it however, you recently moved a to a new community AFTER you turned 20; is this correct?
P.S. You probably won't need to know the entire Swiss national anthem because 80% of the Swiss population doesn't know it! I suppose if you want to be extremely thorough, and maximize your "Swissness" you could also learn it.