Hello, I will soon be submitting an application for ordinary naturalization. My question concerns the 10-year period. In fact, I am missing about 2 months (in the middle of this period). This is due to a situation where I was without a residence permit for about two months. Can the authorities be less strict?
Thanks
No they cannot be less strict, but you don’t need the 10-years to be continuous. You are allowed to have gaps. So if you are exactly at the 10-year mark, just wait 2 more months to cover the gap periods. (So you have 10 years at least, according to the permits). Then there is the federal law art33 that says ‘small absences with the intention to return do not interrupt residence’ but not sure if this means just holidays abroad while you have a permit or also cover your case. Best just to wait 2 months and not having to worry about it.
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Once you submit your application, they always do an eligibility check on your case, even before they starting look at your supporting documents. So once you submit, they will check if you are eligible to apply or not, if you are, then they send you a bill to pay, you pay that, then the whole procedure starts.
Probably wait for the entire 10 years to complete, plus if you give it additional time they would think you are not so desperate, that could be better. Like my case (but, facilitated / by marriage), I got a letter from my Gemeinde stating that I can apply, I was already eligible like 6 to 12 months.