Ordinary Naturalisation in Switzerland

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
101

It depends on your locality. My locality (the city of Basel) is quite liberal, and not all of my references are from here. I remember seeing a circular from the SEM that insisting on purely local proof of integration is no longer appropriate considering the way people live.

Do get your German to B1, it should not be too difficult. The certificate doesn’t expire and it’ll serve its purpose no matter whether you decide to start the process now or after your move.

102

I was not even asked for references. In the application form I was asked only if I am in contact with Swiss people, I just ticked the box and that was it…

1 Like
103

I find this requirement prejudicial towards hermits like me :slight_smile:

104

You mean, when the move is in the same canton?

105

I mean, the move is not certain, so why not start now, maybe it is done before the move.

106

@Phil_MCR : This video tutorial has you covered :rofl:

1 Like
107

Thanks, What kind of questions are asked in face 2 face interview?

Thanks

108

For me the questions were the following:

  • Tell us about yourself, your family, your file in Switzerland, your job, etc.
  • Why do you want to become Swiss and what are your plans for the future.
  • Do you participate in any local groups and if yes in which ones? (plus discussing about the people in the group, activities, etc.)
  • List a few holidays in Switzerland (bonus points if you know a couple of them which are canton dependent and say it and also some Gemeinde events, e.g. Chilbi).
  • Why did you choose to live in our Gemeinde? (you need to know a couple of things about the Gemeinde in particular. If your job is in the same Gemeinde/City, I do not think this question makes sense, but I work in a different Kanton, so it was a pretty valid question).
4 Likes
109
  • Do you know your neighbours? Tell us about them.
  • Do you read the local newspaper? What do you think about (recent topic)?
2 Likes
110

Why do you want to become Swiss?
Do you know about the recent elections, were there any people from BS involved? (Beat Jans → federal council)
Pretty much all others were knowledge questions.

111

Thanks @LiquidPaper and @Bowlie

@LiquidPaper when you say others were knowledge question, you mean general Basel and Swiss knowledge questions. Can you guys share learning resource used or know of? I did not make notes out of English forum.

112

For BS, there is a course you can attend - we found it helpful. You will get learning materials there. Also, even if you don’t attend a course, you will get sent a booklet with the most important facts, once your application packet has been received by your locality, and it should be sufficient.

One useful resource for federal knowledge is “Der Bund kurz erklärt”, available as a pdf in national language:

1 Like
113

As a new citizen, whom do I have to inform of my naturalization? I know there was a post on EF on this, but of course I did not save the content.
I have informed my employer; I don’t have a driving licence.
Banks? House insurance? AHV? Googling gives me nothing.

1 Like
114

I copied the below from EF (I did not copy the name of the original poster, I am sorry)

-all insurance policies who now need to know you’re Swiss and your place of origin as part of your updated ID (as your foreigner ID is now cancelled/expired/invalid)
-the AHV/IV
-Your employer
-Your Bank/Broker
-Your credit cards/Loans/Mortgages/creditors
-Your pensions
-Your utilities (if they’re holding a deposit as a foreigner)
-Your mobile operator (as there are stricter ID requirements by law since 9/11)
-Your vehicle registrations
-anywhere else that needed a copy of your permit where that permit no longer exists now, and they need to replace the basis of your ID/residence here (eg Commercial Registry if a Director/Auditor etc)
-Your rental agreement/deposit account
-if involved in court/legal/admin proceedings, the Amt/Tribunal/Court
-Your representatives (Accountant, Lawyer, other)
-Anywhere you’ve lodged a will or living will or equivalent and you would now be ID’d as a Swiss based on your new Heimatort
-any licensor where you have a license eg Weapons etc
-there may be more depending on your circumstances

4 Likes
115

Grüezi!

Does anybody have experience with ordinary naturalization in the city of Zurich with the new law, i.e., applications submitted after 1st of July 2023?

Once my application arrived at the municipality, I got a letter from Stadtkanzlei asking me to provide a proof of german knowledge or take the KDE test. I passed the KDE test almost a month ago but I have not heard from the municipality of Zurich / Stadtkanzlei about the next step, which should be the taking the Basic Knowledge Test.

Does anybody know how long it takes to be informed from the Stadtkanzlei about the way to take the Basic Knowledge Test (after passing the KDE test) and if there is an interview?

Any feedback about the new law in the municipality of Zurich is very valuable, because I would like to have an idea of what are the next steps and when I should expect those steps to take place, for example within 2-3 months or within 1 year?

Thank you!

116

What explicitly changed under the new law?

117

The most important difference is perhaps that with the new law there is a standard format for the questions they can ask you, and you take the test in a tablet or a computer. The exam is written, and you need to answer at least 30 out of 50 questions, and the 50 questions are chosen from a pool of 350 questions that are available online in the link below. This Basic Knowledge Test is a different thing than the interview that may still do to check if you are integrated.

If with the old law applicants had to take the same Basic Knowledge Test, then the answer to my question perhaps is independent of the law.

1 Like
118

I applied before the 1st of July 2023, and I still had to take the same multiple choice test with 50 questions on a laptop. Of course, there was an interview afterwards, where we discussed about the topics I mentioned above.

1 Like
119

Only a 60% pass rate when the Qs&As are already known? That should be 85-95%

120

Yes, this is a joke. That’s why they subtly ask more questions during the interview, at least in my case…