I have been reading through this forum but I could not find any detailed information about ordinary naturalization process for Stadt Luzern. Therefore, I really appreciate if you can share your insights, experience or knowledge.
Quick background: My wife, my daughter and I are living in Stadt Luzern, and applied for ordinary naturalization in mid-October this year. We were asked to submit a couple of documents (the package was really limited, not the usual long list of documents that are asked in other cantons / municipalities) and we were told that we will be contacted appr. 10 months for further documents and the interview date. We would like to ask a couple of questions for clarification:
Is there anyone who has gone through ordinary naturalization process in Stadt Luzern? We would love to hear from his / her experience.
Should we really expect to be contacted after 10 months from the initial submission i.e. mid-October 2025? Or should we think “within” 10 months after the initial submission?
We are planning to attend the naturalization course offered by Caritas. Do you think we should wait for to be contacted by Gemeinde before enrolling to this course? Or should we tackle this in the earliest convenience to avoid any delays in our process?
Thank you very much in advance for all your support and responses!
That said, I’d suggest you take the course you mentioned in point 3 sooner rather than later. Speaking from experience: I initially signed up for a Migros course and it barely helped. Because I took it straight after submitting my documents, I still had plenty of time to look for another provider that suited me better and enough time to study properly as well.
Thank you very much @BluePlanet for taking time and sharing your suggestion as well as your good wishes.
We are also planning to take this course as soon as possible. Despite the fact that we are quite knowledgeable around the topics of this course, I guess there will some information new to us and we will also need some time to digest this new information shared during this course.
Thank you very much @awyeah for sharing your experience, and congratulations on the positive outcome on your application and successful naturalization!
Looking at your end-to-end facilitated process (from the initial submission by early April 2024 to final confirmation by late June 2025) which is roughly 15 months, I started to feel like 18 months timeframe (which is stated as the expected process length) is a little bit on the optimistic side for ordinary naturalization process . Anyways we will live and see how it goes .
Well, they have a referendum to put a population cap by 2050 to 10 million, and if that goes through by mid of 2026, then every application in-progress will become more stricter. Current population is 9.1 million and by 9.5 million it will get more stricter, so just pray you get your confirmation before that happens, and if the majority vote is yes to reduce immigration, then it will become very difficult.
Sample timeline if the referendum is passed. Take it with a grain of salt.
June 14, 2026: The Referendum date. If it passes, the new article is added to the Constitution immediately, but “implementing legislation” is required.
2026–2028:Legislative Phase. Parliament typically has around 3 years to draft the specific laws to implement the constitutional mandate. Given that most of Parliament is currently against the initiative, expect intense debates on “hard” vs. “soft” implementation (similar to the 2014 Mass Immigration initiative).
Trigger Point 1 (9.5 Million): The first restrictions kick in when the population hits 9.5 million (currently ~9.1 million). At current growth rates (approx. 1% per year), this could be reached by 2029–2031.
Trigger Point 2 (10 Million): The hard cap. If reached, the government must terminate international treaties driving growth, specifically the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) with the EU.
Impact Breakdown for EU Citizens
The initiative is particularly disruptive for EU citizens because their residency rights are currently guaranteed by the AFMP. If the population hits 10 million, Switzerland would be constitutionally forced to cancel this agreement.
A. EU Citizens with a B Permit (Residence)
Renewals: Currently, B permit renewals for EU citizens are almost automatic. Under a population cap, renewals could become subject to quotas or “labor market tests” (checking if a Swiss person can do the job first).
Risk: If the AFMP is terminated, your status would change from “privileged EU national” to “third-country national.” This means you would likely need a new work permit for every job change, and your right to stay if you become unemployed could be severely curtailed.
Family Reunification: The initiative explicitly targets family reunification as a “first-tier” measure to be restricted once the population hits 9.5 million. It would become significantly harder to bring spouses or children to Switzerland.
B. EU Citizens with a C Permit (Settlement)
Status Security: The C permit (Permanent Residence) is the most secure status short of citizenship. Historically, Swiss law respects “acquired rights,” meaning those who already hold a C permit are usually “grandfathered” into their status.
The “10 Million” Inclusion: However, the initiative counts all residents (Swiss and Foreigners) toward the cap. If the population hits the limit, even C permit holders might face new restrictions on leaving and re-entering the country, or stricter requirements for maintaining their permit (e.g., higher bars for integration or financial independence).
Travel Rights: If the AFMP is canceled, the “Guillotine Clause” might also affect Schengen access, potentially complicating the ease of travel that C permit holders currently enjoy.
C. Those in the Process of Naturalization
Increased Difficulty: The initiative explicitly mentions naturalization as a lever to control population. If the 9.5 million trigger is hit, the government may be required to pause or slow down the granting of citizenship to keep the “permanent resident” count under the cap.
Higher Bars: You can expect a “quality over quantity” approach. Language requirements, integration “tests,” and financial history audits would likely become much stricter to discourage applications.
Wait Times: Even if you qualify, the administrative process—which already takes 18–24 months—could be intentionally slowed down by quotas on how many people can be naturalized per year.
. Anyways we will live and see how it goes 
.