I met a young man who is wondering if he might be able to claim Swiss citizenship. As I know nothing about this I'll throw the question over to you all...
The basic facts:
The young man was born to a Swiss father and American mother in 1991, in the US.
Mother and father were married in the US, the birth was registered in the US, the father is indeed listed on the young man's US birth certificate. All signed, sealed, and legal under US law.
The father did not register the marriage or the birth of the child in Switzerland.
The father abandoned the family when the child was 3. Attempts to contact the father over the years were unsuccessful.
In the mid 90s the mother was told by someone at a Swiss consulate that since the father did not register the marriage or the birth in Switzerland the child has no claim to Swiss citizenship.
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So forum experts, does this sound right?
And if not, where would the young man start to pursue a claim to citizenship?
Well this article seems to fit the bill.
“7. Article 58a Naturalization Act
A foreign child, from the marriage of a Swiss woman to a foreign national, who has close links with Switzerland.”
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home…uergerung.html
Whether the current law was in place back in 1991 or is retroactive I don’t know.
May depend on the close ties with Switzerland rule as well.
I suggest he checks with the nearest Swiss embassy/consulate to where he lives. They should be able to point him in the right direction.
Here the Federal Act on the Acquisition and Loss of Swiss Citizenship
https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classifi...208/index.html
See Art. 57
Unfortunately the version in force 1991 is not online. But as AFAIK, it was always inherited from the maternal side.
Older version are aviable at the Zentralbiliothek Zurich.
Also have a look at Art. 58c which is shortened too much on Medeas link
https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classifi...ndex.html#a58c
Isn’t it? If the birth wasn’t registered with the Swiss embassy at the time then he’s a foreign child of a foreign father and a Swiss mother. What else do you think he could be under the provisions of the naturalisaton act?
Thanks for the info, folks.
So it looks like facilitated naturalization would be out, or a long shot at the very least, as the young man is over 22 and does not have close ties to Switzerland.(No ties other than DNA, as Swiss papa did a runner all those years ago...)
But would the young man have been considered Swiss at birth under Art 1.a in the above link?
1 The following persons are Swiss citizens2 from birth:3
a.4
a child whose parents are married to each other and whose father or mother is a Swiss citizen;
The parents were legally married, under U.S. Law. But does the fact that the marriage was not registered in Switzerland mean that it would not be considered valid, at least in Swiss eyes for citizenship purposes?
And of course one would need to understand the law in place in 1991 when the child was born...
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This is mostly speculation, the young man is wondering about his roots. But if there is a reasonable possibility he might like to pursue this. On the other hand, he is hesitant as he knows nothing of his father's life or family in Switzerland.
Except that he's the foreign child of a Swiss father and a non-Swiss mother!
Try reading the OP.
"The young man was born to a Swiss father and American mother in 1991, in the US."
Tom
The revisions to the citizenship law over the years, showing how its provisions have evolved, are available in Appendix 1 to the Swiss authorities' administrative manual on citizenship, available here: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/it/home...rgerrecht.html .
It's a bit hard to follow all the changes, but as far as I can tell, the law in force as of 1991 stated that the child of a Swiss father not married to a foreign mother would become a Swiss citizen, as if from birth, upon the subsequent marriage of the parents, but not otherwise. (That's what Art. 1(2) said after a revision in 1990.)
(We're assuming that the US marriage of the parents in this case would not be taken into account, since it wasn't registered with the Swiss authorities, but that would be worth confirming with the consulate, as that would make all the difference here.)
If the child in this case did not acquire Swiss citizenship at birth (on account of the non-recognition by the Swiss of the marriage of the parents at the time of birth and the fact that the marriage was not registered subsequently), it looks like the individual's only recourse now would be to facilitated naturalization under the aforementioned Art. 58c of the citizenship law, which applies to the non-Swiss children of Swiss fathers and which requires, for applicants over the age of 22, "close ties" to Switzerland (generally defined as some combination of most or all of the following: visits to the country, participation in Swiss societies/clubs/organizations, contacts in Switzerland, knowledge of a national language.)
Hope this helps ...
Yes he was, but no longer is.
From the same link:
"Art. 10 Child born abroad
Child born abroad
1 A child born abroad to a Swiss parent who is a citizen of another country loses Swiss citizenship on reaching the age of 22, unless his or her birth has been notified to a Swiss authority abroad or in Switzerland or he or she has declared in writing that he or she wishes to remain a Swiss citizen."
Tom
And that is part of the law since 1 July 1985.
But, if the US parents' marriage is recognized, then it's the case that the child was Swiss at birth, and -- even though he did then lose his citizenship for failure to register upon reaching the age of 22 -- he would be eligible for reinstatement of his citizenship under Art. 21 of the citizenship law. That article allows for reinstatement within 10 years of reaching the age of 22, after which time "close ties" to Switzerland are required, suggesting that reinstatement would be more or less automatic at this point (as long as he can offer a "reasonable excuse" for failure to register, as stipulated in Art. 21).
I'm guessing that ignorance of the law would not be considered a reasonable excuse?
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Anyway, I've forwarded this thread to the young man.
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Thanks for all the info and links, folks.
I find all this fascinating.
Actually, in section 2.4.3.3. of the administrative manual on citizenship (see the link to chapter 2 in the link I provided previously), it is noted that the concept of a "reasonable excuse" in this context is interpreted "very generously" and that in fact the Federal Tribunal has established that ignorance of the law constitutes a valid excuse.