My wife and I have been living in Zurich for 11 and 5 years respectively. We speak the language and just had a child here and want to apply for the passport. I have heard a few rumors and am trying to figure out the best way to do this.
1. Is it possible I could also apply with her for the passport. We have been married more than three years and I meet the five year requirement in Switzerland to apply (if married to a Swiss). Once she has hers, for sure I can apply. but I have heard its possible to do this together.
2. We just had a child and my wife may stop working to care for the baby for a year or two. This would mean she would be either not working or seeking work (RAV) during the application process. I continue to work. Will this affect it? she has had the same employer for ten years now in Zurich
3. Is there a service or consultant that helps non-Swiss navigate this process?
My question regarding the RAV was more if it would be looked upon poorly when her application comes for review.
Your point about spouses is actually not correct. I spoke to the authorities and not only can you become Swiss if your spouse is naturalized and you meet the criteria of marriage for 3 and in Swiss for 5. But, at least in Zurich, if you meet these criteria at the time of your spouses naturalization, the spouse can also apply alongside them. Which means that even if the second person were not living in country for 12 years, the could become naturalized at the same time. I was surprised to learn this but its true.
If you do not do this, then you must wait until the spouse has been granted the passport to apply (again under the ruling if married three and in country for five).
For an application for Swiss citizenship on the basis of length of having a C permit, do the Swiss look at the years one had a C permit, and the years the application has been domiciled in Switzerland (keeping ones' center of life in Switzerland even if temporarily living abroad for a few years) or the number of years one has been a Swiss tax resident? What happens if one had their C permits suspended for a few years as they were temporarily tax resident abroad and then they come back to CH? Do they loose the years that they were away abroad form the years count? The C permits are valid so there is no gap in having a valid C permit. This means that if they look only at number of years one had a C permit, they would not have a gap for the time they were temporarily abroad.
Naturalisation proceeds in three stages . Thus the federal naturalisation permit only constitutes the Confederation's "green light" for the acquisition of Swiss nationality. However, the cantons and communities have their own, additional residence requirements which applicants have to satisfy . Swiss citizenship is only acquired by those applicants who, after obtaining the federal naturalisation permit, have also been naturalised by their communities and cantons . As a rule, there is no legally protected right to being naturalised by a community and a canton.
It appears that if one has been living in Switerland for 12 years or more and has been moving between cantons and if he ends up in one of the cantons with long residence requirements ( 8 to 10 years in canton), one will need to wait for many more years before one can apply for citizenship. Is there anything that can be done to shorten this additional waiting time except for moving to a short residence cantons?
The canton requirements are exactly that - the requirement. They are all different, some have requirements at canton level AND at commune level. The joys of a federal system
Two options will speed it up....marrying a Swiss and moving to somewhere that have short residency requirements.
All years resident count as long as you did not have a mickey mouse permit at the time. But in the end, you need to have some continuous living in a location to qualify.
If you're living in NW or SG then move to ZH. Wait 2 years....oh and then 12-24 months to complete the process - it does not mention that you can't move during the process but that's frowned upon.
Don't waste your money on a lawyer, it'll be exactly that - a waste.
And please don't repeatedly PM me with your questions, I will not reply
What's a Mickey Mouse permit? Notwithstanding debates in Parliament, ALL legally valid permits are eligible for nationalization. As long as you have 12 years legal residence, you are currently eligible to apply if you meet all the federal cantonal and local requirements. Even former asylum seekers can currently apply.
I had this situation and naturalized last spring. I was in Germany for 7 months and had frozen my C permit. I just had to make up the time I was away Federally while still meeting the cantonal and Gemeinde requirements.
My permit made it seem like I was uninterrupted, but you have to submit all your addresses while in CH and if you come up short it will be obvious.
At the Gemeinde level in Kt. ZH it is possible under the cantonal law to be allowed to apply early if only the local residency is not yet met by a year or so. This is discretionary, so long as the citizenship requirements are otherwise met 6 months or so down the line when the local process concludes.
However Bern doesn't allow early applications at the Federal level, so it's 12 years for the normal unfacilitated procedure at a minimum.
Zurich Kanton doesn't force you to wait more than three additional years if moving within the Kanton , if and only if the Kantonal requirements and the 12 years have been met. This won't apply coming from another Kanton. It depends, there are 3k Gemeinde with their own rules (but you knew that as you've studied Swiss history and geography in preparation of the application modalities).
If one of you meets the 12 years and other requirements then in Kanton Zurich, the whole family can apply together at the same time if:
You've been living together in Switzerland for at least 5 years
And you've been married for at least three years
Both conditions must be met. Your child can also be automatically included in any case once one of you meets the full requirements alone, as long as both sign the application. Can you read enough German to find the relevant sections of the Kantonal website?
One of the documents required of all applicants is a Lebenslauf. (Yes, even for the baby! ) If not working or looking for work you need to state a reason why. Taking a career break to care for a newborn after such an employment history won't be a problem. Be prepared to be asked for your Zeugnis to illustrate you're otherwise of good character.
Naturally expect to be quizzed on single income being sufficient to care for a growing family in the meantime.
What if someone owns his apartment in Switzerland so they have a Swiss address so no gaps in list of addresses. Also if Switzerland is their main domicile, i.e. center of life (very close ties to Switzerland) even if they are foreign national?
Regarding the two year residency requirement for Canton Zurich, does it have to be the last 2 years before application? What if someone's first place of Swiss residence 12 years ago has been in Zurich and they lived there for 3 - 4 years before they moved to another canton? thanks
If they own a place and are a permanent resident then it counts. And it's continuous, present permanent residency at the time of applying that counts. They will ask for tax returns and confirmation of residency going all the way back for the claimed period.
I was under the impression that some types of permit don't count towards applying to become Swiss. Diplomatic ones and certain seasonal permits.....
Thanks Regarding the two year residency requirement for Canton Zurich, does it have to be the last 2 years before application? What if someone's first place of Swiss residence 12 years ago has been in Zurich and they lived there for 3 - 4 years before they moved to another canton? thanks