Whilst you are waiting for other replies, a search on the forum menu page will give you some information in the meantime.

Hi TogJay,

thanks for your input. I had searched the forum before but only found one thread that did not contain too much information:

https://www.glocals.com/forums/general/Naturalisation---getting-the-swiss-passport---help-needed-244110.htm#msg_248266)

Hope some more people can share their experience here.

Hi Thomas

finally have you got the Swiss citizenship? Could you share your experience of the interview?

I look for more information of the interview (not an exam) which will happen in January.

does anyone can offer any help or any information?

thanks a lot

Hi, I will have my test on 19 January. Would love to do some group exercise to test my knowledge.This is the basis:

https://www.ge.ch/connaitre-suisse-geneve

About the interview, I will know more later.

Ping me if you are interested.

Jessica, Laura,

I completed this interview with the whole familiy earlier this year. We were successful and I think there was still a large margin. I expect if you do not know something they would ask easier questions to find some solid ground in your understanding of the Swiss political system.

We spent the largest part of the time talking about the topics of the "votations". We each explained one of our choice, and then he asked us about some others that he picked. The interviewer also asked if we knew the outcome of the vote for the examples, but this was already framed as a "bonus question".

About knowing the names of the politicians, I'm not sure how important it is. My wife did not know the mayor of our commune, and the question had first been put only to her. Anyway, the interviewer put it to the whole family next and I knew the name of the mayor (plus his party and what he studied - I think I overdid it a bit). It may depend on the interviewer if they want you to know all the members of the Federal Council and their areas of responsibility.

The few hard facts are embedded in a lot of chit chat, for example if you noticed any topics that are of interest in Geneva (e.g. shortage of housing, traffic problems...) And of course the question why you want to be Swiss.

Let me know if you are interested in more details.

Best,

Sven

Hi Sven,

Thank you for the heads up.

What did you answer to the question "why you want to be Swiss"?

Hi Laura,

Switzerland already feels like home to me. I spent most of my adult life here, both of my children were born here, we own a house in Geneva... So the nationality would match what I feel.

In practical terms, the nationality obviously gives me the right to vote, and I think it's a good idea to participate in the political process. Sometimes I would have liked to support a collection of signatures, but I had to tell the people that I do not have the vote.

For the interview that should be enough, as this is not a monologue, either...

For me, "armed neutrality" is an important point, too. I was disappointed to see unified Germany get into dubious military adventures abroad at a staggering pace. I would not put my current country down in an interview, but Switzerland really suits me on that point.

Sven

Thank you very much Sven for your detailed reply.

i will contact you for more details if you do not mind.

Talk to you soon

Hi Laura

19 Jan is the same interview for me，thanks for the link provided.

i will contact you separately to see if we can help each other to prepare the interview.

thank you

I'm within the process, but the last document that I am missing is the confirmation of my French knowledge. The required level is B1, but the office in Geneva doesn't approve my DALF C1 diploma (as FIDE doesn't recognise it anymore), neither that I have a diploma of graduating the secondary education in Geneva , nor that I am a student of BSc studies in Geneva -all studies fully in French. 

As FIDE dates to approve my level of French are late, I wanted to check if someone was in a similar situation like me? And if you solved it withount additional costs and time investment?

Thank you Sven.

Hi Kris,

I did the FIDE test in Geneva, near Varembé.  I didn't have to wait long before being called. It costs about 250 chf.

I can check the name of the school if you want. 

Thanks for answer Laura, I have already subscribed for FIDE's validation of my knowledge of French that will cost chf 150 and there was no date in Geneva before end of January. I find interesting that I have a C1 diploma and my schools required at least B2, but I have to prove I have B1 level... 

Hi everyone,

hope your tests went well! 

i have a question as well and I was hoping I could get some input on.

i would like to know what to expect after having submitted the application, e.g what will be the next steps? When to expect the authorities to contact me? after How long do they fix the interview? some tips for the interview are more than welcome.

thank you!

D.

Hi Denisa,

it is possible that they will ask you for some follow up documents, like it was in my case after 3 weeks around. I haven't reached the interview yet and would be courious as well to hear from those you had this pleasure.

Hi Denisa,

For my family it took long. After the initial submission of the forms and documents we got a request for an additional document a few weeks later. After that, they confirmed that they have everything.

However, the interview was a full 8 months after this point. It was announced about 6 weeks before the event via email.

After the interview there was still a meeting with the mayor of our commune, but without any more quiz questions. And then there was a fancy paper to be signed and sent back via post. This was in place of the usual meeting for a pledge of allegiance, which was cancelled due to Covid.

The total process has now been running for about 2 years, but the OCP says they will have our passports ready by the end of March.

Part of the process was slower because of Covid which hit just at the time we made our request.

Sven

Hi all,

I hope the below information I provide is useful. You can find online information about the Naturalisation. Keep in mind that each canton has its own requirements.

https://www.ch.ch/en/foreign-nationals-in-switzerland/naturalisation/

or https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/integration-einbuergerung/schweizer-werden/ordentlich.html 

** Fees are mentionned at the botton of the page. 

On the following website, it is mentioned all the relevant and useful information: description, regular naturalisation and facilitated naturalisation.

https://www.learn-french-geneva.com/how-to-prepare-for-swiss-citizenship.php

For the Fide exam there is also official information here https://fide-service.ch/en/proofs/fide-dossier/. I know that you have to book in advance the exam date as is in great demand. 

Cheers

Monica

Hi, we offer coaching services for the citizenship exam. Find out more here: learn-french-geneva.com/how-to-prepare-for-swiss-citizenship.php 

Update on my end: this week I finally sent the application to the Geneva OCPM with my entire documentation. Warning for Italian nationals: the civil status may take long, as you need to get the original birth certificate and the stato civile from Italy, then you send these papers to the Geneva office for Etat Civil, if all is good they send you a payment request of 106 chf, and then you can get the document.

This process lasted me about a month, which can get dangerous in terms of timing, cause all documents need to have a maximum expiry of 3 - 6 months.

So, be aware.

Next step: if all documents are complete and accepted, I will get a mail for an interview. I am not expecting this to happen before summer.

I hope it helps.

Regarding the civil status I had to do the same plus translation to French.

However, sometimes you can call them and explain the situation so that they accept your expired documents.

hi Sven,

thank you for your kind answer! happy to hear you will very soon receive your passports!

i have a few more Que if you woudl be so kind to answer them. 

how was the meeting with the mayor?  

and were your referral persons contacted in any way? 

 Did you receive updates on your application status ? 

Wishing you a great day

denisa 

Hi Denisa,

Let me answer your questions:

The meeting with the mayor of the commune was very relaxed. He basically just welcomed us and we chatted a bit. He asked again why we want to be Swiss, but it seemed just a question to get us talking a bit.

None of the ten referral persons was contacted (5 for my wife, and 5 for me).

We did not receive any update on the status. We only received invitations for the different steps of the process. However, recently I asked the OCP about the status of our application, and they readily answered this on the phone.

Sven

Thank you Sven! 
this is very useful to know more about the process and what to expect. 
Denisa 

Hello.

I had a chat with a friend who did the interview with the commune. She told me that she was asked about the referendums that happened in the last couple of years, and other stuff that pertains to politics and civic education. Also some of her referred contacts were called.

Just to put things in perspective. So I decided to be up to date with Swiss news, listening to RTS instead of BBC for the next forseeable months, and then get myself acquainted with politics. I am applying in Geneva, so a bigger city might be more demanding than a commune.

Anyone who had intewiev with an "enqueter" via WebEx in Geneva could share his/her experiences? How detailed questions there are about votations and so on?

See attached what we need to study for Geneva.

If anyone is interested in preparing some notions with me, please let me know.