How did it go are you swiss?

I got some new information, From this year before applying you have to get a Swiss "livret de famille" for which you need a certificate of non impediment (Affadavit to say that you were never married) and a full birth certificate.

The next part is specifically for British applicants.

You can get the Proof that you are not married by setting up an appointment at the British consulate in Bern.

https://www.clickbook.net/dev/bc.nsf/sub/britishconsulatebern?OpenDocument&cb_referer=Marriage Affidavit Switzerland CHF98.00 (30 min) seems to be the form to ask for.

But to get it you must have the full birth certificate (I have my original one from 1969 which is not good enough!) The document can be ordered from the general registry office in the UK.

It's the same for marriage and (top tip) if you are getting married, don't admit it at the British consulate, say that you are applying for citizenship because the same document is more expensive if used for marriage purposes!

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp

Hope that helps anyone who is applying. Please post any other useful info here.

And don't forget that you might be required to prove you master the skills of one of the 3 official Swiss languages, level B1.

No, addaxnat, you are not the only one shocked ! 

Mary, I agree with you 100%. They only hire French people in Geneva...its kind of sad. 

I just went through the naturalisation process....it’s a lot of paper work, very expensive (~1500-2000 CHF) and you have to wait a long time (4 years for me). They want to see that you are well integrated into the Geneva community, speak and write good French (they will be changing it from B1 to C1 level soon, so get your application in quick).  My advice is make sure you fill everything out properly  and correctly because that spelling mistake on your father’s last name can cost you a year....happened to me.   

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. You probably won't get the interview for another year or two....so for right now, just fill out all the paper work and make sure you get all the forms they ask (there is a ton) 
 

Hello everyone, 

I will also ask the Swiss nationality this summer most probably. As far as I've heard the process takes about 2 years. 

Recently the Confederation debated to give the Swiss nationality under the following conditions: matser at conversational level one of the 3 official languages, minimum 10 years of residence in Switzerland and hold a C residence permit. I still have to check if this law has passed, but they wrote about it in the local press.

If you are an employee of an international organisation such as the UN those years do not count for your nationality, because you're considered to be working on international/ UN territory and not exactly in a Swiss environement, therefore not integrated and most important: not paying taxes. For the other cosider paying your taxes on time before applying for the nationality, the local administration will love you :) ! 

Hope my hints help, cheers! 

....and don't forget the home visit, you are expected to know the basics of swiss politics and some proof of integration, plus some general knowledge, one example was name all of the bridges that cross the Rhone in geneva Canton. And of course we all do it anyways - charity work is well thought of.

I am surprised too, can we get the link to this operation Eidelweis? which blog /newspaper?

Ive heard of questions about which communes border your commune and which rivers flow through the canton

Surely if someone has been here for 12 years they would be able to speak Swiss

you would be surprised on how people can get by in Geneva with not a single word of French :)

hi deepforest, I heard about this "possible" changes to the naturalisation law under the condition that one has the C permit and 10 years of uninterrupted stay in one of the swiss cantons and speaks at least one language at the level of B1. I am not sure if this rule will come into effect anytime soon. In my case, I will be applying for naturalisation in Zurich canton, and it seems no one knows about this rule. Everyone in the immigration offices and foreigners' office are still speaking about 12 years rule. Can you or anyone has more information please let me know and how one can go ahead. My email address is 

[email protected]

Thanks in advance. 

Cheers, Krish

They now say that it will take 2.5 years from the time of application submission until the completion of naturalisation, at which point you can apply for an ID card and then passport.But before applying it's necessary to get some documentation.

Prior to being given the application forms, you have to be registered with the register of civil status, for which you need a certificate of civil status that you have to get personally from the embassy, and a new format birth certificate (online) the processing then takes some weeks.

Submission of the completed application must be accompanied by attestations from every commune you ever lived in (for which you have to go to the communal office), the tax office, the bureau de poursuites (which you also have to go to in person), attestation from the judicary and an attestation from your employer.

The rest is just photocopies (passport, permit), passport photos ... etc..

Next it's necessary to work out a fool proof motive (in 50 or so words for wanting to live in Switzerland) Well I work here, and the weather is ok, but maybe thay are looking for a deeper reason.

Any ideas?

They told me it would take 3 years, but heard it can be done in 2.5 years from someone who got it.  Your first step is to live 10 or 12 years in Switzerland, of which 2 or 3 in the same commune.

then you visit your town hall and they give you an application to fill in, with passports, permits and so on.  You have to be properly registered on some sort of Swiss database along with spouse kids, marriage and so on.  In my case that was ok, but it may not be like that if you we're married abroad or if your children were born abroad.  If the electronic register is not in order then you need to get that sorted first (birth certificates etc).

Next the will send you a new application form with loads of questions including every school you attended every qualification, and every employer plus address and dates - a very detailed CV.  You may have to do this for every member of your family even if they are not applying for nationality and even if not resident in Switzerland.  Needless to say this may require fresh copies of the certificates you previously submitted.

Accompanying the above form you must also send all certificates, and you must obtain a residence Certificate from every Swiss commune you ever lived in, a certificate that you paid all your taxes from every Canton you lived in, a certificate from the office de pour suites in every canton, a certificate from the federal criminal bureau in Berne, and a certificate from your employer.

thats the easy part.  Then you go for an interview at the commune, and the will write to you with more information requests.  I am told the next stage can be difficult but so far I have not received details.  If you work fast you can probably get the interview within about 3 months of first applying.  That leaves another 2 or 3 years of following their instructions.  

PICK heard it costs a few thousands to become Swiss but not as much as before.  I am not sure if your taxes go up.  It used to be the case for males who had not done the Swiss military service, but I have feeling they may have dropped that.

Good luck!

The cost is not so bad, there are three main bills (comune, canton, federation) , apart from the 20.- here and there to get all the different attestations. In all it comes to about 750.- in Vaud.

They also issue a 30 page leaflet that includes most of the information that you may be asked about at the commune interview (7 people on the panel)

What would you put under:

Motivation for moving to Switzerland

Reasons for staying

etc...

Is there asection like that on the Geneva forms?

Would never happen in Vaud;-)