During a special session held on April 30th, MPs turned down a proposal to halve the wait time before a non-EU foreigner can apply for citizenship.
The proposal (also known as the “Democracy initiative”) aims to cut the wait time before a foreigner can apply for citizenship from the current 10 years of residency down to five.
The initiative also calls for the federal government to be responsible for naturalisation, so that the procedure is standardised across the country.
Currently, individual cantons may impose their own naturalisation criteria, which are sometimes stricter than the ones set by the federal migration authorities – read more about this below.
For Action Vierviertel, the group behind the initiative, the required residency period for foreigners to be able to apply for naturalisation is too long in Switzerland, especially compared to other states.
“There are few countries in Europe that place so many obstacles to naturalisation,” the group said.
“Swiss law needs to be revised because current rules are too strict, especially for people from third countries,” it added.
READ MORE: What’s the new plan to cut residency periods for Swiss citizenship?
What is the required residency period in Switzerland right now?
It depends on where you come from.
Citizens of the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have a shorter residency period to qualify for citizenship than other foreigners.
After five years with a B permit, they usually qualify for the permanent residency — that is, the C permit.
Then, another five years of continuous residency is required before they can apply for naturalisation.
For most third-country nationals, however, the rules are stricter. Their residency period to ‘upgrade’ a B permit to a C is twice as long — 10 continuous years.
There are, however, some exemptions from these rules.
For instance, Americans and Canadians are on par with their EU / EFTA counterparts: they can also apply for a C permit after five years of continuous residence on a B permit.
There are other exceptions as well: if you are a non-EU / EFTA spouse or the minor child of a Swiss citizen or a permit C holder, you too can apply for a C permit after five years.
Why has the National Council Committee voted against this change?
“Becoming Swiss is not a right; it is the result of successful integration,” said Jean-Luc Addor, a deputy from the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), explaining that this process can’t be quick.
Another MP, Simone Gianini from the Liberal-Radical Party (FDP), pointed out that “Switzerland, with one of the highest rates of resident foreigners in Europe, generally manages to avoid social tensions precisely because it makes naturalisation the culmination of an integration process and not its starting point. Changing the model could prove very dangerous.”
And Benjamin Roduit from the Centre Party spoke against the proposal’s goal to take the naturalisation decisions away from cantons by harmonising them on the federal level.
“This initiative represents a significant infringement on the cantons’ powers,” he said, adding that “naturalisation happens on a daily basis through local community integration in our towns and villages, not in federal Bern.”
What happens with this initiative next?
The Council of States will have its say on this matter, but it is also expected to reject it.
However, the fact that both chambers of the Parliament are against the initiative only means that neither will support this proposal and will urge Swiss voters to turn it down once it makes it to the ballot box.
The date for the referendum has not yet been set.
