Canton Thurgau accidentally naturalises dead person

A Swiss citizenship application decision in Canton Thurgau has resulted in the Grand Council mistakenly naturalising someone who had been dead for a month.

Thurgau grants Swiss citizenship to dead applicant

You would assume that there’s one requirement for obtaining Swiss citizenship that all applicants must meet: being alive. However, in quite the turn of events, Canton Thurgau has accidentally naturalised a person who had recently passed away, reports Nau.

The Grand Council in Thurgau met to grant cantonal citizenship to 140 applicants. However, unfortunately for the person in question, his citizenship was granted a little too late. On the list of approved applicants was a 77-year-old who had died about a month before. 

“Apparently, no one in parliament had carefully read the official gazette, which had recently announced the death”, reports 20 Minuten. 

Grand Council votes on citizenship applicants

Applying for citizenship in Switzerland is known to be a lengthy process. The Grand Council (Grosser Rat) in each Swiss canton ultimately has the final say on each naturalisation application. The elected legislative body is typically made up of around 130 officials. 

Before an application reaches the Grand Council it must first pass the municipality level, typically through an interview or test, and is then sent for federal approval. Applications that pass federal checks are returned to the cantonal level for a final decision.

The Grand Council usually receives a number of applications to approve at once, which could be how, in this instance, such an administrative error was able to slip through.