Lucerne to reduce naturalisation fees to 500 Swiss francs

Lucerne City Council has announced that it plans to make its naturalisation process a lot cheaper in future. The naturalisation fee will drop to a flat rate of 500 Swiss francs, a big drop from the current cost of somewhere between 1.900 and 2.300 Swiss francs.

Swiss citizenship applications to become cheaper in Lucerne

Good news for people looking to apply for a Swiss passport in Lucerne; the city council has proposed to reduce naturalisation fees to a flat rate of 500 Swiss francs, according to a recent press release. The new fees would come into effect on April 1, 2026.

A citizenship application in Lucerne currently costs single people aged 25 and over 1.900 Swiss francs, while married couples or people in a registered partnership pay a total of 2.300 Swiss francs. The new flat rate fee of 500 Swiss francs for everyone would therefore give applicants a price reduction of over 70 percent. Additional costs at the cantonal and federal level would still apply, however. 

The citizenship application process, also called naturalisation, is known to be a little lengthy. The application involves a naturalisation test, language certification and other requirements that vary by canton. Applicants need to have been living in Switzerland for at least 10 years, including three of the five years before submitting an application, and hold a C-permit, to apply for Swiss citizenship.

Lucerne City Council wants to help expats integrate

The Lucerne City Council wants to reduce the naturalisation fee to make the process more accessible and to encourage integration into Swiss society. More than 25 percent of Lucerne’s population are non-Swiss citizens and have “no opportunity to participate in political decisions”, says the council’s press release.

Citizenship is important not just for political participation but also “promotes the integration process” in Swiss life, according to the council. Melanie Setz, City Councillor in Lucerne, doesn’t want people to opt out of naturalising “because the fees represent too high a financial burden”. The proposed amendment to the law will be discussed in the Greater City Council on November 13, 2025.