Swiss parliament shuts down plan to simplify naturalisation

Both the National Council and the Council of States have put a stop to a proposal aimed at standardising and simplifying the naturalisation process in Switzerland. While some politicians recognised the lengthy path to gaining Swiss citizenship, parliament declined to put forward an alternative.

Overwhelming rejection in the Council of States

The upper house representing the 26 Swiss cantons has rejected the popular initiative “For a modern citizenship (Democracy Initiative)" with 34 votes to nine, with two abstentions. The decision follows the National Council’s vote to reject the proposal earlier this year, cementing the proposal’s defeat as “now a done deal”, explained a parliamentary press release. 

The Democracy Initiative was put forward by the civil society alliance Aktion Vierviertel and seeks to make it easier for expats living in Switzerland to gain citizenship through naturalisation.

In a letter to the Council of States, Aktion Vierviertel explained that around 2,5 million international residents are “excluded from democracy” because, without citizenship, residents cannot vote at the federal level. 

What does the Democracy Initiative propose?

Currently, the naturalisation process requires 10 years of residence and a C Permit, with individual cantons and municipalities also able to set additional criteria. The process generally takes up to two years and is “among the most restrictive in Europe,” added Aktion Vierviertel.

The initiative calls for naturalisation to be standardised at the federal level, shifting responsibility away from cantons. It proposes reducing the residence requirement to five years, after which “there should be an entitlement to naturalisation.” Other requirements suggested by the Democracy Initiative include basic language skills and no serious criminal record.

Initiators argue that moving responsibility away from the cantons to the federal government would reduce bureaucracy, administrative costs and make the application process faster.

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Swiss politicians raise concerns about local integration

Swiss politicians, however, were sceptical about the proposed changes to gaining Swiss citizenship. Marianne Binder-Keller (centre), spokesperson for the Political Institutions Committee (SPK-S), explained that reducing residence requirements could lead to internationals whose “residence in Switzerland is not yet secure [becoming] naturalised."

Pirmin Schwander (SVP) added that “integration takes place in the municipalities” and decisions on who should get Swiss citizenship should remain local rather than being centralised.

Current naturalisation process flawed

The political debate, however, recognised that the current system poses several problems. The discussion covered simplifying the naturalisation process for second-generation internationals (e.g. someone born in Switzerland who has at least one expat parent), as well as for expats who have lived in Switzerland for at least five years before turning 16. 

Pierre-Yves Maillard (SP) reiterated that expats living in Switzerland make up over 25 percent of the Swiss population and are “currently unable to participate in decision-making.” He added that the current naturalisation process is “expensive, rife with arbitrariness and harassment, and discourages people from applying.” 

In the end, however, the Council of States also rejected any alternative to the Democracy Initiative, and the proposal will proceed to a final formality vote without a government counter-proposal.