Woman denied citizenship for naming skiing as a Swiss sport wins appeal

Aargau cantonal government has ordered the municipality of Neuenhof to reconsider its decision after a Turkish woman was rejected for Swiss citizenship. The woman was denied a passport partly because of her answers during the naturalisation interview, most notably for naming skiing as a typical Swiss sport.

Failed citizenship interview over skiing, castles and pensions

As part of the long Swiss naturalisation process to gain citizenship, applicants must take part in an interview (Einbürgerungsgespräch), conducted by a local municipal committee.

For one woman from Turkey applying in Neuenhof, not far from Zurich in canton Aargau, the answers she gave during the interview contributed to the local council rejecting her application, despite having passed the written cantonal citizenship test, according to 20 Minuten.

Reportedly, "she could not explain the three-pillar [pension] system”, mentioned the names of rivers when asked about Aargau’s castles and “did not place the district school within the education system."

The answer to one question in particular is proving to be a hot topic. When asked to name a typical Swiss sport, the woman said skiing, which the interviewers dismissed because "skiing is also practised in Austria." In fact, they were looking for the answer Swiss wrestling (Schwingen).

Canton rules Swiss naturalisation interview was overly rigid

The woman then appealed the decision, and the cantonal government has now called for the local council to reconsider the rejection.

As originally reported by the Aargauer Zeitung, the cantonal government criticised "the way the interview was conducted", and also questioned other grounds for rejecting the application, such as her living arrangements and German language skills.

Neuenhof Mayor Tobias Baumgartner has since defended the council’s actions and stated that each application is reviewed individually and the "legal mandate" is fulfilled. Either way, the municipality has now confirmed that it accepts the government’s ruling.