Woman who had citizenship application denied over egging prank wins appeal

The Aargau administrative court has overturned a decision to deny Swiss citizenship to an Eritrean woman over a teenage doorbell prank and egg-throwing incident.

Swiss citizenship rejected for egging and doorbell prank

The Aargau administrative court has recently upheld an appeal by an Eritrean woman living in Switzerland who wants to become a Swiss citizen.

The Grand Council naturalisation commission (Einbürgerungskommission des Grossen Rats or EBK) had previously rejected the woman’s naturalisation application because she had been charged with a crime during the naturalisation process, according to Blick.

The crime in question was throwing eggs at someone’s house and taking part in a doorbell prank when she was 15 years old. The juvenile prosecution service (Jugendanwaltschaft) “sanctioned her with a reprimand for property damage and disorderly conduct”.

Court overturns Swiss naturalisation rejection

The administrative court in Aargau, however, disagreed with the EBK’s decision to reject the application. The ruling was “incompatible with the law and the constitution”, and the decision to reject a citizenship application based on such incidents would be “arbitrary”.

The EBK must consider such incidents in a wider context, including the circumstances, the degree of involvement and the act itself. In this case, the incident took place “within the context of group-dynamic youthful pranks”, continued the Administrative Court.

In the end, the Aargau administrative court overturned the EBK ruling and granted the applicant cantonal and municipal citizenship, pending federal naturalisation.