A Quick Guide on Acquiring Swiss Citizenship for Indians

Individuals often need to move around the globe for work and study purposes. In this regard, having foreign citizenship often helps to settle down and have consistency in life. Indians planning to settle in Switzerland need to get Swiss citizenship for Indians. For this, they need to follow certain conditions.

Are you curious to know the ways to do it? Then, find out all about it by reading till the end of this article.

Getting citizenship in Switzerland is not simple. Applicants must meet certain parameters to do so. The following section of the article lists the details of the eligibility criteria for getting citizenship in Switzerland for Indians. 

• Applicants must have lived in a Swiss canton for at least 10 years.
• They must be proficient with the Swiss National language spoken to B1 and written to A2 levels.
• Integration within Swiss life and familiarity with Swiss customs is a mandate. 
• They must not pose any danger to Switzerland's internal or external security. 
• Applicants must not have spent time on social welfare benefits within the past three years. 
• They must comply with the Swiss rule of law. 
• Having stable financial conditions with no outstanding bill payments is a mandatory requirement.

If you wonder how to get citizenship in Switzerland for Indians, its process is complicated. It depends on the laws within your canton. However, the steps will help you get a basic idea. 

Step 1: Contact your local canton or commune and procure an application form. You can visit the official website of the cantonal naturalisation authority or find its complete list. 

Step 2: Fill out this application form giving all the accurate details. Gather all the required documents. 

Step 3: Submit the form and the documents and fees to the local canton. 

Step 4: Wait for the concerned authorities to approve your application.

While submitting the application form, applicants need to provide the following documents. Without these, the board will not process their application any further. 

• A legal ID proof, preferably a passport
• Proof of health insurance 
• Swiss C-residence permit
• Evidence of language proficiency
• Proof of financial stability through bank statements

The processing fee for individuals applying from the confederation level is SFr 100 for an individual, while a child needs to pay about SFr 50. This fee is about ₹ SFr 1,995 for an adult at the Canton level. However, at the Commune level, the processing fee is between SFr 500 and SFr 997, depending on the canton.

The Swiss government permits multiple nationalities and citizenships. For example, an Indian applicant can quickly get Swiss citizenship without renouncing Indian citizenship. However, in other cases, if the birth country of an applicant does not allow dual citizenship, he/she will have to renounce the previous citizenship for settling in Switzerland.

If the applicant has a C-residence permit in Australia, he or she will be eligible for a family reunion in Switzerland. The eligible relatives or family members include a partner or spouse and children under 18. If you are planning to bring your entire family through a residence permit, you need to prove a residence large enough to accommodate them. You also need to show sufficient financial resources. However, these are for a residence permit, and there are no specific rules regarding the citizenship of the entire family.

There are specific rules for getting citizenship when it comes to children. If they lived in Switzerland between 8 and 18 years, the time would be counted as double. This means that they can apply for citizenship within five years of residence.

A child born in Switzerland is not necessarily a Swiss citizen. He or she needs to have at least one parent who is a Swiss citizen, whether by birth or naturalisation. However, if both the parents are non-citizens of Switzerland, the child will have to apply for citizenship within five years of residence, between 8 and 18 years.

While most people would wish to get Swiss citizenship, its process is challenging. Therefore, applicants need to take proper measures to minimise the chances of rejection of their applications. Some of the following mistakes have commonly resulted in rejected citizenship applications in Switzerland.

1. Integration

 There have been frequent rejections because of the applicants' inadequate knowledge of Switzerland's culture and details. While passing the citizenship test is mandatory, applicants also need to have ample knowledge of the country to demonstrate in the interview. In addition, they need to integrate into Swiss society.

2. Social assistance

One eligibility criterion for getting Swiss citizenship is to avoid taking public money to support your stay as a permanent resident in Switzerland. Thus, the applicants need to avoid doing this. If the immigration experts find any history of social assistance, they are likely to reject such an application.

3. Residence proof

 Applicants need to prove their residence in Switzerland for at least five years. This is a significant eligibility criterion. Failure to confirm it will inevitably result in a rejection. Applicants must prove their residence accommodation to immigration experts for getting citizenship.

4. Criminal records

The Swiss government does not prefer applicants with a criminal history. During their investigation, immigration experts may reject your citizenship application based on the possibility of a criminal conviction. Therefore, it is essential to abide by Swiss law and avoid getting into criminal records.