In the autumn of 2025 I finally decided that I wanted to apply for Swiss citizenship. It had been in the back of my mind and I’ve been eligible for quite some time, but sometimes important decisions such as these take some time to ripen. I’ve now been living in Switzerland for seventeen years and I’ve been sharing my life with a wonderful Swiss partner for more than half of that time. Presently I’m not eligible to vote in any country, not even in my home country, as I’ve been away for so long that I’ve lost the right. Over the past few years, with all that’s going on in the world, I’ve realised how important living and participating in a stable democracy is.
I made the first enquiries and picked up the form from the local council building at the beginning of November 2025. Straight away I started to gather up the necessary documents, such as a confirmation that I don’t have any outstanding debts. Easier than I expected, or so I thought. I also needed to get a document from the local registry office proving my marital status and date of birth etc. Here I was surprised to learn that I wasn’t even on the registry! Apparently that’s normal, as I wasn’t born in Switzerland, haven’t gotten married in Switzerland and obviously haven’t died in Switzerland ;-). So, first I needed to get myself on the Swiss registry of people before I would be able to get a certificate from them. This involved getting documents such as an original birth certificate from my home country and getting official translations of them. Thankfully the employee dealing with my case at the local registry office was very helpful. By the time I got these documents organised, handed in and received the confirmation I needed from the registry office it was already the end of January 2026.
At the beginning of February I was finally able to complete and submit the application form. Within a week I had a response from the responsible person at the local council office. Unfortunately the certificate I’d received after completing a language test for my residency permit back in 2013 did not fulfil the requirements of the canton and the federation. That meant that I would have to complete a new language test, even though I’ve been living here for seventeen years and use more German than English in my daily life! Anyway, onwards and upwards. I contacted a local language school to enrol for the test, but the earliest date I could get is mid March and it could take up to four weeks after that until I receive my certificate. At this rate of going the documents that I’d gathered in last November will be out of date by the time I’ve handed in my language certificate (the documents need to be no more than 6 months old). Oh well, the date for the language test is rapidly approaching and I’m optimistic that I’ll get a good enough result for the citizenship requirements. I’ll report back after I’ve completed the test….