I have a question. My boyfriend and I had our son in June, 2008. We are not married and my son and I are still living in the USA while my boyfriend went back home to Switzerland. He wants to give our son Swiss citizenship, which I am fine with. I just need to understand the process a little more. I was told that I needed to obtain an affidavit here in the US that states my address, civil status, and verifies my identity and that I also need to obtain an original copy of my birth certificate as well as my son's. I know that my boy has citizenship because his father is Swiss (as is determined by paternity papers he signed) but, that it will be revoked at age 22 unless he accepts it. I was just wondering if these were the proper steps to obtain citizenship for our son.

Also, I was wondering if my boyfriend will have 100% custody when our son and I cross into Switzerland if he has Swiss citizenship. There are no custody hearings pending and we have 50/50 custody right now, I just want to make sure that I still will be able to bring my baby home with me if my boyfriend tries to keep him there.

I appreciate any advice and/or sites you can spare! Thank you so much.

My suggestion is that you get in touch with the Swiss Embassy in Washington or your nearest Swiss consulate. I am sure that they will be able to give you all the necessary information. This kind of process will probably go through the Embassy/Consulate anyway, so it makes sense to make contact and have them tell you what documents they need.

do remember that giving your son citizenship now will make military service compulsory.

Who knows if 20 years from now, CH will still require military service...it might be wise to have more than one passport to keep options open.

the child will still be entitled to the passport and citizenship at that point.

with a Swiss passport now, the kid will have no choice about doing military service.

As with paying US taxes for the rest of his life....

Tax and military implications are also important for his future. (For example, as an American citizen you are taxed on your world-wide income for the rest of your life.) It would be a good idea to find out if there are any drawbacks to being a Swiss citizen, other than the obvious benefits.

Having done Swiss military service I am not sure why it would only be considered a drawback...

I also did my 300 days of compulsory CH military service. Do I want to hijack this thread into a discussion about the swiss army ? No, i just let it be ...

If the child doesn't reside in Switzerland than he will not be obliged to go back to do military service, if they still require it in 20 years time. Plus, if he does live in Switzerland he can always decline to do military service & do community service instead. So, I* don't really see the problem.




*Of course this is coming from a non-Swiss girl, so...

If you have, as you say, 50-50 custody, why are you worried that your boyfriend would want 100% custody? On what basis do you have this 50-50 custody? Was it just a verbal agreement or do you have a legal document that you both signed. What exactly does 50-50 custody mean? That your son lives with you 50% of the time and then 50% of the time with his father? Or that your son lives with you 100% of the time but with his father you share important decisions about the baby? What about financial support? Is this also on a 50-50 basis?

Mrs. Doolittle, you have insanely good questions. When our son was born, my boyfriend and I acknowledged paternity here in the US which means that he still has some matter of custody in regards to our son. The little one lives here with me but, I have not filed for 100% physical or legal custody. Physical custody has always been understood to be here in the States because my boyfriend goes to school full-time. 50/50 means that his father is a legal guardian. Unofficially, he lives full-time with me and his father and I share important decisions. Financial support: don't laugh. He gives us money as needed or as asked. We are in the process of setting up a monthly amount that he will give me. I know this all sounds laughable but, neither one of us knows where to go from here or how to go about getting there. That's why I'm always posting on here. I trust him and believe him but, I need to do what I feel is in the best interests of my son by corroborating what he finds with what I find.

Hi TT,

It would be an interesting discussion for another thread if you were to start one.

Cheers,
Nick

He won't be required to serve (unless he moves to Switzerland between the age of 18 and 26) but he will be required to pay service replacement duty from 18 to 30, no matter where he lives. He can choose not to pay but as soon as he enters the country at any time in his life, they'll make him pay up everything at once - and that can be 10'000s of Fr, depending on his income. I have to pay about 1900 Fr. per year with a medium income, for 12 years that would make more than 20k.

Anyway, the big problem here is: you'll have to make the decision now whether you give your son the opportunity to move to Switzerland or the EU later in his life, or whether he'll be treated as an American citizen with all the disadvantages connected with moving to Europe.

The biggest disadvantage of accepting Swiss citizenship is the military service requirement (so I don't consider this hijacking the thread - it's an important factor in the decision, if you ask me). The big disadvantage of having both Swiss and American citizenship is the tax question - as a US citizen, you're required to pay taxes, no matter where you live. Switzerland and the US have a tax-agreement but he could still be required to pay on top of what he already has to give to the Swiss fiscus.


peter

You make it sound like it is a voluntary decision wether to do military service or community service. Well, it most certainly isn't. The default is military service ...

Well, it's a more or less voluntary decision now. It's easy now to choose (http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schwei..._1.912018.html), Zivildienst takes 1.5 times as long, however - which is very unpopular among employers.

peter

Bristol? Bristol Palin? Is that you girl?




Just kidding.

Best wishes on your transition, and full respect for taking care of your child!

The default may be military service, I never said it wasn't. But you certainly can (and many do) make a case for why you object to military service. I know several men who have done community service instead. Yes, you have to make your case, but it isn't that difficult, especially these days when the military is much smaller.

There are quite a few of them at the old age home where I go to visit an elderly lady.

With the new law that will go into effect in 2010, there are only two things you need to do:

- make a cross on the appropriate form
- serve 1.5x as long as you would in the army

peter

Sorry to disappoint but, while young Ms. Palin and I may share similarly-colored hair, I'm not her. Thank you all for the wonderful advice. Additional question just for fun: does the military allow exemptions (community service or otherwise) for men and women with flat feet? Just wondering.