I have been living in Switzerland for 14 years. I went to the "Office Cantonal de la Population" in the Canton of Geneva and inquired as to the process of requesting Swiss Nationality.

cost = CHF 3,300.00
time = 3 years

What are the benefits of Swiss Nationality ? I would have to pay the money first and I have guarantee that if I am refused that my money would be returned.

You're not really going to apply for a second citizenship on the basis of advice off www.theinternet.com, are you?

Which citizenship do you now have? If you are EU, then CH is unnecessary.

I think it would be beneficial if you had to look for a job.

Might be beneficial if you wanted to come back here after a few years job stint elsewhere.

I currently have dual Citizenship - Canadian and Spanish

If you consider yourself Swiss, go for it. Otherwise you should be fine with EU citizenship.

My theory on citizenships - the more the merrier.

Of course, you must be legally entitled to each one. It would also be strongly preferred if you went along with the spirit of gaining citizenship in each country. In Switzerland of course, it's considered a big deal. In other countries, where it's much easier to obtain, I'd say if you're eligible, no-one would mind you grabbing it.

The reason I say the more the merrier, is that you never know what might happen in the future. There's issues of pensions, war, conscription, inheritance, health systems and insurance, lifestyle, government policies in various areas etc. etc. etc. You might be unable to live in your country of choice due to any of these issues. With the passport, you have options.

I hope that doesn't sound too mercenary, but in this world full of risk, you have to look after yourself at times and I think having an additional citizenship covers you well.

The other important thing is children and their children and their children etc. Maybe this doesn't apply in your case, but in general it gives your descendents far more options if you have Swiss citizenship.

Disclaimer: I have one citizenship. Would like to have two.

As an EU citizen, I believe that the only time where Swiss citizenship is going to be a definite advantage is if you are looking for a place in the Altersheim of the Gemeinde where you are a citizen.

And a great theory it is, were it not for the fact that many countries do not allow for more than two citizenships.

University fees may be less? Easier to get past the first round when getting a job? If you leave, easier to get back in? (You have a "C" permit, doesn't that expire when you leave? I don't know for certain.)

When I asked at our Gemeinde, they said it cost 1000 per adult person, and the kids were "free" when we did ours.

Maybe you live in a more favourable place than we do

Well, lots of countries don't even allow more than one, so you have to avoid them.

But I hadn't heard of specific restrictions on having more than two. Do you have an example?

I know of some kids of a colleague who have three (none of them Swiss, they can probably get that too when they're older). This will be happening more and more I imagine as people get more mobile and citizenship laws loosen up a bit.

To me the main reasons would be that I would be allowed to vote and I would not be restricted to leave the country and risk losing my C permit.

What speaks against it is the degrading process that they have in my Gemeinde.

A rather exotic country going by the name of Switzerland, and another, a bit closer to here, usually referred to as Germany.

Can you give your source on that, please? Thanks

"Under German law, a person may not have more than one citizenship unless he/she was born with both, as described in paragraphs 2 and 3 above."

From the USA government in Germany. Section III of the web page.

Link:http://germany.usembassy.gov/acs/dual_nationality.html

Specific details for EU nationals:

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...760125,00.html

Apprently, Switzerland does not impose this restriction any more (sorry, this bit is in French):

Depuis le 1er janvier 1992, la double nationalité est autorisée en Suisse sans aucune restriction. Quiconque se fait naturaliser en Suisse ne doit donc plus renoncer à sa citoyenneté antérieure (il se peut toutefois que le droit du pays d'origine prévoie la perte automatique du droit de cité en cas d'acquisition volontaire de la citoyenneté d'un autre Etat). Les ressortissants suisses acquérant une autre nationalité à l'étranger ne doivent pas renoncer à la citoyenneté suisse (cette règle existait déjà avant 1992), à moins que l'autre Etat ne subordonne l'acquisition de sa citoyenneté à l'abandon de la nationalité antérieure. (More here: http://www.bfm.admin.ch/bfm/fr/home/...rgerrecht.html)

Double, yes, triple (or more) not necessarily.

Once you have taken this step it is very diffcult if not impossible to take back. If you are young you will have to do military service if not then you will have to pay more tax until the age of 40+ even if you live abroad.

If you decide to go Swiss and have to lose a current passport, which one would you drop? Or would you no longer consider Swiss citizenship if you weren't allowed triple nationality? (What do Spain and Canada think of triple citizenship??)