Hey, what did I say? Congratulations!

I had my facilitated naturalisation interview a few weeks back and thought i'd share the experience for anyone going through similar. I'm non-EU, married to a Swiss citizen and living in CH for 6 years. I applied in June, 2012 and in late December received a letter from Zurich Canton (Dept. of Justice) asking for further documentation (proof of employment, Betreibungsregisterauszug for the last 5 years, proof that we've paid taxes).

In early February (before submitting the above paperwork), we received a call from the Cantonal Police asking to set up an appointment regarding my citizenship application. Husband was asked to be present.

Anyway, the guy came by a couple of weeks ago, very low key, however he did arrive early and my husband caught him nosing around the postboxes at our building's entrance! The interview was very simple; he spoke in Swiss German, I in German. He asked how we met, why I want to become Swiss, if I have a social circle here, if I've travelled the country and where, if I had any family here, and very formally, if we are indeed married and at the moment have no plans to separate. He then gave me an extremely basic quiz about Switzerland (the capital, 3 mountains, 3 political parties, 3 Zurich newspapers, date of independence day) and asked me about my language skills in the 3 national languages. He did make a note that I understood Swiss German.

So really very simple & straightforward (the cop had even told my husband on the phone that the interview would be "kurz und schmerzlos" and that generally if they have no reason for suspicion they do not come unannounced, as I'd been expecting).

Now it's a matter of waiting...probably about 3-6 more months he said.

Hi,i appleid july 2012 and on i put 3 referances on the form which are reletive of my wife,they now recieved a letter from Bern asking them about me (intigration,language,personality)they all give a very good feedback,the question is how long more will it take to decide in Bern?any help please
thanks

In my case, the letters of recommendations were sent by our friends and family in Switzerland in the end of July. The decision date, after receiving the letter of acceptance, was made at the end of November. Meaning, It took over 4 month to make the decision after the recommenders sent it. However, in my case it took time to deliver that decision to me--- more than 3 month since I think there was a mistake or a problem in communicating.
Good luck!

Hi, I applied in Bern in March 2012, had my interview at the beginning of Oct. and got approval by mid-Dec.

I suspect the delay may be more a norm than a mistake or problem in communicating (depending on how you define that), because I also received notification more than two months after the decision was certified, and I've heard of others who noticed a delay of some months as well.

That's interesting! Mine did come unannounced, so it makes me wonder if they were suspicious!! Which is strange, as I've been married 20 years to a Swiss and here for 5+ years. I'm in Kanton Bern though, so maybe it's different here.

It was a bit embarrassing though, since I had been jogging that morning, then cleaning, and was completely un-showered!!

Hummm! you made me wonder now? however, I did not raise the issue 2 days ago with the councilor once I had my picture taken and thump print for the passport... I was extremely happy to complete the documents.

take care!

Yesterday we received notice from the Embassy that my wife had been granted Swiss citizenship. She had her interview on April 18th 2012, so for her it took a little less than a year. She is very happy!

I myself have been Swiss for four years, but we have been married for sixteen years; again, that's what matters when they assess the required "must have been married to a Swiss national for at least six years".

Best regards to everyone.

Congratulations to your wife!

Interesting, does that mean if you and your spouse are married more than 6 years, if one becomes eligible, then basically you both are eligible? It seems like you're saying that it didn't matter that you had Swiss citizenship for only 4 years. Your wife still qualified under the 6 years of marriage rule, despite that?

Dan

Congratulations!!

Yes, that's right, with one minor correction: I was eligible before my wife, because of my ancestors. Once I became Swiss (in 2009), she became eligible right away, because we had been married for more than six years already.

This is true in my case also! they don't count 6 years from your spouse taking the nationality, rather, they see the number of years of marriage it self whether 6 years or not.. I have taken the nationality after 5 years from my wife receiving her. However, I could have applied after she got it directly since I had in 2008 the 6 year rule of being married.

I'm having second thoughts about this naturalization thing. I got mine about 2 years ago. I'm now just seeing that it complicates thinks very much when one gets to writing a last will. The main reason being that only the Swiss will is recognized and one has to then write 2 wills and also ensure that the will of your home country will does not contradict the the Swiss will. Lawyers are expensive and the only way to do it seems through a lawyer.

You may have a point. Wills are complicated enough with just ONE citizenship... Still worth it, in my view.

Die with no assets, no need for a will (and the problems that go with inheritance).

Tom

Congrats! My wife submitted her application last November. (We'll be happy if we hear anything about it before 2014.)

That might very well end up being the case; things went a little faster for my wife than they did for me. In any case, good luck!

From the date of the final confirmation, how long does it take to get the ID and the passport (in ZH)?
Thanks

Not very long