I got a notice within two days that I had to turn in my B permit so I did and then made an appointment for the passport. The passport arrived two days after going for the appointment.

(Edit: That was in Aargau).

Dan

I need to make some travel arrangements, and have to know in advance on which passport I'll travel. Can it take longer than 6 weeks? What's the usual time?

How long did you have to wait until the appointment?

I received a letter saying the decision was final but there was a 1-2 month period before the "final" confirmation. The first letter stated that it would be about a month. I think possible objections could be raised? Anyway, then the 2nd letter arrived saying it was final final. Then two days later I got a letter saying I had to surrender my work permit within a week. So I made an appointment to apply for the passport, which arrived two days after that appointment.

Dan

Unless you are required to surrender it for the red one, just plan to travel on your current passport for the time being. Simples.

Thanks for the detailed answer. Did you get the appointment within a few days from asking?

I believe I did it online. It was definitely less than a week. It was simple and you were given a choice of days/times. I remember well. I went on a Wednesday and I also had a heart attack when the passport and id card, arrived by mail, on Friday!

Dan

But I'll say it again, this was Aargau. Zurich may take longer. I remember my wife making some smart a** comment about Aargau because it was so fast. She is from Zurich and of course they like to tease on Aargau. But maybe Aargau is just much more efficient and well run?

Dan

The law has changed. Apparently, facilitated naturalisation is only available to those who marry a Swiss citizen who is a Swiss citizen at the time of the marriage. Can't have faclitated naturalisation of you marry someone that becomes a naturalised Swiss citizen after the marriage.

http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/467236...ja-suisse.html

Um, hasn't that always been the case?

Well, admittedly that piece of news is very clear. However, the reality for me is that I have only been Swiss for four years and my wife (whom I married in 1996) just got her citizenship (a month ago) through facilitated naturalization. There you have it.

Well, the article states that is the case if the spouse was naturalized normally, which is not your case.

"s'il le devient après le mariage, par le biais d'une naturalisation ordinaire, le conjoint doit suivre le même chemin pour obtenir le droit au passeport rouge à croix blanche."

Tom

You are right, I didn't notice that. So it would seem the way the first spouse gets his/her citizenship (facilitated in my case) makes a lot of difference for the second spouse (again, facilitated in my wife's case).

Also depends how it is done:

	Quote:
	Lorsque les conjoints forment simultanément une demande d’autorisation et que l’un remplit les condi-tions prévues aux al. 1 ou 2, un séjour de cinq ans, dont l’année qui précède la requête, suffit à l’autre s’il vit en communauté conjugale avec son conjoint depuis trois ans.

If both ask for "regular" naturalisation at the same time, one spouse needs to justify of 12 years in CH while the second one only needs 5 years.

Congrats to the misses!

BTW, my sons just visited Switzerland for the 1st time since I moved here, and we arranged for the youngest to get his red pass during their stay. (Seems just a little unfair that he got it so easy by being under 18 at the time, and the other would have to do the 12-year thing before he could qualify.)

Thanks Texaner. BTW, your wife is going through the motions as we speak, right? How long ago was her interview?

Still no interview — only a written acknowledgment from Bern so far.

Received letter on Friday from the Toronto Consulate that my application was accepted with one naturalization document from the federal authorities, and a second from the canton and commune. Just in time too, as the Toronto Consulate is closing.

A useful thing for others to note is that this was a gap of 4 months from when I signed the declaration about respecting all laws. Thus, it can take longer than the 4 - 8 weeks common with other writers to this thread.

Overall, it was 25 months from the date I sent in my application.

I have been benefited much from the information and experiences posted here. Thank you all for your time and posts.

Hi ,

I have lived in Vaud for twenty years and am applying for Swiss citizenship but my family is leaving shortly and I will no longer be a resident. I have put in my application about a month ago and I have another year of living in Vaud. I'd appreciate any advice on whether my application will still be valid if I'm no longer a resident for the remaining portion of the process?

Cheers

Ilze

For those who are interested, Mrs Texaner had her (surprise!) interview today.

Two very friendly and polite officers from the Nidwaldner Kantonal Polizei — one male, one female — showed up in plain clothes and chatted with her for about 20 minutes. They started out in dialect, but kindly switched to German.

She wasn't grilled about her knowledge of anything like Swiss history, politics, or geography. Instead they just asked about what she likes about CH, whether she plans to work here, whether we plan to stay indefinitely, where she took German classes, what Swiss friends do we have, etc. — so mainly innocuous-sounding questions about our life and plans.

In the end, she felt like it went well. She was able to understand and communicate with them the whole time in German, and she was able to answer all their questions, and they even complemented her on her language skills. It was laundry day, so the apartment wasn't exactly perfect for visitors, but they were understanding. She actually took comfort in the fact that some of my Swiss newspapers and magazines were lying around, lending an 'integrated' look to the place.

Sounds like they'll contact a Swiss friend of ours by phone for a few more questions, and then report back to Bern.

__________________
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