You may be onto something here... I checked and I can provide these data points: I got my naturalization on April 2009, 16 months after applying for it; my wife got it on April 2013, 12 months after applying for it.

I have always seen that this is one of the best examples of "no news is good news". Just be patient and wait. You may be getting the news you expect, really soon now!

Good luck,
Gonzalo

Thank you. I appreciate the response and the encouragement. I will keep you posted as to the progress of my application. I would also love to hear from others who are waiting for news so we can keep each other company.

I am applying from the USA, facilitated naturalization under Art 58a (my mother is Swiss).

My interview at the Consulate was in April 2016, but there were some delays with my application and it wasn't sent to Switzerland until July 2016.

The consulate advised me to contact my references in Switzerland so that they can respond quickly if contacted by Bern. So far my references have not been contacted. But it's still early in the process, from what I understand.

Good luck with your application, I'm sure you'll be approved soon. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything new with my application.

Thanks cgr,

It is early days for you, but you are also well on your way. It took them 11 months to contact my references, but from what I read from other people's timeline, for them it was more like 4 to 6 months. It may depend on the place from which someone is applying, or it may be related to the higher than usual volume of applications that others on the forum have described.

Thanks for the good wishes, and best of luck with your application. I will keep you posted and I hope you will do the same.

[QUOTE=gonzus;2704885]You may be onto something here... I checked and I can provide these data points: I got my naturalization on April 2009, 16 months after applying for it; my wife got it on April 2013, 12 months after applying for it.

This is the trend I've noticed too. April and December seem to be common months for receiving the initial reply letting the person know their process is complete. So close to the holidays I don't know if it's reasonable to expect that to happen for me in December, but April is not so far off anyway. I've waited decades to become Swiss, and four more months will only make it sweeter.

I have felt my grandmother with me this whole process. She was never able to go back to Switzerland after marrying my grandfather in 1939 because at the time she was forced to give up her Swiss citizenship and then subsequently lost her Palestinian citizenship as a result of the occupation of Palestine in 1948.

She then went through several other upheavals in the Arab region, and was able to only get it back in the 1980s, when she then moved to the US to be with my uncle and then traveled very little after that. Becoming Swiss and being able to freely visit and feel at home will bring my grandmother's story full circle I feel, and I am confident that this would make her happy.

Hello All,

I am wondering whether anyone knows whether the vote on passport rules for 3rd gen foreigners that will take place next month will affect those of us who have applied under article under article 58s (ie. the grandchildren of Swiss nationals who left from Switzerland sometime in the past).

If anyone has information on this, I would really appreciate hearing it.

Thanks!

Doesn't the law change anyway on 1 January 2018? Start your application soon because it may take time to get papers in order, especially the police certificate, depending on country of residence.

Thanks Caryl,

I applied 19 months ago. I am just wondering if the potential change in policies might affect the outcome of my application.

I haven't heard anything specific about this new law affecting existing applications, but from what I understand, it shouldn't. Generally, a new citizenship law (like the one going into effect Jan 1, 2018 that would change Article 58a) only applies to applications made after the law is in force.

In case you haven't seen this yet, here is a link to an article in English about the proposal being voted on.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vote-feb...swiss/42777840

Thanks cgr,

Yes, it seems that it would not.

I am wondering how the new law that come into effect January 1, 2018 would affect article 58a. From what I'm reading, it seems to impact foreigners residing in Switzerland, rather than those seeking renaturalization. Or am I missing something? If you have any links on that law that I can read, I would appreciate it. What I found online is this:

http://news.pwc.ch/wp-content/upload...t_EN_web-1.pdf

I’m sure others on this forum are much more knowledgeable on this subject than I am. But it appears the new law also makes some changes to the facilitated naturalization requirements (for example, defining "close ties" in more detail and making the language requirement more strict). It is my understanding that currently someone can apply for facilitated naturalization if his/her grandmother is Swiss, even if the applicant's parents are not (Art 58a). The new Citizenship Act that will be in force 1 Jan 2018 removes that option. With the new law you can only apply if your mother or father obtained the Swiss citizenship and it cannot “skip” a generation.

You can read the new law in French here: https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/official.../2016/2561.pdf

The text is available in German, French or Italian here: https://www.admin.ch/opc/it/classifi...990/index.html

You will want to read Article 51 (specifically paragraph 1), which replaces the previous Art. 58a

Common questions about the new Act can be found here: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home...ues_recht.html

It makes it very clear that the new law will only apply to applications submitted after the law is in force. If you have already applied, the previous law with Art. 58a will still apply to you. It also specifically answers the question if you can apply via facilitated naturalization if your grandmother is Swiss (it says you cannot).

This is helpful. One of my many children (the only one not already Swiss, married to a French citizen and speaking French at home in California b/c his English leaves a lot to be desired) is just applying for facilitated naturalisation. I hadn't realised it was relevant that I am Swiss since her Swissness goes back centuries. Her application has been held up for FBI clearance Which is crazy since she has Series 7 (SEC, also involving fingerprinting) qualification.

With luck (i.e. if the FBI comes through before December) she'll come under the old law.

Has she sent the application in and is just waiting on the FBI to do their thing or is she having to wait for them before she can apply? If the former, she'll come in under the old law anyway as she's already applied, even if there is a delay of some kind.

SF Consulate told her not to submit the application without FBI clearance. Delay of several months. That means all her family birth & marriage certificates from England, France, Florida will have to be ordered all over again. Probably her only issue is learning some more Swiss history & geography as she went to Ecolint in GVA when we lived there and visits often enough.

Consul asked for copies of Familienschein for pre-clearance. Gave them copies from 1876 to 2013, so presumably they know who we all are. Evidently we are all cross-indexed on their computer b/c when another daughter went in to register her newborn the clerk commented on "yet another member of your family". Well, the Swiss-resident members of our family aren't having children of their own so maybe they are counting on us. 8 grandchildren so far. (As I noted in another category, I met with a Swiss banker today on another subject and ... was asked to email in my cv.)

Procedure seems to have been quicker and more efficient a few years ago when her brother applied at same consulate. She's applying now for exact reason you mention; also employment prospects in her field are good. She works for a German bank.

Darn, just have to hope the FBI get their fingers out then. Though what with Trump causing chaos all over the place I wouldn't hold my breath. Still sounds like she has a good chance even if she has to apply under the new law.

I had my interview last month, about 6 months after applying.

During those 6 months I barely thought about it, since the interview I've got impatient and want to know when/if I'll be Swiss ... everybody's experiences are so different that it is possible to have any idea, it's driving me crazy

My memory getting fuzzy but I think it was about a month later that I got another form to sign yet again that we were still married, not planning to separate, etc. etc. Then another few months for the approval letter (that's the one that costs 750-ish Francs to pick up from the post office) and then another month after that it was final. Oh, and a few more weeks to get the passport appointment and a copy of the family book and stuff. You're nearly there!

I know this would be far to helpful for Swiss bureaucrats to consider, but wouldn't it be great if they had an online application tracking system, so you could see where you were up to? It would stop me checking the postbox everyday like a mad woman.

I'm going travelling in two months, I don't think it's going to be sorted before then ..... Incidentally, apparently normal naturalisation (not even facilitated) in the UK, only takes around four months, so much for Swiss efficiency hey?

But that is part of the test Twenty plus years ago I went to the town hall meeting as there was a very big issue about the one way street changes. The meeting dragged on as tempers were high and may votes were taken until eventually at about 1:30 am it came to voting on citizenship applications. The five or six names where called and it was discovered they had all gone home!!!

But why would the applicants be there? They couldn't vote yet.