Thank you! Glad it was friendly. I am so excited about having the passport in my hands. It feels as though I have been part Swiss all my life, but now I'll have incontestable proof!

I wanted to let you know all know that I am now the proud owner of a Swiss passport - albeit a temporary one.

The embassy issued one for me to facilitate a trip to Switzerland that I need to make before the permanent passport could be issued.

I wanted to let you all know that in cases of emergency, it's possible to have a temporary passport issued before your permanent one comes through. You can apply for it here:
https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/u...ovisional.html

Congratulations, Swissroots! Must be a wonderful feeling!

Thank you, it does. I just arrived in Switzerland on a visit today and it felt amazing to come in as a bona fide Swiss!

Hello I am in the process of naturalization facilitated.i seen my document in April2017 at the beginning of August I had the visit of 2 policemen to my house and at the end of August I received a document asking me for the declaration of tax and studies do some one know to what point I am.thank you i am in baton zurich

My husband sent his off on 22nd May. We had to hand in tax confirmation, CV & yesterday the police came round, but I was on my way out & he wasn’t there. So, they booked an appointment with him for tomorrow evening 😂

We’re so glad cos our flat was a mess 🙈 hoping everything goes well tomorrow & fingers crossed 😄

good luck for your husband today

My process, from application to final approval, took 14 months. But really it seems to be completely different for everybody. I still haven't managed to get the paperwork together to get my passport, where as some people received it automatically (the paperwork) after a couple of days....... it's a nightmare!

@amor thanks, he’s currently hanging up photos at home �� I’m kinda nervous & im not even there.

thank you. Apparently it went really well. According to the police officers they gave him the "long" interview, and they also said that they don't think there should be any issues, cos he's very well intergrated.

Yesterday I received my permanent passport and ID card. I'm still a little bit in shock that this process is finally over. I was almost certain all would be fine, but it was still a little stressful to wait. I feel happy and relieved!

I also hope my sister will be receiving her confirmation of naturalization soon as she's understandably worried that it's taking so much longer than my process, even though we applied together. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, but I can imagine how she must feel in the interim.

This forum has been so helpful for me in this process and I'm grateful to all of you for your help.

Con-grat-YOU-la-tions, Swissroots!
What an amazing moment, as it dawns on you that these documents are the Real Thing! I can imagine you're walking around with a big grin on your face. Happy, happy for you!
And let's hope it all works out for your sister, too, and soon.

Thank you, thank you! How sweet of you to respond in such an enthusiastic way and to share in my happiness. This is a great community and I have found haven here so often in my moments of doubt and need for information, and now I find allies also in my moment of celebration.

I kept track of when things happened during my FN process, to give future applicants a rough idea of what to expect...... very rough, as I found out, everyone has quite different experiences. As it is now totally complete, here it is. (d=days, w=weeks, m=months).

-24d – Emailed for application form, einbuergerung@sem.admin.ch

0d – Sent in application, signed for. Needed Wohnsitzzeugnisse, Familienausweis.

10d – Letter to confirm documents received

5m – Police call to arrange interview.

5m,3w – Police interview. (Basic questions on family, nothing on Switzerland).

9m – Final paperwork sent to sign. Form stating we are still together and one that I have no criminal convictions (sent only a few days after I set off travelling despite telling them of dates I was away).

11m – Final paperwork returned (2 month delay due travelling).

11m,1w – Provisional approval and bill of 765-

I was not asked for any tax info. References were not contacted.

13m,3w – Final confirmation letter (this took way longer than I expected and really stressed me out).

14m – Received Heimatschein (this did not happen automatically, I had to request it from my Heimatort, hence a slight delay, then I had to take this to my Gemeindehaus).

14m,1w – Passport appointment

14m,2w – Passport arrived.

I applied for facilitated naturalization at the Atlanta consulate back in March. (My original post is on page 26 of this thread).

It’s been approximately 6 months since my application, and I got home from work today, checked my mail, and there was a US Postal Service Certified Mail delivery notice stating I have a large envelope from the consulate sent Certified Mail that needs to be picked up in person at the Post Office.

I’m gonna go get it in the morning, but does anyone have any idea what this could be? I’m a little concerned that it’s only been 6 months and I’m receiving something in such an official manner (for non-Americans, Certified Mail is generally pretty rare, even for official business, and is a mailing method that guarantees the sending, receipt, and sender of the documents inside the envelope/package as genuine).

No one may comment before I obtain the package in the morning, but just figured I’d ask because I find this really weird... And a bit nerve wracking, in case it’s like a denial or something like that.

I’ll comment back once I find out what it is.

I will do a timeline for my facilitated naturalization from outside Switzerland. I applied based on my Swiss grandmother. (d=days, w=weeks, m=months)

- 90 days - received application forms and began working to complete all requirements and prepare all documents. For me this was a little complicated because my grandmother passed away in Canada in 1995, and I needed a death certificate that was less than 6 months old. I also needed a marriage certificate for my parents that was less than 6 months old and they got married in New Jersey in 1963. This, in addition to all the the other details took time.

0 d - Submitted full application and was interviewed at the embassy

10 m, 2w - References contacted

11 m - References sent their letters of endorsement

22 m, 2 w - Asked to sign a letter at the embassy stating that I had not broken the law since applying

26 m, 2 w - Final confirmation letter arrived

26 m, 2 w - Registered at the embassy as a Swiss citizen; temporary passport issued for urgent travel to Switzerland

27 m - Passport and ID received

As an extension of the quoted post and also the one above, I went to the post office this morning to pick up my large envelope from the consulate.

I open it, and it's my approval of facilitated naturalization. I'M A CITIZEN!!!!

I have to say my process was for some reason a lot more streamlined than most recounts I read. Between when I submitted my app 7 months ago and today when I received my official confirmation, the only indication I had of the gears in Bern turning were that my references abroad were contacted and the references let me know that.

Also, a lot of people I've read have had to sign additional forms and pay additional money. I didn't have to do that either... The consulate just sent me the letter confirming the decision from Bern, the local consular registration forms (current address, etc.), and the voting rights registration form. Once the consulate gets my local registration into their system (1-2 weeks), I can also apply for a passport.

Also, for what it's worth, I was applying under Article 31b of the BüG (child of former Swiss mother who lost her citizenship because she married my dad, a foreign national).

My application package also looked like this, for anyone who's wondering how timelines for similar apps might compare:

• 24 year old single male
• Doctoral student in statistics (Potentially skilled worker? Don't know if that could have helped)
• US citizen
• 4 trips to CH, 3 w/i last 10 years (one 4 week trip, a one week trip, and a weekend trip all between 2009 and 2015 were the most recent)
• 2 non-relatives listed living in Switzerland
• 5 relatives living in Switzerland (mom's uncle and his 4 adult children)
• Thorough answers to questions on the "Fragebogen zur Verbundenheit"
• 2 letters from Swiss abroad (mom's sister and her son/my cousin)
• Excellent German skills (I spent a year in Germany and have been learning for 10 years)
• Great interview experience conducted in German with mostly sound knowledge of Swiss culture, history, geography, politics, etc.
• No criminal record
• Brief letter in English from Swiss organization stating I'm a paid member in good standing
• Mother (born and raised in the US) is a former American/Swiss dual national who lost citizenship due to marrying my American father
• My father also has close ties to Switzerland. He studied at the Uni Bern and the 2 non-relatives listed on my app are his friends (who were originally married but now divorced, so I could used them as two separate references instead of one unit reference)

Congrats! Glad it finally came through.

Thanks. Me too ... what a faff! But hopefully I'll have minimal dealings with Swiss bureaucracy from now on

I'm from the USA and submitted my application for facilitated naturalization in July 2016. I hadn't heard anything from my references in Switzerland or the consulate until this week.
The consulate sent me a letter from Bern saying I needed to attest that I haven't committed any crimes, etc. I believe many people here have received a similar letter as part of their naturalization process.
However, they are also asking for a new FBI background check as well. I submitted one with my original application. According to the FBI website, it will be about 3-4 months to process a new check.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thank you for any thoughts or advice.