I'm wondering how many people here started their application in 2018 and are still waiting? It seems that kvrbpl (see post 432 in this thread) is waiting the longest as they started in January 2018 in Zurich. Then it's me in August 2018 in Vaud. Anyone else?

Here's an article about that documentary about the naturalization process and it describes quite accurately how hard it can be:

https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/11778...rt-suisse.html

I haven't seen it but agree that all the waiting, interviews, tests, submitting and re-submitting of documents all for an uncertain outcome do indeed cause stress. I totally understand eligible people not even applying as the whole procedure is so daunting and off-putting. It seems that pretty much anywhere outside of Geneva one has to be prepared that the process can possibly take around 3 years. Especially now with additional delays due to the pandemic. We joke around about the patience test but really it's a big part of it and the article confirms it.

I would say Kt. Geneva and Kt. Zürich are by far the "quickest" , with pre-covid applications being mostly dealt with start-to-finish within 12-24 months.

It is deliberately made difficult and drawn out as a way of quality control, and also to be sure you really WANT to have it. Having said that, if you make it over the finish line you have something highly prized. It is frustrating and uncertain, but the process will have an end (either you succeed, fail, or withdraw). I have to admit the closer I get to the finish, the harder it gets to be patient.

TBH I think things will get better once the process goes digital (planned for Kt.ZH in 2022).

Just hang in there.

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Thanks litespeed, I want to like your post but I can't. What you write is all very true. Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. My patience comes and goes in waves and after reading that article it went away again. 😅 Good luck to you and with submitting your documents.

This thread has been quite helpful.
I will be eligible to apply for the Swiss passport late next year.
Can you only apply after you have completed the 10 years or can you apply ahead of time and the application can be considered once the time period is met?
Also are the documentation requirements consistent across the Kanton or does it vary by Gemeinde? I know that the citizenship has 03 levels (Gemeinde, Kanton and Federal).

After ten years, but you can get the language certificate in advance.

Documents should be standard across all Gemeindes.

Maybe within a canton, but definitely not always the same between cantons based on the differences in this thread and my experience in SG.

SEM guidance suggests you may only apply once you meet the formal requirements (10 years’ residence and C permit). You can of course submit your application before but depending on the canton it will either be sent back to you or not looked at until the official 10 year mark. There is no benefit in submitting before the time comes as you will get asked to submit fresh copies of everything.

Christmas came early for us :-) We finally received the letter confirming our citizenship!

This thread has been so helpful to us throughout the whole process, so we would like to include our timeline as well. For reference, we are in Zurich city.

Apr 2019: Submitted application
May 2019: Confirmation of receipt of our application
Nov 2019: Received invitation for interview
Dec 2019: Interview
Jan 2020: Invoice from Stadt Zürich
Jun 2020: Invoice from Kanton Zürich
Jul 2020: Invoice from Bund
Dec 2020: Confirmation of citizenship

We did all of our German language tests ahead of time and were careful to ensure that our application included everything in the checklist, so as to not delay the process. In the end, it was still a very long and slow process.

Congratulations, consider yourself lucky for going through it that quickly. Others on this forum are reporting a 2.5+ year wait

Congrats! That is the most awesome present. :-)



I managed to get the outstanding documents on Tuesday and posted same day back to the Kt, but they prob won't be actioned until next month earliest. Based on the recent timelines, I've now recalibrated my hopes to June/July next year.

Roughly same timeline as me once the paperwork was correct.

Congratulations!

To apply for the Swiss passport you must first be a Swiss citizen. And even then it takes a few one or two weeks before the system allows you to apply for one https://www.ch-edoc-passantrag.admin.ch/

( yes, I am a bit pedantic)

If you apply for citizenship before you are eligible they can simply deny it and send you a bill, as it customarily in this country, over some hundert francs.

Be aware that some documents should not be older than months. But good questions, specially in the light of:
Can Mr. litespeed maybe shed some light on this? What was missing and why was it only requested/needed so late in the process? Were some documents lost by the authorities or was it just that they wanted again new versions of the same they already had?

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I got my notification letter Monday. I scheduled my appointment on Tues, for Wed. Passport arrived Fri

My second child was born whilst I was waiting for the Gemeinde interview (which never eventuated, they made the determination based purely on the application). When I asked the local clerk if I needed to get extra documents for the newborn, they said no, everything was included. ( I didn't think this was right, but figured they knew better).


Alas, on Monday I got a letter requesting the Zivilstand extract, town residency confirmation and C-permit copy. I took a few hours off home office to go to the two separate towns to get these and posted direct to the Kt. case officer. Guessing this sets me back a month or two.


On the bright side, there will be 3 citizenships for the price of one at the end of the tunnel.

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Does anybody know if the language certificate can be older than 3 months in Kt. ZRH? The rule says that documents should not be older than 3 months, except for the civil register doc, which should be no older than 6 months.

It doesn't affect me, because I passed my exam 1.5mo before submitting the paperwork, but e.g. my wife passed her exam like 8 years ago (for C2 though), and is wondering if she should now ask Goethe to send her a fresher confirmation, or the old certificate will be enough.

BTW, for others asking themselves the same question. It's possible to get the FIDE pass on the basis of older certificate, but with a newer issuance date (still the exam dates are printed there) for 20CHF or so, and since FIDE cert/passwport is accepted, at least in Kt. ZRH, this might be a way to go, but hard to tell for sure.

In Zurich, my TELC was at least a year old. I had planned to apply earlier, but events intervened...

I'd ask Gemeindeamt Zürich by email.
Common sense says it should not be an issue since the reason why they want the criminal record, Betreibungsauszug etc. to be recent is to minimize the time window for you to do something "bad" naturalization-wise and them not to know about it (get convicted, get Sozialhilfe etc.). Nothing of that sort can happen to your language skills after you get the certificate

Personally I had no problems applying for a C permit with a B1 certificate a few years old but I understand that naturalization is another issue handled by another Amt so better ask them to be sure.

As far as I understand there is no age limit for language certificates. However, if the communes doubts that the language proficiency is still accurate they might request a certificate of a recent test. Less of an issue if you have a C2 certificate and are super fluent compared to if you have a B1 from many years ago and your actual language skills are questionable.

http://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/de/d...petenzen-d.pdf

I don't think there is a date requirement for the language certificate. I sat the B1 German exam 13 years ago and submitted this certificate with my citizenship application. I suppose if they have any doubts about your current German skills, they will test you anyway in the interview ;-)