Hello everyone,

It’s my first time posting here and I hope this is the right place I was just wondering anyone here has had an interview at the OCP for the naturalisation in Geneva. I received my letter, inviting me to one just last week, and wanted to know what kind of questions they asked you guys (or anyone you know).

On the letter it just seemed to imply that it was all about getting to know my ‘intentions’, but I’m just a bit nervous that they might also ask about politics/ geography etc.

Any help would be very appreciated!

Welcome to the Forum.

Regular naturalization or facilitated? Have you read our many threads related to the interviews people have had?

We've got more threads on facilitated vs regular, but here are some threads that might help:

https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...ant-diary.html

https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...view-done.html

And if the document linked in this thread is still active, it could be very helpful:
https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...on-geneva.html

In Geneva the OCP interview covers two things. First you will be asked to sit with an OCP staff and he will go through your file and makes sure you have everything in order. At this point he will also explain you the procedure and answers any questions you might have. He will also ask you for your motivations and background as well as your readiness for what comes ahead. The end goal here is based on what you have communicated he will decide to officially send or endorse your file to the first (federal) approval. Its a completely informal interview and he will even advise you on what he thinks you are lacking and what you are good on. So no political or geo questions but it is just to size your file up and send it into the system. He will also go through each answer you gave to the questions in the application form and might ask you for an explanation.

Hi hirutbe, how much time did it take for the OCP to send you the invitation letter after you dropped off your application?
Thanks!

Hello,
thanks for sharing. How much has the naturalization process costed you?

In Geneva the cost was CHF 1,250 for a single person above 25 years old. The notary costs for birth certificates around CHF 800. Then there are the costs for various postage and language as well as minor things totalling around CHF 500.
Overall the "total" expenditure in Geneva for single person is around CHF 3000 max. Obviously this will be higher if you include kids and spouses and require translations of your documents and other incidentals. The formal costs to be paid upfront at the time your application is submitted and accepted are....

CHF 300.- pour les mineurs de 11 à 17 ans;
CHF 850.- pour les personnes majeures de moins de 25 ans;

CHF 1250.- pour les personnes de plus de 25 ans;

CHF 1360.- pour les couple dont l'un des membres à moins de 25 ans;
CHF 2000.- pour les couples de plus de 25 ans;
CHF 300.- par enfant compris dans les différentes procédures.

Wow! I paid 950 CHF in Vaud a year ago, but then our salaries are less than Geneva ones.

Thanks for your responses. I will need to apply in Ticino. I was a bit scared as I heard that it might cost around 3000 CHF for the overall process. Did you manage to get a Swiss passport? Any more tips you can share?

The costs for Ticino as as follows. With the notary costs you might get away with around 2000.

Per le procedure di concessione della cittadinanza sia l'autorità comunale che quella cantonale preleva una tassa che copra le spese causate. Di conseguenza, la tassa è percepita anche qualora la procedura di naturalizzazione abbia un esito negativo. A livello cantonale l'importo base previsto ammonta a CHF 640.-.

La determinazione dell'importo della tassa comunale è di competenza esclusiva dell'autorità locale, essa va fissata secondo criteri analoghi.

A queste deve essere aggiunta la tassa federale (CHF 50.-, 75.- o 100.- per persona).

All the info is here specific to Ticino

https://www4.ti.ch/di/home-sp/stato-...ura-ordinaria/

Hi, How was the interview? I thought there is no more interviews in Geneva...

AFAIK, every path to naturalization involves an interview - even for those married to a Swiss citizen.

There are no more interviews in the commune, meaning Ville de Genève. Depending on which commune of the 45 communes in Geneva, you might get an interview or you might not. However, if you are younger than 25 then you only need a "préavis positif" from the "conseil administratif". If you are older than 25, you need a positive answer from the conseil municipal, which might have a naturalization committee (commission de naturalisation). For example in le Grand-Saconnex they do interviews.
Regarding the interview that everyone passes, that is at the cantonal level at the Office Cantonal de la Population et des Migrations.
Here are the steps in a nutshell:
-You apply
-You get a bill from OCPM
-You get a lettre from an "enqueteur" with his number to call so you can fix a date for an interview
-You go to the interview, he will tell you at the end if it went well or not
-If OK, you application is sent to the commune
-After the commune sends the OK to the OCPM, the OCPM then sends your application to Bern (SEM) for the federal authorization
-You get a bill from Bern (SEM) - they will only look at your application after you pay the fee
---- Important to note, since 2018 the communal and federal steps are no longer simultaneous like it was before----
-If Bern is OK, they will send the federal authorization directly to the OCPM.
-The OCPM will check if everything is ok then send it to the Conseil d'Etat
-Then the Chancellerie will contact you for the ceremony

ARMD, Yes, I'm living in Ville de Genève for 12 years now.
So if I get you right, there will be no interview in commune, but one from OCPM?
What kind of questions will be there? and, I'm 36 yo.

Exactly. Here is the article about the abolishment of the "commission des naturalisations" in Ville de Genève. https://www.24heures.ch/news/news/ge...story/26019786
I'm under 25 and born here so my interview only lasted 30 minutes even though it's 1 hour normally. But I was asked questions on federal politics (who is the president, how many federal councils etc), name 2 monuments in Geneva, name a parc in geneva etc. The hardest questions I got were on subjects that were being voted on at the time around my interview this year.
It really depends on which enqueteur you get. But when you get the letter with the number to call in order to fix a date, feel free to ask what you need to study. I, for example, was told no need to study geography.

Thanks, a lot for your answer, I think there are two different interviews.
As I must do the test regarding geography and history on the PC and interview they said will be only to show up my motivation.

The multiple choice exam is not an interview. It is simply a test where you go, you sit with a tablet and you have 45 questions and passing grade is 40/45. Then they give you a paper stating you passed which you need to add to your application before submitting it. Therefore there is only one interview.

The process varies for children.

In Geneva, my oldest daughter was 15 when she had her interview. She received her naturalisation, passport and ID card. She has yet to be invited to a ceremony.

Youngest was 10 when we submitted her dossier. There was no interview.

For both, the commune's decision was to send a letter confirming that they looked forward to welcoming them to becoming citizens.

I also spoke to each of the people who gave us references and they were not contacted throughout the process.

Cost breakdown (OCP = 300, Bern = 50, getting a swiss birth cert = 110, passport and ID card = 78)

Because the ceremony is only for over 18s, if you are a minor you become swiss the day the Conseil d'Etat signs your "arrêté". If you are 18 or over, you become swiss the day of the ceremony, hence the naturalization certificate bearing the date of the ceremony. Correct me if I'm wrong though I'm still waiting to get invited to the ceremony. If anyone has any info, that'd be great.

Maybe your naturalization date was too late for this ceremony, and you'll be invited to the next one?

https://www.englishforum.ch/daily-li...a-tonight.html