Hello everyone,

I have been reading up a lot on naturalization (ordentliche Einbürgerung) in Switzerland, and all the experiences people on this forum have shared. I also follow the news on this subject, and I came across an interesting article recently: https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/zentr...ein-ld.1201517

Specifically, it talks about "sistieren" (suspending) of naturalization applications, and in the city of Zug, approximately 30% of naturalization applications are suspended. An earlier sentence mentions that suspension is typically for 1-2 years. So it sounds like in this particular place, 30% of applications are suspended for 1-2 years, and ultimtaly, 90% of applications are granted.

I have never heard of these "suspensions", and 30% of applications sounds like a pretty high rate.

My questions for the forum:
1. Has anyone experienced such a "suspension", and in what Gemeinde?
2. What was the reason for the "suspension", and what did you have to do to overcome it?
3. Was it ultimately successful?
4. Have you heard from anyone else who had such a suspension and what their experience was?

Would be super curious to find out if this only happens in Zug, or also in other places, and for what reasons.

Thanks for sharing your experience

“ This is also often done in Cham and the city of Zug. "Around 30 percent of applications are suspended," reports Rainer Hager, president of the Zug community. Ultimately, however, around 90 percent of the applicants would be naturalized. "A decision to reject or suspend is never made only because of an incorrectly answered question." You have to get the feeling that the applicants really live here and are interested in what is happening in their environment, emphasizes Hager. "With regard to the case in Arth, one would have to know the entire dossier in order to be able to assess the situation correctly." In 2018, 212 applications were processed in Zug.”

I’m reading that your applucation gets put on hold because you need more time to study.

Before my interview, I spent 2 weeks holiday studying flat out, budy-buddy with Duo (&#129417 and working with self-made flashcards. I also knew a few things that surprised the interviewer, e.g. there’s a museum below Bayer Chronometrie on Bahnofstrasse - not in the manual! It paid off.

I remember in my interview (that we passed) that there was field at the bottom for the panel to say we passed or they recommend to suspend the application. So maybe suspension is the face saving way of telling you to come again.

Rather than reject you, they suspend you. What’s not to like about that. Considering the time and money you have already spent.

Thanks for all your responses.


Since I had never heard about suspension before this article (and I haven't seen anyone discuss it in this forum), I would think that suspension must be rather rare. However, in the city of Zug it appears to be quite common, at 30%.


Hence my question - other than seeing the "recommend for suspension" at the bottom of the form, has anyone else heard about experiences with suspension, had their own application suspended, or heard of someone else who had their application suspended? And if yes - for what reason.



Would be great to collect some data points of actual occurences.


Thank you.

From the article using deepl.com
In short it is a soft fail. Instead of a flat out denial because not all conditions are met the the application is put on hold and the process resumed at a later stage when the applicant has acquired the needed knowledge. As others have said, this is in favor of the applicant as it saves time and money.

Assume you’re following the normal applicant diary thread? https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...ant-diary.html