What documents will I need to supply to be added to the Zivilstandsregister?

reddog · #1 11.04.2021, 11:34

I need to be added to the Zivilstandsregister (Zurich City) for Citizenship.

I contacted the Zivilstandsregister and they said "fill in a form and we will then write back asking for further documents from your home country"

I filled in the form and sent it off, unfortunately it is taking a while for them to reply.

Can I ask what documents they will ask for, so that I can prepare in advance?

I am not married and have no children.

JulietteK · #2 11.04.2021, 11:53

Birth certificate (less than 6 months old)

In your case bachelorhood certificate (less than 6 months old)

If not in German/French/Italian/English then translated by an appropriate translator (with a copy of their ID)

Depending on the combination of your country of birth / citizenship you may or may not need to get these document apostilled.

If your county of birth issues an international format birth certificate no need for apostille.

If your country of citizenship has signed the European Convention on the Abolition of Legalisation of Documents executed by Diplomatic Agents or Consular Officers then any documents issued by your embassy or consulate in Switzerland suffice as is and need not an apostille.

reddog · #3 11.04.2021, 15:01

thanks, I am British. I don't think there is a "bachelorhood certificate" in Britain.

Also this the British Embassy has a document you can print out that there is no central civil status registry in Britain.

However if you are getting married there is: Certificate of No Impediment

I think I will need to call the Embassy unless anyone has an input?

NichtsBesonders · #4 11.04.2021, 21:43

If it is not possible to provide a document from your home country that proves your bachelorhood then they'll ask you to submit a notarized sworn statement that you have never been married.
For some reason they first wanted me to get such a statement notarized at my country's Swiss consulate but in the end they accepted one notarized at a random notary public in Zurich when I suggested to them that the consul of my home country had exactly the same amount of knowledge that I was not lying as a Swiss notary public (i.e. zero).

Chuff · #5 11.04.2021, 21:48

	Quote:	NichtsBesonders
	If it is not possible to provide a document from your home country that proves your bachelorhood then they'll ask you to submit a notarized sworn statement that you have never been married.

I sent my application in Q3 last year and definitely did not have to provide this Bachelorhood certificate... I have never even heard of such a thing.

JulietteK · #6 11.04.2021, 23:14

	Quote:	Chuff
	I sent my application in Q3 last year and definitely did not have to provide this Bachelorhood certificate... I have never even heard of such a thing.

Maybe because you are married (or divorced) and your civil status is already in the Zivilstandsregister.

This thread is not about a naturalization application but registering at the Zivilstandsregister prior to submitting it. In OP's case this is as an unmarried person (hence the bachelorhood certificate) not born in Switzerland meaning they would not show up in the federal Zivilstandsregister beforehand.

Chuff · #7 12.04.2021, 06:48

	Quote:	JulietteK
	Maybe because you are married (or divorced) and your civil status is already in the Zivilstandsregister..

Obviously I am not married or I would not have made a comment about having to confirm my bachelorhood. And yes I know what the thread is about, as I wrote I did the same application and preparation last year.

JulietteK · #8 12.04.2021, 06:56

	Quote:	Chuff
	Obviously I am not married or I would not have made a comment about having to confirm my bachelorhood. And yes I know what the thread is about, as I wrote I did the same application and preparation last year.

Then as indicated in a previous post your country does not issue bachelorhood certificates and you had to sign a document stating your civil status (as an exception according to the ordinance on civil status)

Chuff · #9 12.04.2021, 06:59

	Quote:	JulietteK
	Then as indicated in a previous post your country does not issue bachelorhood certificates and you had to sign a document stating your civil status (as an exception according to the ordinance on civil status)

Nothing I submitted was 'notarized', I just ticked the "single and unmarried" boxes. And seriously, how would my 'former country' know if I was single or unmarried, when I haven't lived there in so long and I am not part of the system? It make no logical sense.

The only thing I got from my country was a fresh birth certificate.

JulietteK · #10 12.04.2021, 07:48

	Quote:	Chuff
	Nothing I submitted was 'notarized', I just ticked the "single and unmarried" boxes. And seriously, how would my 'former country' know if I was single or unmarried, when I haven't lived there in so long and I am not part of the system? It make no logical sense.

Because you never requested to get married. If you married prior to naturalizing as a Swiss your country would have known about this change in civil status as you would have had to submit civil status documents issued by them and not Switzerland.

	Quote:
	Ist es einer ausländischen Person im Zusammenhang mit der Aufnahme in das Personenstandsregister unmöglich oder unzumutbar, Angaben über ihren Personenstand mit Urkunden zu belegen, so wird geprüft, ob eine Erklärung nach Artikel 41 Absatz 1 ZGB entgegengenommen werden kann. If it is impossible or unreasonable for a foreign person to be able to substantiate information about his or her civil status with documents in connection with the entry in the civil status register, it will be checked whether a declaration can be accepted in accordance with Article 41 paragraph 1 of the Civil Code.

Art. 15a Abs. 3 ZStV

	Quote:
	1 Wenn Angaben über den Personenstand durch Urkunden zu belegen sind, kann die kantonale Aufsichtsbehörde den Nachweis durch Abgabe einer Erklärung vor der Zivilstandsbeamtin oder dem Zivilstandsbeamten bewilligen, sofern es sich nach hinreichenden Bemühungen als unmöglich oder unzumutbar erweist, die Urkunden zu beschaffen, und die Angaben nicht streitig sind. 2 Die Zivilstandsbeamtin oder der Zivilstandsbeamte ermahnt die erklärende Person zur Wahrheit und weist sie auf die Straffolgen einer falschen Erklärung hin. 1 If information about the civil status is to be substantiated by documents, the cantonal supervisory authority can authorize the proof by submitting a declaration to the civil registry officer if, after sufficient efforts, it turns out to be impossible or unreasonable to obtain the documents and the information are not in dispute. 2 The civil registry officer warns the declaring person to tell the truth and informs them of the consequences of a false declaration.

Art. 41 Schweizerisches Zivilgesetzbuch

You didn't 'just tick' anything. You made a declaration about your civil status as your country doesn't issue bachelorhood certificates which would be criminally prosecuted if found out to be untrue.

Chuff · #11 12.04.2021, 08:05

	Quote:	JulietteK
	Because you never requested to get married. If you married prior to naturalizing as a Swiss your country would have known about this change in civil status as you would have had to submit civil status documents issued by them and not Switzerland. Art. 15a Abs. 3 ZStV Art. 41 Schweizerisches Zivilgesetzbuch You didn't 'just tick' anything. You made a declaration about your civil status as your country doesn't issue bachelorhood certificates which would be criminally prosecuted if found out to be untrue.

You said "notarized", which means to "have (the signature on a document) attested to by a notary.". That is not the same as just signing a document declaring your civil status and you are perhaps over complicating your explanation of what is required as part of the application process.

People sign documents and make self-declarations all the time, it is perfectly normal with almost any legally binding document that you sign.

JulietteK · #12 12.04.2021, 08:09

	Quote:	Chuff
	You said "notarized", which means to "have (the signature on a document) attested to by a notary.". That is not the same as just signing a document declaring your civil status and you are perhaps over complicating your explanation of what is required as part of the application process. People sign documents and make self-declarations all the time, it is perfectly normal with almost any legally binding document that you sign.

If you read above I never said 'notarized'.

Another user explained how they proposed the alternative of having the document notarized rather than issued by their home country's embassy/consulate, which was what was initially requested by the civil status office.

Chuff · #13 12.04.2021, 08:31

	Quote:	JulietteK
	If you read above I never said 'notarized'. Another user explained how they proposed the alternative of having the document notarized rather than issued by their home country's embassy/consulate, which was what was initially requested by the civil status office.

Apologies I got your usernames mixed up for the notarized part, but the point is that the Bachelorhood certificate was not a specific document on the list of requirements and I simply indicated my marital status and signed the document, like with any other such document of its type. Also, my 'previous country' would not be informed of any changes to my marital status anyway prior to my application for CH nationality as I have no correspondence with them whatsoever so there is no reason for them to know. The only way they would know is if I had got married there before coming to CH... which I didn't.

Anyway, lets end it there to avoid going around in circles.

st2lemans · #14 12.04.2021, 08:33

	Quote:	JulietteK
	If you married prior to naturalizing as a Swiss your country would have known about this change in civil status.

No, why would they?

Tom

greenmount · #15 12.04.2021, 08:35

	Quote:	Chuff
	Apologies I got your usernames mixed up for the notarized part, but the point is that the Bachelorhood certificate was not a specific document on the list of requirements and I simply indicated my marital status and signed the document, like with any other such document of its type. Anyway, lets end it there to avoid going around in circles.

I have never heard of Bachelorhood certificate...

Isn't it assumed that those who are not married i.e. can't provide a marriage certificate are "bachelors"? Does CH issue such things?

Where this idea comes from?

JulietteK · #16 12.04.2021, 08:45

	Quote:	Chuff
	Apologies I got your usernames mixed up for the notarized part, but the point is that the Bachelorhood certificate was not a specific document on the list of requirements and I simply indicated my marital status and signed the document, like with any other such document of its type. Also, my 'previous country' would not be informed of any changes to my marital status anyway prior to my application for CH nationality as I have no correspondence with them whatsoever so there is no reason for them to know. The only way they would know is if I had got married there before coming to CH... which I didn't. Anyway, lets end it there to avoid going around in circles.

The standard to prove one's civil status is unmarried is through a bachelor's certificate. It wasn't a requirement for you because you are a (I presume) British national and your country doesn't issue bachelorhood certificates hence your written declaration as an alternative per the ordinance on civil status quoted above.

	Quote:	st2lemans
	No, why would they? Tom

Because to marry in the first place you need to provide confirmation you are unmarried. If not already on the Swiss civil status register, the home country would need to be informed of this change ín civil status to 'married' to be in a position to issue marriage certificates.

	Quote:	greenmount
	I have never heard of Bachelorhood certificate... Isn't it assumed that those who are not married i.e. can't provide a marriage certificate are "bachelors"? Does CH issue such things? Where this idea comes from?

No this cannot be assumed for foreigners requesting entry into the Swiss civil status register. For Swiss citizens it is simply an extract of their entry in the central civil register.

st2lemans · #17 12.04.2021, 08:48

	Quote:	JulietteK
	Because to marry in the first place you need to provide confirmation you are unmarried. If not already on the Swiss civil status register, the home country would need to be informed of this change ín civil status to 'married' to be in a position to issue marriage certificates.

Some countries, such as the US, have no registry of civil status.

Tom

cdcdoc · #18 12.04.2021, 08:52

I have just done this also for citizenship and as you are not married the only thing that you need is a birth certificate. In Romania we have now what is called Multilingual Extract of your birth certificate. Google says UK has one...You do not have to notarize it as it is accepted as an official copy but not more than 6 months old. A friend of mind from Hungary got his from his embassy in Bern. As UK is not EU it might not be accepted anymore.

	Quote:	reddog
	I need to be added to the Zivilstandsregister (Zurich City) for Citizenship. I contacted the Zivilstandsregister and they said "fill in a form and we will then write back asking for further documents from your home country" I filled in the form and sent it off, unfortunately it is taking a while for them to reply. Can I ask what documents they will ask for, so that I can prepare in advance? I am not married and have no children.

JulietteK · #19 12.04.2021, 08:54

	Quote:	st2lemans
	Some countries, such as the US, have no registry of civil status. Tom

Fine, but they would have been informed of the marriage via:

	Quote:
	Affidavit of Eligibility to Marry: Some countries require an affidavit by the parties as proof of legal capacity to enter into a marriage contract. No such government-issued document exists in the United States. You may execute such an affidavit at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The U.S. embassy or consulate cannot attest to your marital status. However, most countries will accept a statement from you regarding your ability to marry if your signature on the affidavit has been notarized by a U.S. consular officer.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...ge-abroad.html

st2lemans · #20 12.04.2021, 09:08

	Quote:	JulietteK
	Fine, but they would have been informed of the marriage

The US wouldn't be.

Tom