Many applicants start an ordinary procedure when they could have used the facilitated route — or the other way round. Here is how to tell the two apart clearly.
Access conditions
Ordinary naturalisation is open to anyone who has lived in Switzerland for ten years and holds a C permanent residence permit.
Facilitated naturalisation is mainly open to spouses of Swiss nationals, children of a Swiss father or mother, and third-generation foreign nationals born in Switzerland. There is also a facilitated procedure for stateless children, as well as a reinstatement procedure.
Successful integration in both cases
The successful integration criteria must be met for both ordinary and facilitated naturalisation applications.
- Respect for public safety and public order
- Respect for the values of the Swiss Constitution
- Ability to communicate in daily life in a national language, orally and in writing
- Participation in economic life or completion of education
- Encouraging and supporting the integration of a spouse, registered partner or minor children under parental authority
Who decides: the canton or Bern?
The ordinary procedure falls within cantonal competence, while the facilitated procedure is federal. An ordinary naturalisation application must therefore be submitted to the commune or canton of residence, whereas a facilitated naturalisation application is sent directly to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in Bern.
The fees charged by the Confederation and by the canton are not the same in each procedure: the budget to plan for therefore depends directly on which route applies to you.
Unsure which of the two routes applies?
A 15-minute call is often enough to identify the right procedure for your family situation and your history in Switzerland.
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