Lawmakers in Switzerland have voted not to back a plan that demands cutting the period of residency required to qualify for Swiss citizenship.
The National Council’s Political Institutions Committee won’t support the initiative called “For modern citizenship rights” (also known as the “Democracy initiative”).
The proposal, which will be put to a national referendum at a later date, aims to cut the wait time before a foreigner can apply for citizenship from the current 10 years of residency down to five.
The initiative also calls for the federal government to be responsible for naturalisation, so that the procedure is standardised across the country. (Currently, individual cantons may impose their own naturalisation criteria, which are sometimes stricter than the ones set by the federal migration authorities – read more about this below).
For Action Vierviertel, the group behind the initiative, the required residency period for foreigners to be able to apply for naturalisation is too long in Switzerland, especially compared to other states.
“There are few countries in Europe that place so many obstacles to naturalisation,” the group said.
“Swiss law needs to be revised because current rules are too strict, especially for people from third countries,” it added.
READ MORE: What’s the new plan to cut residency periods for Swiss citizenship?
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What is the required residency period in Switzerland right now?
It depends on where you come from.
Citizens of the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have shorter residency period to qualify for citizenship than other foreigners.
After five years with a B permit, they usually qualify for the permanent residency — that is, the C permit.
Then, another five years of continuous residency is required before they can apply for naturalisation.
For most third- country nationals, however, the rules are stricter. Their residency period to ‘upgrade’ a B permit to a C is twice as long — 10 continuous years.
There are, however, some exemptions from these rules.
For instance, Americans and Canadians are on par with their EU / EFTA counterparts: they can also apply for a C permit after five years of continuous residence on a B permit.
There are other exceptions as well: if you are a non-EU / EFTA spouse or the minor child of a Swiss citizen or a permit C holder, you too can apply for a C permit after five years.
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Why has the National Council Committee voted against this change?
They point to the fact that, under the proposal, integration criteria – a major requirement for Swiss citizenship – would be largely eliminated.
The committee is not, however, against easing of some naturalisation-related rules.
Specifically, it submitted a motion asking that the length of stay in a canton and municipality where the applicant lives be limited to two to three years. This is already the case in most cantons, though some impose longer residency requirements.
The Federal Council for its part, had previously spoken against the proposal to standardise the process nationwide, because such a move “would constitute an attack on the powers of the cantons and on the federalist nature of the naturalisation procedure.”
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What happens with this initiative next?
The date for the referendum has not yet been set.
The fact that it the National Council Committee as well as the Federal Council are against the initiative only means that neither will support this proposal and will urge Swiss voters to turn it down once it makes it to the ballot box.
