Swiss passports and identity cards never indicate where a person was born, but the commune and canton their ancestors came from. But what happens if you have no Swiss roots?
In Switzerland, passports, identity cards, as well as other official documents, don’t mention a place of birth but only the place of origin — Heimatort in German, lieu d’origine in French, and luogo di attinenza in Italian.
Traditionally, it has been transmitted from father to children and from husband to wife, though from 2011 women have been able to keep their own (that is, their father’s) place of origin on official documents rather than automatically take on their husband’s — huge progress by Swiss standards.
This unusual (in today’s world) system dates back to the 17th century, when villages had an obligation to keep a register of their citizens, recording all births, marriages, deaths, and departures — a system that had paved the way to the civil registry offices of today.
At that time, the name of the village was entered as the place of origin of all newborns and was passed on to all descendants, tying in elements of origin, identity, language, and culture — all of which remain important to Swiss people to this day.
The idea of replacing the place of origin designation with the place of birth was debated in the parliament in 2001.
That change never took place, however, because, as one MP pointed out at the time, people can be born somewhere randomly or accidentally, while a system based on ancestry is a true indicator of a person’s origin.
As a result of this antiquated system, there are millions of people in Switzerland who have never even set foot in their official place of origin.
Most Swiss were born and have resided in places other than the ones they originate from. Sometimes, they live in different linguistic regions and don’t even speak the same language as their forefathers.
They may, for instance, live in Geneva, but their ancestral home — as indicated in their passports — could have been somewhere in a remote (for Switzerland) Alpine valley in the German-speaking area.
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Yes, but what happens when a foreigner becomes naturalised?
It’s all well and good if you have a long list of Swiss ancestors whose origin you inherited automatically at birth.
But what about foreigners who become Swiss citizens via a naturalisation process?
Their foreign place of origin will not be included in their passports — for all legal intents and purposes they are now Swiss, even though they may have also retained their original nationality.
What origin is ultimately ‘given’ to you will depend on how you became a Swiss citizen in the first place.
These are the different scenarios:
Through ancestry
If you have obtain Swiss citizenship through either paternal or maternal descent, then your place of origin will be the same as that of your ancestor.
If both your ancestors (mother or father / grandmother or grandfather) were Swiss but with diferent origins, then you’d either automatically ‘inherit’ the male ancestor’s geography, or possibly be asked which of the two you prefer.
READ ALSO: Can I obtain Swiss citizenship through ancestry?
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Through naturalisation
Here, there are three possible scenarios:
Marriage (fast-track naturalisation)
In this case, your spouse’s origin will be passed on to you (regardless whether your spose is male or female).
Then, if you have children, they too will receive the same origin.
Foreigners born in Switzerland
The mere fact of being born in Switzerland doesn’t mean the person is automatically Swiss.
If their parents were born abroad and still hold foreign passports, the child will not obtain Swiss citizenship by birth.
Instead, they will have to apply for naturalisation like any other foreigner.
When granted Swiss nationality, their place of origin will be the community and canton where they live.
What about ‘regular’ foreigners — that is, those who immigrated to Switzerland and permanent residents (C permit holders)?
They too, will be ‘attached’ to their commune and canton of residence, where the naturalisation process took place.
READ ALSO: How your Swiss commune plays a key role in your citizenship application?
