Switzerland’s Federal Court has issued a ruling that could set a precedent for more relaxed integration requirements for Swiss citizenship. But will more lenient rules be actually introduced?
The country’s highest court had debated the case of a Turkish man whose application for citizenship was suspended for five years, as a result of a car accident he had during the naturalisation procedure.
He fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into a lamppost. No one was injured, but he was found guilty of driving while unfit (he was tired, rather than drunk).
Even though this father of two, who runs a restaurant in the town of Arth-Goldau in Schwyz, is fully integrated, having lived in the country for 31 years — and meets all the other conditions for naturalisation as well — the canton had put his application on hold.
The reason given: his accident showed lack of integration.
However, the man appealed this decision all the way to the Federal Court, claiming that the cantonal authorities acted unjustly.
The Court ruled in his favour, stating that integration criteria must be assessed as a whole, and it was wrong to deny naturalisation solely on the basis of one incident.
READ ALSO: Victory for foreigner denied Swiss citizenship after crashing his car
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Will this verdict result in laxer naturalisation rules?
As the Federal Court’s decisions are binding, this particular ruling implies a relaxation of naturalisation criteria in Switzerland, at least in terms of integration requirements which are currently in place.
READ ALSO: When do the Swiss think a foreigner is successfully integrated?
This will not, however, happen overnight, or even in the immediate future for that matter.
That’s because when it comes to making changes to existing regulations, a more or less lengthy process is involved.
When asked what impact the court’s decision will have on cantonal naturalisation procedures — particularly with regard to assessing an applicant’s level of integration — Magdalena Rast, a spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), told The Local that “the SEM is currently examining whether the directives could be adjusted.”
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But even if SEM does eventually facilitate the integration criteria, expect some opposition to laxer rules.
In fact, some MPs are against this measure, arguing that the Federal Court’s verdict undermines the authority of individual cantons and municipalities to decide who should obtain (or not) Swiss citizenship on their territory.
READ ALSO: How your Swiss commune plays a key role in your citizenship application
For instance, Pascal Schmid, a deputy from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), fears that the current naturalisation law would be circumvented by court rulings.
Schmid also criticises decisions which “give more weight to good language skills than to delinquency ” during the naturalisation procedures.
He has therefore submitted a bill in the parliament seeking to preserve cantonal sovereignty in matters of naturalisation.
It is, however, countered by the left-leaning MPs who favour an easier access to Swiss citizenship.
