Geneva has Switzerland’s highest naturalisation rate, but not everyone who applies makes the cut.
Geneva requires candidates for ordinary naturalisation to have a C permit, have resided in Switzerland for a minimum of 10 years and at least two years in the canton – including the 12 months preceding the application.
This is in addition to the conditions set on a federal level for all cantons – that is, to be proficient in the local language (in this case, French), and be integrated, which in Geneva means pretty much the same as elsewhere in Switzerland.
In a nutshell, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) defines this process as participation in the economic, social, and cultural life of society, which requires not only fluency in the national language of a particular region, but also familiarity with the Swiss way of life and local customs.
An ‘integrated’ foreigner must also obey the country’s laws and not pose any threat to Switzerland’s security.
READ MORE: When do the Swiss think a foreigner is successfully integrated?
But that’s not all
Candidates must also pass two written tests: one on Switzerland in general – which includes questions about Swiss politics, democracy, history, geography, and culture – and the other specifically about Geneva.
The test is taken on an iPad at Geneva’s Cantonal Population Office; candidates have to answer 45 multiple-choice questions from a bank of 130.
Most of the questions have three or four options, while others are true/false questions.
They focus mainly on Geneva’s history, political structure, customs, landscape, and traditional foods.
You can find out more about the test here:
READ MORE: Would you pass Geneva’s test for Swiss citizenship?
According to the Cantonal Migration Office (OCPM), in 2025, 2,492 people took the general knowledge test for both Switzerland and Geneva, and only 38 of them failed. That suggests the test is not too difficult.
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How many people apply for citizenship in Geneva, and how many are refused?
When it comes to the overall success rate of citizenship applicants in Geneva, just over 90 percent of candidates are granted Swiss citizenship.
Nathalie Riem, OCPM spokesperson, told The Local that in 2025, 3,723 foreign nationals submitted an application for ordinary naturalisation, and 345 of them were turned down.
The reason for some refusals, according to Riem, was “non-compliance with formal requirements, such as insufficient length of residency, and/or not having attained the required level of French.”
In other cases, “when the conditions are not met, a decree refusing naturalisation may be issued by the Geneva parliament,” she pointed out. “The vast majority of cases (approximately 98 percent of those refused) concern cases where criminal convictions exist.”
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This is an example of how tough Geneva can be
It involves a French citizen who had lived in Switzerland for 40 years.
In 2017, the Geneva resident drove past a 40-km/h construction site at 80 km/h and was subsequently slapped with a 540-franc fine.
His citizenship application was initially rejected in 2018, because the local naturalisation committee took his careless driving to mean than the candidate was “not successfully integrated.”
His subsequent appeal against the decision also failed.
READ MORE: Frenchman barred from Swiss citizenship over speeding offence
