From 2018, obtaining a Swiss passport will become more difficult even for descendants of Swiss citizens permanently residing abroad.
According to the portal Swissinfo.ch, the new version of the relevant federal law (Bundesgesetz über Erwerb und Verlust des Schweizer Bürgerrechts) establishes stricter criteria for obtaining citizenship for applicants permanently residing abroad. In the future, they will have to seriously prove the existence of "close ties" with Switzerland.
Over the past 10 years, approximately 19,000 people permanently residing abroad who were eligible to apply for a red passport with a white cross have acquired Swiss citizenship. In most cases, these were women who, after at least six years of marriage to a Confederation citizen, applied for a simplified naturalization procedure. In 2016, a total of 43,000 people acquired citizenship rights in Switzerland, of whom only 1,847 were permanently residing abroad.
After the revision of the federal law on the acquisition and loss of Swiss citizenship (which will enter into force on January 1, 2018), obtaining a Swiss passport will become somewhat more difficult. Those whose grandmother or great-grandmother was Swiss have only six months left to apply for simplified passport acquisition. Recall that Swiss legislation also provides for the possibility of "returning" citizenship for those who were forced to renounce it due to certain circumstances.
Swiss legislation regulating the procedure for granting citizenship is based on "right of blood." In other words, children of Swiss parents automatically receive a passport, including those permanently residing abroad. However, until July 1, 1985, children effectively received Swiss citizenship only from their father; mothers could not pass on their citizenship to their children as an "inheritance."
Then the legislation was revised to allow those born before 1985 to Swiss mothers to obtain a Swiss passport. Their grandchildren and great-grandchildren could also use this right and obtain a passport. Unfortunately, after December 31, 2017, this opportunity will no longer be available. The new law limits the right to citizenship to only the first generation of descendants.
Let's consider, for clarity, the case of Roberta, born in Switzerland and married to an Italian in 1935. From this union, Sabina was born, who never had a Swiss passport. From January 1, 2018, only Sabina can obtain the right to simplified naturalization, but this will be impossible for her son Marco, born in 1960, that is, Roberta's grandson.
As for young people born abroad, previously, if any of them wished to obtain a Swiss passport, they had to apply to the Swiss authorities before turning 22. The new law increases this age to 25, which for the "Fifth Switzerland," that is, those permanently residing abroad, will still be some progress and relief.
But for persons over 25, the new law introduces stricter criteria for obtaining citizenship. On the one hand, candidates will have 10 years to apply for so-called "reintegration," but only on condition that during this time they move back to live in Switzerland. Only then will they be able to obtain a red passport with a white cross.
It should be noted that this new rule applies to all candidates who have lost their Swiss passport, for example, through marriage or renunciation of citizenship for other reasons. They still have some time to apply for "reintegration" before December 31, 2017. Then, simply by proving the existence of "close ties" with Switzerland, they will have the right to obtain a passport even if more than 10 years have passed since they lost their citizenship. From January 1, 2018, they will no longer have this opportunity.
Another important change introduced by the new law concerns the requirement for all those living abroad to prove their "close ties" with Switzerland. In other words, they need to "be integrated." As we have already seen, this is not a new requirement, but parliament wished to clarify it by introducing stricter criteria.
Candidates must, first of all, be able to speak one of the country's four national languages orally, have basic knowledge of the country, and maintain regular contacts with Swiss citizens. They must also prove that in the last six years preceding their application (not ten, as before), they have spent at least three periods of five days in Switzerland.
This last requirement has caused a certain inequality among candidates, given that it is much easier to travel to Switzerland from Germany, France, or Italy than from Argentina or Australia. The new law, however, recognizes this problem, and it will be taken into account when reviewing candidates' files for naturalization.
What exactly needs to be done? Those who live abroad and wish to obtain a Swiss passport must (if they have the right) submit an application to the diplomatic mission of the Swiss Confederation nearest to their place of residence. Applications submitted before December 31, 2017, will be considered under the law regulating the acquisition and loss of Swiss citizenship as in force before January 1, 2018.