Foreigners rush to become Swiss
According to data from the Federal Statistical Office (OFS), in recent years fewer and fewer foreigners have been obtaining citizenship of the Confederation: if in 2010 39,300 people joined the ranks of the Swiss, then in 2013 the increase of 'new Helvetians' decreased to 34,100 people, and this trend continued into the following year.
Another interesting detail is that over the years the number of regular procedures has decreased (from 31,200 in 2010 to 23,700 in 2014), while more and more candidates are using the privilege of facilitated naturalization (7,500 in 2010 and 8,900 in 2014).
Be that as it may, it becomes clear that, at least in terms of total naturalizations, 2015 will prove to be an exception to the rule – many foreigners who have the opportunity to become Swiss have decided not to put off the procedure for a long time. What is the reason?
One likely, though not the only, factor in this rush could be the actions of the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which in recent years has introduced several initiatives targeting foreigners living in the Confederation, believes Étienne Piguet, professor of socio-economic geography at the University of Neuchâtel. At the same time, Swiss citizens are actively supporting the SVP in its campaigns: on February 9, 2014, they voted in a referendum for the initiative to limit immigration, and the innovations approved at the party's instigation concerning the expulsion of foreign criminals were recently agreed upon by parliament (though the authors of the initiative were dissatisfied with the proposed method of implementation, and at the upcoming referendum the Swiss will have to 're-vote' on the same topic).
Thus, the 'tightening of screws' with regard to foreigners in general and the prevailing uncertainty are likely not the least factors that holders of residence permits in Switzerland take into account when deciding to strengthen their position by obtaining a passport.
'This is a reaction to the closure represented by the vote on February 9, as well as other initiatives aimed at foreigners living in Switzerland. In fact, some of them may feel insecure, fearing the loss of their residence permit – for example, if they lose their job – and in this case obtaining Swiss citizenship will avoid this kind of risk,' said Étienne Piguet on RTS.
This hypothesis is confirmed by a similar trend that was observed in Switzerland in the era of Swiss politician James Schwarzenbach, who, among other things, proposed the initiative 'Against the Overrunning of Foreigners', which was rejected by the population in a referendum in 1970.
Thus the main identity document of a Swiss citizen has changed over the past century
However, the Neuchâtel expert emphasizes that his theory concerns only one of several likely reasons for the increase in naturalizations. Let us add that another important factor could be the new law on Swiss citizenship, approved by parliament in 2014 but not yet in force. According to the main innovations, the required period of residence in the Confederation for ordinary naturalization will be reduced from 12 to 10 years, but only holders of residence permits of category 'C' will be able to count on obtaining a passport.
Thus, holders of other types of documents have a good reason to hurry with starting the procedure, because otherwise they risk losing any chance of becoming Swiss citizens after living in its territory for many years. It should be noted that disputes about the method of applying the new law in practice continued even after its adoption, meaning that many details will be clarified only in a special government decree, the discussion of which ended at the end of November last year.