Integration is the key requirement for Swiss citizenship, with some MPs even suggesting that courses to this effect should be obligatory in some situations.
Integration has been in the news lately, with the Swiss government announcing the investment of 334.5 million francs especially for this purpose, and the city of Zurich laying out its new plans to help foreign residents integrate.
Some MPs have even called for foreign nationals to attend mandatory integration courses covering domestic violence, the rights of victims, as well as the civil, criminal, and immigration consequences of such acts.
READ MORE: Swiss MPs push for immigrants to be taught laws around domestic violence
It is true that to become naturalised, applicants must be fully integrated, which the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act defines as:
- Language skills of canton of residence
- Respect for public safety, security and order
- Respect for the values of the Federal Constitution
- Participation in working life or efforts to acquire an education
Even further, cantons – and especially municipalities – require candidates for naturalisation to be familiar with local customs and culture, and to participate in community life.
READ MORE: When do the Swiss think a foreigner is successfully integrated?
Depending on where you come from and where in Switzerland you live, attending integration courses and / or signing an integration contract could be obligatory when you first arrive in Switzerland.
The classes focus mostly on mastering the language of the region, but also on navigating life in Switzerland.
As for contracts, “the cantons may require migrants to conclude an integration agreement, showing them what is expected of them,” according to the State Secretariat for Migration.
How does all this work in practice?
There is no law on the federal level stating that immigrants must attend courses or sign agreements (or both); instead, each canton implements its own rules in this matter.
Much also depends on the foreigner’s nationality: citizens of the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) are exempted from these requirements – which concern primarily citizens from third countries – when they first arrive in Switzerland (the requirements change, though, when applying for the C permit and citizenship – read more about it below).
But some non-EU/EFTA arrivals are also exempted from the strict integration rules – especially the one concerning language proficiency – when they work under the L or B permit. This group includes highly skilled specialists recruited from third countries (like the US or the UK), who are deemed ‘essential’ for Switzerland’s economy.
This exemption concerns primarily bankers, IT experts, consultants, researchers, and cryptocurrency specialists, as well as foreign CEOs or other top executives in multinational companies for whom fluency in English is sufficient.
READ MORE: Why Swiss employers are eager to hire US professionals
So let’s go back to the original question: Can you become naturalised if you have not attended integration courses or signed the integration agreement?
Official Integration courses in a school setting and /or contracts are only obligatory at arrival if your canton requires them.
If not, it doesn’t mean that you are off the hook – on the contrary, you should undertake the efforts to learn the language and otherwise assimilate into Swiss life on your own.
But the integration – that is, language proficiency, and financial self-sufficiency, among others – becomes obligatory for everyone, regardless of their nationality or profession, once they apply for the C permit. At this point, the government requires all foreigners to attain the B1 (intermediate) oral level and A1 (elementary) written skills, which rise to A2 (upper elementary) for naturalisation.
READ MORE: Do I need to speak a local language to get Switzerland’s C Permit?
To sum up:
While your nationality (EU/EFTA) and job (in demand, skilled specialists from third countries) may exempt you being fully integrated – linguistically and otherwise – when you first arrive and hold a B or L permit, to be eligible for the C permit and citizenship, the foreigner must already be fully integrated – from both the language and social/economic perspective.
