To represent Switzerland, athletes – including those on the national football squad – must be Swiss citizens. But do they get a preferential treatment in this regard?
Over 70 percent of the players on Switzerland’s national football squad – the ‘Nati’ – have a migration background.
The majority of those players were born in Switzerland to first-generation immigrant parents. As they were not Swiss at birth, they had to go through a naturalisation process.
Also, currently three players on the team were born abroad: Breel Embolo and Yvon Mvogo – both born in Cameroon – and Marvin Keller, born in the UK.
What is interesting is not just that the vast majority of the ‘national’ squad members have a migration background, but particularly the speed with which they can obtain the Swiss citizenship needed to represent the country at international level.
How quickly do they become naturalised?
While you may have heard that Swiss passports are ‘handed’ to these athletes the minute they are selected for the national team, this is not exactly true.
What is true, however, is that some top athletes obtain their Swiss passports in record time.
That’s because they benefit from special treatment that most ‘regular’ foreign residents can only dream about.
As a reminder, normally, a fast-track naturalisation process, reserved for spouses of Swiss citizens, third-generation immigrants, and children of Swiss parents, requires a five-year residency, knowledge of a national language, and integration.
But even when all these criteria are met, it can take up to two years from the time of application to receiving citizenship.
Elite athletes representing Switzerland are eligible for the fast-track path as well. They too must fulfil these federal requirements just like everyone else but, unlike ‘regular’ applicants, they can sometimes circumvent cantonal or municipal waiting periods.
‘Expedited’ passports
According to Mario Tuor, former spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), “It is not uncommon for this procedure to be expedited.”
“When it comes to naturalising elite athletes, Switzerland has a clear interest in speeding things up.”
This happens, for instance, when an athlete has the opportunity to compete immediately after their naturalisation, so the administrative process is accelerated.
This system concerns not only national team football players but top athletes in general.
As the website of Switzerland’s Olympic organisation, Swiss Olympic, explains it, “It is common for elite athletes to change their nationality and try to win medals for a new country. Swiss sports federations also regularly encounter this issue.
It goes on to add that, “However, elite athletes must comply with the strict legislation regarding naturalisation. The process can, however, be expedited.”
