Referezpersonen

The main application form requires that we provide the names of four Swiss citizens who currently live in Switzerland and who know us well.  Actually, the form asks for at least four, then provides space for four exactly.  To me, the request as worded meant no less than four and the more the merrier so I called the office for clarification, asking if it was okay to provide an extra sheet of paper to accommodate some additional names since we have an abundance of Swiss people who would happily vouch for us.  The guy I spoke with seemed a bit confused by my question, though, and in the end said that they only wanted to see that we knew at least four Swiss people.  Wow, I thought.  We’ve lived here twelve years.  I would hope that we can scrape together at least twelve real live Swiss people who know our names.  I’m sure that the rest of the process won’t be as simple as this.

Das Zivilstandsamt

The Registrar’s office turned out to be in another location, on the other side of town from the immigration office.  It’s a beautiful baroque building just around the corner from the Münster that I’ve probably walked by a thousand times.  Just inside the front door, looking anachronistic in the setting of this grand old building, stood a very modern machine from which I obtained, you guessed it, a waiting number.  Since I arrived just as they opened, I got the day’s first number and had only to wait until the staff was ready.  I was soon called in by a pretty, young woman who asked me to take a seat at a table in a room adorned with several very nice prints of Basel through the centuries.  After ascertaining the reason for my visit, she asked me for my permit, retreated into an adjacent room, then returned twenty minutes later with a yellow sheet of paper with a number of items checked off.  This turned out to be another list of documents we’d need to collect and I could see that we had most of them at home but not the top two.  It turns out that if you were not born in Switzerland you must provide birth certificates issued within the last six months and, if married, the same thing there.  Oohh, I thought, as she explained this to me.  I was born some years ago in a small town in upstate New York that was then still seeking to determine how best to harness electricity.   Computers may have been invented but I was sure there were none actually installed in Ilion, New York at that time.  I think the nice young woman may have sensed my dismay but didn’t let on as she soldiered down the rest of the list before asking if I had any questions.  No, I answered, as I silently considered where to begin while shaking her hand and perfunctorily wishing her a good day.   My negative thoughts soon lifted, though, as I realized that however remote Ilion may have been, or still was, it was sure to be connected to more advanced systems than those to which many other citizenship applicants, in particular those from developing countries, were turning so if they could manage it then I was sure that Ilion wouldn’t let me down.  I relaxed and made a note to contact them as soon as I got home.

Das Einbürgerungsgesuch

Well, we’ve done it.  We’ve taken the first official step in the Naturalization application process.  It wasn’t a big deal really, just a visit to the immigration office (Thursdays only).  No appointment was necessary, nor possible, so we just dropped in, took a number and waited about twenty minutes before being invited into a nice, but sterile office by a pleasant, business like woman in her late-thirties.  After asking us a few quick questions to confirm our eligibility she whisked out a folder of forms and briskly, but efficiently, worked her way through them, high-lighting the documents which we would need to assemble to initiate the process.   It took about fifteen minutes.  She then answered the few questions we had, wished us a nice day and escorted us out so she could move onto the next nice immigrant family sitting anxiously in the waiting room.

On the way home I reviewed the list.  It included nothing surprising or clearly problematic but there was a nested reference sending us to another office, the Zivilstandsamt (Registrar's office), to obtain an extract of information the city had on us.  I wondered what that meant.

The process begins…

It’s been over a year since I last blogged although I did recycle some posts in other media outlets, including a magazine article.  The problem has been primarily a matter of time and believe or not, it takes time to write this schlock.  Remember, I’m not a professional.

That being said, we recently decided that the moment is here to kick off the Swiss citizenship application process and that struck me as a good time to return to the blogosphere.   It should make for some fun and who knows, maybe my observations and digressions will prove helpful to future seekers of the little red booklet.  So, here we go.  Buckle up as we begin the journey during which I’ll bring you inside the process to vicariously experience the thrill, the frustrations, the expense and ultimately, hopefully the satisfaction of achieving fully certified Swissness.    Stay tuned…

Swiss citizenship - Issue #6: How does it compare to the US naturalization process?

Granted, this isn’t relevant for our decision but in light of the current US immigration lunacy I became curious about the US process and how it compares.  Not surprisingly, there are some differences, some significant and some simply amusing. 

The permanent residency requirement in the US is only five years, half that of the new, streamlined Swiss expectation and more in line with that of other countries.  Unlike Switzerland, it is not necessary to have remained in the same state or locality for any specific period of time but you must list all addresses for the previous five years.  The cost is $ 680 per person, practically free compared to what it costs here.  There is one specific requirement which will impact almost no one but I mention it anyway.  You must formally renounce foreign titles and orders of nobility. 

The process itself is uncomplicated and typically takes six months to a year.  It comprises ten steps, most of which are pretty basic.  For instance, the first is “Determine if you are already a US citizen” which is not as silly as it sounds as the US is one of the few countries that grants citizenship simply on the basis of having been born here.  I’m sure it wouldn’t be listed if this didn’t happen from time to time.  After that, it boils down to filling out a form, completing an interview and taking an oath of allegiance.   The form itself is 20 pages long and, I have to say, is often pretty hilarious.  I expect that 99.999% of Americans who were born and raised in the US have never read this thing but it’s worth a stroll.  Google Form N-400 and settle down for a few laughs.   In the biographic information section there is an ethnicity question with two answer boxes, “Hispanic/Latino” and “Not Hispanic/Latino”.  In bold letters, the instructions request that the applicant check only one box.  I found that funny.  Maybe it was just me.  There is a section devoted to one’s time spent outside the US where the applicant must fill out a table detailing all of the trips made in the past five years, including date left, date returned and countries visited.  As difficult as this one sounds, there’s another section requiring that the applicant provides a complete listing of all organizations or clubs in which he/she has EVER (bold typeface not mine, came from the form) been a member, anywhere in the world, along with the dates of membership and club purpose.   Thankfully, such a question is not required as part of the Swiss application.   The “Additional information about you” section, however, is where the real fun lies.   There are 50 questions and sub-questions, with tables, demanding answers to questions such as whether you’ve EVER associated with a terrorist organization or the German Nazi party and if you’ve EVER been involved with genocide, torture, killing or, and this sounds quaint at this point, “trying to hurt a person on purpose”.   In order to drill down further on your character, the form asks if you’ve EVER been a habitual drunkard, prostitute, drug smuggler or polygamist.  My personal favorite, however, is question #22, which asks if you’ve EVER committed, assisted in committing or tried to commit a crime or offense but weren’t caught.  This must be one of those questions where you simply have to say “Yes” because answering “No” tags you as a bald-faced liar and you get rejected immediately. 

The rest of the form is pretty simple and as proof that the US is, at the moment anyway, still considered a land of great opportunity, 2015 saw almost three-quarters of a million people successfully complete this process and solemnly take the oath of allegiance.  In case you’re interested,  34,155 of these came from the seven countries on the Obergroper’s list and are currently, right under our noses, scheming to kill us.  

Swiss citizenship - Issue #5: Passport Power

There is a website that ranks passports by the number of countries allowing visa free entry to those holding a particular passport (http://www.passportindex.org/index.php).  It’s a lot of fun to stroll around in, you should try it some time.  Last year, the US was tied with the UK at number one but things have changed.  Now we’re in an eight-way tie for 3^rd and Germany has ascended to the top spot.   No clarification yet on the reason behind our tumble but it could be the first consequence of tomorrow’s inauguration of the Obergroper.  The UK probably has Brexit to thank.  Switzerland is one of the eight we’re now tied with but what really matters for our family is what it gets us that we don’t already have so I drilled down further and learned that this means Brazil,  Venezuela and (chuckle) North Korea.  Since my name isn’t Dennis Rodman, I’ve no plans to visit Pyongyang and the other two, while important countries to be sure,  are not going to drive my decision strongly in one direction or another.   There is a practical advantage, however.  When entering the Schengen area (the group of European countries covered by the treaty of that name) a Swiss or EU passport allows you to stand in what is usually a much shorter line.  Americans get shunted to the “’rest of the world” line (where the British will find themselves shortly), which invariably moves slowly for a host of reasons, not the least of which is people who can speak neither English nor German.  

Swiss citizenship - Issue #4: Cost

Like everything else here, a Swiss passport doesn’t come inexpensively.   In Basel-Stadt, our cost breakdown would be as follows:

CHF 150      Federal fee (family)

CHF 950      Cantonal fee (family)

CHF 900      Community fee (youth up to 25)

CHF 2,600   Community fee (two adults over 25)

CHF 360      Language test (Lisa and I)

CHF 4,960   Total     

For us, add another CHF 340 for passports.  Although our US passports are still valid, Swiss citizens are required to travel on their Swiss passports when entering or leaving the country (the US has the same law).  This brings our grand total up to CHF 5,300.  A lot of money to be sure but pretty reasonable when one considers what you get for it.  A stable, democratic government in a clean country full of natural beauty and supported by 725 years of rich tradition.  As a point of comparison, the cost for a family like ours to get US citizenship would be USD 1360.  Yes, sounds cheap but keep in mind that this comes with a lifetime tax obligation regardless of where you live.