Naturalization - Einbürgerung

Life Hacking
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Hello. My children will be eligible for naturalization to become Swiss citizens in 2026. They will be eligible before me as time spent in CH between ages 8 to 18 counts double towards the minimum 10 yrs requirement. They will then be 11 yrs old. Already have C permit. EU citizens. Been in canton Zurich and never changed Gemeinde for more than 5 yrs. I.e. all requirements are satisfied. Both are students in local elementary school, Primarschule.

I´ve read that the naturalization process takes about 2 years. Is there anything that can be done in preparation to speed up the process? E.g. I could already work on the “Eintrag im Zivilstandregister”. Second question would be, if the authorities even look into such cases where the children become eligible before their parents (given double counting mentioned above).

Thank you!

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I think entry into Zivilstandamt is good idea as it requires documents from abroad. In general this step is most complicated for some folks

However I don’t know if they will initiate the process unless children are eligible for citizenship

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Each Gemeinde has different rules. Some allow the Eintrag and taking test before the 10 years, some don’t. I takes 2-3 years, so a couple of months make little difference. The usual options (but check your gemeinde) are that the children may ask separately and naturalize earlier than you, if you prefer. Otherwise, you can do it together as all become eligible.

Make sure you don’t drive above speed limits, if are caught speeding more than a certain amount, it could easily set you back a few more years. Also in this case, others in the family may continue the process or decide to wait for you.

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It’s probably already on your radar, but keep in mind the military service requirement for your children and yourself once naturalized.

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IMO it makes more sense to wait and apply as a family (esp. since citizenship doesn’t make much difference until you reach 18yo and can vote).

You can try to get registered early on, but as EU citizen, assuming you were born in your country of citizenship the process is likely straightforward. (Also if you haven’t done the german test for the C permit, you could do it upfront, might save 1-2 months for the whole process).