Swiss government rejects naturalisation reform proposal

Federal Council stands by its No to the democracy initiative Keystone-SDA

The Swiss government wants cantons to continue to have the last say in naturalisation procedures. On Wednesday, it reiterated its rejection of the so-called "democracy initiative".

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At the same time, it called on the cantons to coordinate more closely in order to eliminate inequalities.

On Wednesday, the government adopted the dispatch to parliament on the initiative “In favour of modern civil rights (democracy initiative)”. The Federal Council had already taken a position on the content of the initiative in February. At that time, it decided to recommend rejection of the initiative without a counter-proposal.

At its meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Council also dealt with a postulate report on the subject. According to the communiqué, this report shows shortcomings with regard to equal opportunities in naturalisation procedures. This is because there are considerable differences between the cantons.

Based on the report and an expert opinion, the Federal Council proposes that the cantons jointly examine ways to simplify and harmonise the naturalisation process – especially for second-generation foreigners.

“This would mean that it would no longer be so decisive in which municipality and in which canton a second-generation applicant submits their application,” the press release stated.

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The democracy initiative calls for the federal government to be responsible for legislation on the naturalisation of foreign nationals in future. Applicants would be entitled to naturalisation after five years of legal residence in Switzerland, regardless of their permanent residence permit.

Persons who jeopardise the security of the country, have been sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence or do not have a basic knowledge of any of the national languages would be excluded from this legal entitlement.

The initiators justify their demand by arguing, among other things, that the place of residence should not determine the chances of an application. They also criticise the fact that a quarter of people in Switzerland are currently unable to participate in politics.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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