[Streck-Fu]

Originally Posted by Flagg

Oh nearly forgot.

We used to be 3 years, now 5 before citizenship grant can be done.

I still reckon Switzerland's 10 year wait, local comimunity vote, and possibility of entire nuclear family being ejected for failure of just 1 to abide laws is a good minimum standard. That's how I understand the Swiss run it.

Until I looked it up, I did not realize immigration is handled locally by the cantons rather than at the federal level.

Unlike other countries where naturalization is a federal responsibility, individual communities or cantons in Switzerland decide whether or not to approve an immigrant's application for naturalization although the federal government gives general guidelines and the standard residency requirement is 12 years. Depending on the canton, the naturalization process can cost several thousand Swiss francs per person although the fee cannot exceed the actual cost.

Communities and cantons approve individual citizenship applicants either by means of a public assembly or a special panel decision. Panels and assemblies composed of municipality representatives may look at data about nationality, duration of residence in Switzerland, and degree of integration, but they are not privy to all private information, including the applicant's religion.