Swiss citizenship is typically for life, except in rare cases where it was obtained fraudulently or if an individual with another nationality is deemed to seriously harm the interests and reputation of Switzerland and in doing so compromise the nation’s security – this happened in 2019 for the first time. However, retaining Swiss citizenship was not always as automatic as it is today, RTS reported.
Until 1952, Swiss women automatically lost their citizenship upon marrying a foreign national. From 1952 to 1992, women who married foreigners could retain their Swiss nationality only if they applied to keep it within ten years of marriage. Those who failed to do so lost their citizenship irrevocably. The problem for many was that they were unaware of this requirement. Some only discovered their loss of nationality when applying for a new passport. Some have managed to regain their citizenship through amnesties, but many have not.
Another common way to lose Swiss citizenship historically was to emigrate to a country that did not allow dual nationality. While such restrictions are now less common, many descendants of those who emigrated before dual citizenship became widespread have lost their legal connection to Switzerland.
Swiss bureaucracy is thorough. Citizens living abroad who wish to pass on their nationality to their children must register them with the Swiss authorities. Over the years, some parents have failed to do so, leaving their children without Swiss citizenship.
It is possible that some long-lost Swiss may one day have a chance to reconnect with their heritage. Last summer, a group of such individuals petitioned the federal government, prompting a parliamentary debate on the issue. Carlo Sommaruga, a State Councillor from Geneva, has put forward a motion to create a special additional quota of work-based residence permits for the descendants of Swiss citizens who have lost their nationality.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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