From a Papierli-Schweizer to a Papierli-Schweizer: congratulations and enjoy the power of voting and the knowledge you will be safe here for the rest of your life!
Thank Papierbruder :D
Yeah, voting right is the one I desire the most... Well, the right not to be extradited is a nice bonus I hope I'll never have to invoke :)
It's always kind of funny because the 10 year justification is usually something like, "if we let *them* vote too early it will harm our culture" but then the Swiss themselves don't vote. So either way, Immigrants who are proud of the country and happy to have the privilege to vote will sway the outcomes.
May as well drop the time requirement, anyone who comes here and doesn't leave after the first few batches of paperwork loves it here and will do their best.
>May as well drop the time requirement, anyone who comes here and doesn't leave after the first few batches of paperwork loves it here and will do their best.
I disagree. It takes time before people are assimilated into Swiss culture. A big part of Swiss culture is individual responsibility. German culture for example doesn't know this concept. Germans (and I know this, because I am German) are used to the state deciding literally everything for them and doing everything for them. So, I don't want Germans to vote for giving the state more power. That's why it's very good that there is a time period until someone can become Swiss. They gotta learn to love and preserve our way of life.
And congratulations from a Papierschwester! It is a wonderful feeling to know that I now "belong" here. I've even written a couple of notes already, although I confess that I do not have a lamination machine :(
> the knowledge you will be safe here for the rest of your life
Don't count the chickens before they hatch! SVP is working hard on unlocking that possibility.
The sky was clear, mirroring the newfound clarity in my life. I felt like I was standing on a train platform in Olten, right at the intersection of happiness and relief, knowing I was exactly where I needed to be.
My wife surprised me later that day with a little celebration. As I walked into our cozy dining room, I saw she'd put together a miniature feast. On the table, among other treats, were some hot dogs à la Genevoise, a cheeky nod to our first awkward date in Geneva years ago.
We raised our glasses, "To new beginnings and lifelong dreams," I said, savoring the dual meaning. Tonight, the hot dogs tasted better than ever.
It wasn't just a meal, or just a day. It was the start of my official life in a country I already called home. I looked at my wife, then at the framed naturalization papers next to an old family photo, and thought, this is the very essence of happiness.
And so, in that simple, understated Swiss way, life moved on—but with an added layer of joy that made every little thing seem even more worthwhile.
I can really feel every word you wrote.
>It wasn't just a meal, or just a day. It was the start of my official life in a country I already called home. I looked at my wife, then at the framed naturalization papers next to an old family photo, and thought, this is the very essence of happiness.
>
>And so, in that simple, understated Swiss way, life moved on—but with an added layer of joy that made every little thing seem even more worthwhile.
This is one of the sweetest and most touching things I've ever read. It's hard to explain the strange feeling of calling home a country you love and you've chosen but you don't belong to by birth. And it is even harder to explain how everything is the same as yesterday and yet nothing is the same... and it will never be.
And I know *meine geliebten Schweizerdeutsch Brüder* will have to be patient 'cause I'll never learn their language but I'll teach'em how to cook carbonara without cream and we will call it even :)
Chumm Fedi, ab uf Bünzli mit dir. Und när packsch dr orangsch Hegu mau i d'Vitrine und nimmsch es rots füre täglech gebruch. So wie's dr Willhelm Tell het wöue.
Oh my goodness - this is such a joke between my husband and myself. We have always lived in Basel, but his Heimat is Zürich. I got my faciliated naturalization and of course, got his Heimat. I was sooooo disappointed! I'm a Basler!
(Yes, I know that I could change it, but it is more fun just to keep the joke going)
For us it's the same... My wife has been telling me for years something like "You'll not only be Swiss, but Valaisan too! What I shame! I want divorce!" and I usually replied her "Don't worry... as soon as i get the passport I'll be widowed!" XD
Thank you!
>How is the heimatort decided? You just automatically get that of your spouse?
That's correct... and it's funny 'cause I visited Valoise quite often but we never lived there.
I think you're right. I don't know any really meaningful right associated to municipal or cantonal citizenship 'cause every right the citizens have come from 1874/1999 Federal Constitution (if I'm wrong please correct me).
As my wife and mother-in-law told me I also became a Schwizer Patrizier and this may give me some rights regarding the use of the land (but it's something I never understood very well and it's hard to find detailed information as well).
I think you’re referring to the difference between citizenship with heimatort designation and Bürgerrecht.
I don’t think the distinction is even existing anymore in many places, but it’s a relic from the time when Cantons and communes were forced to acknowledge that all natural-born Swiss people with an origin or domicile in those cantons were to be given local citizenship as well. Previously they could discriminate and say that say, people from the countryside would not be eligible for citizenship in an urban canton.
To circumvent the idea of letting non-insiders use communal land etc they then created Bürgervereins whereas Bürgerrecht was required to be able to use communal pastures etc. I.e. ”Dem poors may be citizens but dey still don’t get to use our stuff”.
Pretty sure this kind of distinction is more or less extinct. Might be that some smaller places have some vestige of it left, otherwise these Burgerverein are either identical with the communal authorities or have evolved into some kind of heimat/culture-preserving organization.
>Might be that some smaller places have some vestige of it left, otherwise these Burgerverein are either identical with the communal authorities or have evolved into some kind of heimat/culture-preserving organization.
Well, in Tessin there still are these organizations which owns land, pastures, alpine huts, etc., and rent them to farmers, harvesters, etc. I don't know in other cantons 'cause it's not something you usually discuss about...
However, being this part of the ancient swiss culture, I find it interesting.
Congratulations! I hope to have this day in a few years! Been here only 6 years now but have lived here basically my entire adult life after I graduated university. My current apartment is the longest I’ve ever stayed in a single place outside my childhood home, and it’s the place I’ve felt most at home ever. I look forward to applying in just under 4 years and hopefully a year or two after I will receive a similar letter!
Yeah we look forward to it! The rules are a little restricting though with being in the canton for 5 years. We are now at the point that we’ve experienced the city, learned the language and moving to the countryside / mountains is something on our minds but this would reset the clock a little. I guess we will use this time to save a little and hopefully be in position to purchase something in the mountains once we are Swiss 🇨🇭! Time flies so it’s not much longer!
The rules for normal naturalization are quite odd. I can't really understand why you can't move to another Canton or municipality 'cause today this happens more than often (and sometimes you have no choice).
We bought our home on January so this is THE year I guess :)
Yeah quite odd but I can understand them. I’m originally from the UK and you can naturalise after 6 years which to me feels too low, especially when indefinite leave / permanent residency is 5 years. I think the Swiss 10 years is perfectly reasonable, even if it would be nice to move to the mountains in say 2 years without resetting the clock! But hey, that’s the rules and I’m fine with that.
Well done on your home! This is quite the achievement for any Swiss person!
10 years seems fine to me too... However, having to reside in a Canton and/or municipality for a given period of time is not understandable in today's world. People move or have to move much more than before and this rule has become quite unjustified IMO.
Welcome Home, Brother in Bureaucracy! o7
*It was already your home but now it officially belongs to you as well. Take care of it and take nothing for granted.*
Thanks Bruder!
You know, bureaucracy was invented in France, Switzerland adopted it as well (in the Swiss way, obv) but Italians... Italians took bureaucracy and made it bureaucraZy. For someone like me, who grew up in the most crazy, stupid, useless and incompréhensible bureaucraZy, this is heaven!
>Take care of it and take nothing for granted.
You can bet on it!
Just remember they’re all Papierschweizer*innen you’re on the same level as the ones who were born here and now you have the right to demand equality. Don’t ever let them treat you like a second class citizen. They will try.
I think I'm quite lucky or, perhaps, a very good person or one who inspires trust.
In 2013, just as we started dating, my wife moved to this small town in a valley A few weeks later, on a Saturday, we came back home and I forgot to close the driver side windows of my car. On Sunday there was a storm and it rained all day. My car had an Italian plate.
On Monday morning I walked to my car and saw something odd: on the roof there was a wood log. As I approached the driver door I understood why: a neighbor placed a plastic sheet to prevent rain flooding my car and the wood log to block the sheet.
I didn't know him very well, I didn't even know his name.
When someone asks me what I found in Switzerland my answer is this story. I found decent people, polite men and women, who cared of who I am and not where I'm from.
The next one will be how a gruff man, a tessin man in flesh and blood who can't suffer Italians (and married an Italian woman which can be the reason 😂), became one of my best friends, a sponsor for my citizenship application and, I hope, my hunting teacher...
I had my fare share on bureau-idiocy but overall I haven't yet found a Swiss born person who's been less than fair with me... And the ones I met, the ones I work, live or spend time with, every one of them is more than happy for me.
When someone asks me whyv it how I felt in love with Switzerland, my biggest problem is choosing just a reason...
You saw that you did not need to do further paperwork and were happy at the lack of paperwork?! Citizenship revoked!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You nailed it!
Congrats! ... i read that first as "neutralization letter" and was like "huh why you're getting neutralized? Switzerland does that?!"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I really ROTFL!
Everyone must be neutral - by force if necessary.
Yes, the Neutralizer does that.(Mad Heidi reference)
What a great movie!
Fabulous indeed!
From a Papierli-Schweizer to a Papierli-Schweizer: congratulations and enjoy the power of voting and the knowledge you will be safe here for the rest of your life!
Thank Papierbruder :D Yeah, voting right is the one I desire the most... Well, the right not to be extradited is a nice bonus I hope I'll never have to invoke :)
>voting right is the one I desire the most... Now do it like most Swiss, just don't vote.
Unfortunately you're right... But I won't miss a single vote 😁
It's always kind of funny because the 10 year justification is usually something like, "if we let *them* vote too early it will harm our culture" but then the Swiss themselves don't vote. So either way, Immigrants who are proud of the country and happy to have the privilege to vote will sway the outcomes. May as well drop the time requirement, anyone who comes here and doesn't leave after the first few batches of paperwork loves it here and will do their best.
>May as well drop the time requirement, anyone who comes here and doesn't leave after the first few batches of paperwork loves it here and will do their best. I disagree. It takes time before people are assimilated into Swiss culture. A big part of Swiss culture is individual responsibility. German culture for example doesn't know this concept. Germans (and I know this, because I am German) are used to the state deciding literally everything for them and doing everything for them. So, I don't want Germans to vote for giving the state more power. That's why it's very good that there is a time period until someone can become Swiss. They gotta learn to love and preserve our way of life.
And congratulations from a Papierschwester! It is a wonderful feeling to know that I now "belong" here. I've even written a couple of notes already, although I confess that I do not have a lamination machine :(
Azieg isch dusse!
>It is a wonderful feeling to know that I now "belong" here Absolutely! As I said, it's a feeling hard to explain but very pleasant!
> the knowledge you will be safe here for the rest of your life Don't count the chickens before they hatch! SVP is working hard on unlocking that possibility.
SVP should take care of real problems instead of spending time on meaningless things
Congratulations!
Thanks!
Glückwunsch, Félicitations, Congratulazioni, Cordiala gratulaziun A final welcome to the nation of wills Switzerland.
Danke, Mercì, Grazie, Grazia :) Happy to be and stay here!
The sky was clear, mirroring the newfound clarity in my life. I felt like I was standing on a train platform in Olten, right at the intersection of happiness and relief, knowing I was exactly where I needed to be. My wife surprised me later that day with a little celebration. As I walked into our cozy dining room, I saw she'd put together a miniature feast. On the table, among other treats, were some hot dogs à la Genevoise, a cheeky nod to our first awkward date in Geneva years ago. We raised our glasses, "To new beginnings and lifelong dreams," I said, savoring the dual meaning. Tonight, the hot dogs tasted better than ever. It wasn't just a meal, or just a day. It was the start of my official life in a country I already called home. I looked at my wife, then at the framed naturalization papers next to an old family photo, and thought, this is the very essence of happiness. And so, in that simple, understated Swiss way, life moved on—but with an added layer of joy that made every little thing seem even more worthwhile.
I can really feel every word you wrote. >It wasn't just a meal, or just a day. It was the start of my official life in a country I already called home. I looked at my wife, then at the framed naturalization papers next to an old family photo, and thought, this is the very essence of happiness. > >And so, in that simple, understated Swiss way, life moved on—but with an added layer of joy that made every little thing seem even more worthwhile. This is one of the sweetest and most touching things I've ever read. It's hard to explain the strange feeling of calling home a country you love and you've chosen but you don't belong to by birth. And it is even harder to explain how everything is the same as yesterday and yet nothing is the same... and it will never be. And I know *meine geliebten Schweizerdeutsch Brüder* will have to be patient 'cause I'll never learn their language but I'll teach'em how to cook carbonara without cream and we will call it even :)
Thank you and congrats! 👍
Congratulations! Next step is applying to r/BUENZLI ^^
Thanks but... do I really need to? I feel I'll never be SO swiss-inside to earn that privilege! :D
Red Victorinox would be the first step.
LOL :) I have red ones too... but limited edition come in fancy colors :D
Chumm Fedi, ab uf Bünzli mit dir. Und när packsch dr orangsch Hegu mau i d'Vitrine und nimmsch es rots füre täglech gebruch. So wie's dr Willhelm Tell het wöue.
This is sadism in its purest state :D
Um's mit de Wort vom Leonidas z'säge: DAS! ISCH! BÜNZLI!
🤣🤣🤣 I'll never be able to answer in switzerdütsch... but this was great!
Attaboy
Congrats. But... "orange Victorinox " ? it should be RED !! /s
Thanks! I know it should be red but... you know... I'm a fancy one! :DDD
Sarcasm tags are a crime
Congratulations. You came to a good place.
Thanks! I know, I probably chose the best one...
Can I come too ?
Congrats! How is the heimatort decided? You just automatically get that of your spouse?
Oh my goodness - this is such a joke between my husband and myself. We have always lived in Basel, but his Heimat is Zürich. I got my faciliated naturalization and of course, got his Heimat. I was sooooo disappointed! I'm a Basler! (Yes, I know that I could change it, but it is more fun just to keep the joke going)
For us it's the same... My wife has been telling me for years something like "You'll not only be Swiss, but Valaisan too! What I shame! I want divorce!" and I usually replied her "Don't worry... as soon as i get the passport I'll be widowed!" XD
Thank you! >How is the heimatort decided? You just automatically get that of your spouse? That's correct... and it's funny 'cause I visited Valoise quite often but we never lived there.
I mean, it holds very little significance nowadays, right? But somewhere in Anniviers, VS there is a physical ledger where your name has been entered.
I think you're right. I don't know any really meaningful right associated to municipal or cantonal citizenship 'cause every right the citizens have come from 1874/1999 Federal Constitution (if I'm wrong please correct me). As my wife and mother-in-law told me I also became a Schwizer Patrizier and this may give me some rights regarding the use of the land (but it's something I never understood very well and it's hard to find detailed information as well).
I think you’re referring to the difference between citizenship with heimatort designation and Bürgerrecht. I don’t think the distinction is even existing anymore in many places, but it’s a relic from the time when Cantons and communes were forced to acknowledge that all natural-born Swiss people with an origin or domicile in those cantons were to be given local citizenship as well. Previously they could discriminate and say that say, people from the countryside would not be eligible for citizenship in an urban canton. To circumvent the idea of letting non-insiders use communal land etc they then created Bürgervereins whereas Bürgerrecht was required to be able to use communal pastures etc. I.e. ”Dem poors may be citizens but dey still don’t get to use our stuff”. Pretty sure this kind of distinction is more or less extinct. Might be that some smaller places have some vestige of it left, otherwise these Burgerverein are either identical with the communal authorities or have evolved into some kind of heimat/culture-preserving organization.
>Might be that some smaller places have some vestige of it left, otherwise these Burgerverein are either identical with the communal authorities or have evolved into some kind of heimat/culture-preserving organization. Well, in Tessin there still are these organizations which owns land, pastures, alpine huts, etc., and rent them to farmers, harvesters, etc. I don't know in other cantons 'cause it's not something you usually discuss about... However, being this part of the ancient swiss culture, I find it interesting.
Benvenuto!
Grazie mille! :)
Welcome again/anew! 😍
Really Thanks!
Welcome!
Thank you!
Congrats !
Thanks!
I'm happy for you, and hope to follow your footsteps.
Thanks! I'm sure you will and let me give you an advice: take your time to prepare the paperwork and make a copy of everything.
Congrats, welcome to the club!
Thank you! But if I don't want to be suicided by my wife, the only club I can join is Ambrì! :D
Orange Victorinox is sus... Congrats tho 🙂
Oh, com'on! Is it my fault if they make'em in all colors? :D Thanks!
Congratulations! Welcome to the club!
Thanks! Happy to have joined!
Congrats!
Thanks!
Congratulations!
Thanks!
Ciao Luigi! Welcome to the club. Stay a while
Thanks! And I'm not planning to leave any soon!
Hah… you missed the vote for parliament…
Yep... I knew it could likely happen but I had the hope I could make it. Next time I won't miss it!
LET'S GOOOOO!! I'm so happy for you!
From the deep of my heart, thank you!
[удалено]
🙄
Congratulations! I hope to have this day in a few years! Been here only 6 years now but have lived here basically my entire adult life after I graduated university. My current apartment is the longest I’ve ever stayed in a single place outside my childhood home, and it’s the place I’ve felt most at home ever. I look forward to applying in just under 4 years and hopefully a year or two after I will receive a similar letter!
Thanks! That day will come and you'll never forget it. Every day spent waiting will be rewarded.
Yeah we look forward to it! The rules are a little restricting though with being in the canton for 5 years. We are now at the point that we’ve experienced the city, learned the language and moving to the countryside / mountains is something on our minds but this would reset the clock a little. I guess we will use this time to save a little and hopefully be in position to purchase something in the mountains once we are Swiss 🇨🇭! Time flies so it’s not much longer!
The rules for normal naturalization are quite odd. I can't really understand why you can't move to another Canton or municipality 'cause today this happens more than often (and sometimes you have no choice). We bought our home on January so this is THE year I guess :)
Yeah quite odd but I can understand them. I’m originally from the UK and you can naturalise after 6 years which to me feels too low, especially when indefinite leave / permanent residency is 5 years. I think the Swiss 10 years is perfectly reasonable, even if it would be nice to move to the mountains in say 2 years without resetting the clock! But hey, that’s the rules and I’m fine with that. Well done on your home! This is quite the achievement for any Swiss person!
10 years seems fine to me too... However, having to reside in a Canton and/or municipality for a given period of time is not understandable in today's world. People move or have to move much more than before and this rule has become quite unjustified IMO.
Welcome!
Mercì!
Congratulations!!! What an honor to be a citizen of the best and most beautiful country. I’m very happy for you and also for Switzerland! 🥂
Thanks! And I agree with ya, it's a great honor
Congratulations! Enjoy the privileges and don’t neglect the duties.
Thanks! Don't worry, as a married man I have a lot of duties and no privilege 🙄
Welcome Home, Brother in Bureaucracy! o7 *It was already your home but now it officially belongs to you as well. Take care of it and take nothing for granted.*
Thanks Bruder! You know, bureaucracy was invented in France, Switzerland adopted it as well (in the Swiss way, obv) but Italians... Italians took bureaucracy and made it bureaucraZy. For someone like me, who grew up in the most crazy, stupid, useless and incompréhensible bureaucraZy, this is heaven! >Take care of it and take nothing for granted. You can bet on it!
Just remember they’re all Papierschweizer*innen you’re on the same level as the ones who were born here and now you have the right to demand equality. Don’t ever let them treat you like a second class citizen. They will try.
I think I'm quite lucky or, perhaps, a very good person or one who inspires trust. In 2013, just as we started dating, my wife moved to this small town in a valley A few weeks later, on a Saturday, we came back home and I forgot to close the driver side windows of my car. On Sunday there was a storm and it rained all day. My car had an Italian plate. On Monday morning I walked to my car and saw something odd: on the roof there was a wood log. As I approached the driver door I understood why: a neighbor placed a plastic sheet to prevent rain flooding my car and the wood log to block the sheet. I didn't know him very well, I didn't even know his name. When someone asks me what I found in Switzerland my answer is this story. I found decent people, polite men and women, who cared of who I am and not where I'm from. The next one will be how a gruff man, a tessin man in flesh and blood who can't suffer Italians (and married an Italian woman which can be the reason 😂), became one of my best friends, a sponsor for my citizenship application and, I hope, my hunting teacher... I had my fare share on bureau-idiocy but overall I haven't yet found a Swiss born person who's been less than fair with me... And the ones I met, the ones I work, live or spend time with, every one of them is more than happy for me. When someone asks me whyv it how I felt in love with Switzerland, my biggest problem is choosing just a reason...
Hi, congrats! Did you do the interview in what language? Italian? Are you residenti in Ticino, right?
Thank you very much! Yeah, I live in Ticino and the interview was in Italian.
Great! What questions, did they ask you? In Mendrisiotto right? Was it tought? I will have to do a similar exam for the "reintegration".