Naturalization Democracy initiative not heard by National Council committee
Naturalizations should neither be standardized nor simplified in Switzerland. The responsible National Council committee rejects a popular initiative that wants to transfer naturalization regulations to the federal government and shorten deadlines.
23.01.2026, 16:49
SDA
The National Council's Political Institutions Committee (SPK-N) decided to reject the popular initiative "For modern citizenship rights (democracy initiative)" by 17 votes to 8. This was announced by the parliamentary services on Friday. It rejected motions for counter-proposals. The National Council will now decide.
The initiative demands that the federal government should be responsible for naturalization legislation. Applicants should be entitled to naturalization after just five years of legal residence in the country, regardless of whether they have a permanent residence permit.
The prerequisites should be a basic knowledge of a national language and no serious criminal acts. Currently, only those who have a permanent residence permit C and have lived in Switzerland for at least ten years are eligible for naturalization. Cantonal legislation also stipulates a minimum period of residence of two to five years in the municipality and canton.
The initiative goes too far for the majority of the SPK-N. It takes issue with the shortened minimum residence period and the waiver of minimum residence periods in the canton and commune.
It also criticizes the fact that integration criteria would largely be removed. This would mean that people would no longer be familiar with living conditions in Switzerland. However, this is essential for the acceptance of citizenship and sustainable integration.
However, the SPK-N wants to take account of people's growing mobility. It has tabled a motion calling for the duration of residence in the canton and commune to be two to three years. The cantons should no longer be allowed to prescribe additional communal time limits. The responsible Council of States committee will decide on this next.
A minority supports the democracy initiative. It believes that uniform nationwide rules would increase transparency, improve equality of opportunity and facilitate access to political rights. The Federal Council, on the other hand, rejects the initiative.
