Council of States Rejects Initiative to Reduce the Naturalisation Period
The Council of States rejected the Democracy Initiative, which would have allowed ordinary naturalisation after a shorter period of residence in Switzerland.
The Council of States rejected popular initiative 25.081, “Für ein modernes Bürgerrecht (Demokratie-Initiative)”. The Democracy Initiative would have eased the residence requirements for ordinary naturalisation. The rejection was reported by the Gemeindekompass parliamentary summary.
What would the proposal have changed?
The initiative would have reduced the minimum Swiss residence period required for ordinary naturalisation from 10 years to 5 years. It would have allowed foreign nationals who had been legally resident in Switzerland for at least five years to apply for naturalisation, subject to additional requirements, as explained in the Swiss Parliament committee communiqué of 23 January 2026
.
These included not having been sentenced to a longer term of imprisonment, not posing a threat to Switzerland’s security, and having basic knowledge of one of the national languages. Under the proposal, five years of residence would therefore not, in itself, have constituted an entitlement.The initiative would also have abolished the cantonal and communal minimum residence period requirement
. This change concerned local minimum residence periods, not the abolition of all naturalisation requirements in general. The same parliamentary communiqué explains the proposed changes to the federal and local time requirements.
This concerns a proposal, not an easing that has entered into force
For those planning to apply for naturalisation, it is important to distinguish that the conditions set out in the initiative were proposed changes. The Council of States’ rejection does not mean that a shorter residence period has been introduced; the description of the initiative does not imply that naturalisation can already be applied for under the conditions described in it.
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In Brief
The Council of States rejected the Democracy Initiative 25.081, which would have reduced the minimum Swiss residence period for ordinary naturalisation from 10 years to 5 years. The initiative would also have introduced additional requirements and would not have created an automatic entitlement to naturalisation.
Key Takeaways
- The Council of States rejected the Democracy Initiative 25.081.
- The proposal would have reduced the federal minimum residence period for ordinary naturalisation from 10 years to 5 years.
- Five years of residence alone would not have created an entitlement; the proposal also included additional requirements.
- The initiative would have abolished the minimum residence period requirements at cantonal and municipal level.
- The shorter residence period did not enter into force.
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