The Swiss Federal Statistics Office revealed that the number of people who obtained Swiss citizenship through ordinary naturalization in 2021 has reached 30,166.
According to Schengen visainfo.com, foreigners who hold a residence permit and have lived in Switzerland for 10 years are eligible to apply for ordinary naturalization in their canton of residence, which is the most used naturalization procedure in 2021, according to Swiss authorities.
Data from 2021 shows that Switzerland’s population is exploding, mainly due to immigrants entering the country. This is also an important measure taken by Switzerland to solve the labor shortage of the local population.
The Swiss National Secretariat for Immigration (SEM) previously revealed that the total number of immigrants arriving in the country reached a peak of 37,816 in the first half of this year, an increase of 45.4% from 26,008 the previous year.
Switzerland is not a country of immigrants. It is difficult to immigrate to Switzerland. Why is there so many immigrants in Switzerland? Let’s analyze it slowly. First of all, 6,656 of the new Swiss citizens obtained citizenship through the husband or wife of a Swiss citizen, 80 people obtained Swiss citizenship through reintegration, and there are more than 20,000 people, some of whom are Those born in Switzerland, the other part are mainly immigrants from Europe.
Why the main immigrants to Switzerland come from EU ? This point needs to be analyzed starting from the conditions for applying for naturalization in Switzerland. As for why Switzerland’s main immigrants are from the EU, let’s leave it to the last point.
1. Why is there still a large number of immigrants despite the high immigration threshold in Switzerland?
Switzerland is a country that is not short of money. The overall social development is very good, the per capita income is very high, and the social welfare system is also very complete. As a country that is already very developed and has very good systems, in theory there is little need for immigrants. However, Switzerland's population is aging very seriously, and the country itself has a relatively small young labor force. Therefore, a large number of immigrants are needed to maintain the social operations of Switzerland.
2. What is the threshold for Swiss immigration? What are the immigration options? (Except for marriage)
I often tell some friends that the immigration logic of all countries is the same. If you want to immigrate to a certain country, you need to meet at least one of two conditions. Either they are talents needed by certain industries in this country, or they have enough capital to create economic benefits for this country.
Generally speaking, Switzerland is not a traditional immigration country. The threshold for direct immigration as a Chinese is extremely high! In addition to age restrictions, various investment costs add up to at least tens of millions of yuan, and no matter which method you choose, you will not be able to enjoy high benefits before you obtain permanent residence.
There are several main ways to stay in Switzerland: being employed by a Swiss company, an entrepreneur, an investor, or a retiree.
01 Application conditions for retirees
Those who are over 55 years old and financially independent can apply to pay a " unified tax " in Switzerland. They must live in Switzerland for at least half a year and cannot work.
02 Investor application requirements
must be under 55 years old, invest more than 500,000 Swiss francs (approximately 3.33 million yuan, the price specified by each state is different) in a selected state, and create actual employment opportunities and economic growth for the local area, most of each year I will spend most of my time in Switzerland. It looks simple, but is actually as difficult as American EB5.
03 Entrepreneur application conditions
Move your company to Switzerland and hire employees, and the salary level of the employees must not be lower than the average minimum wage level in Switzerland. The annual pre-tax income of the company must reach 200,000 Swiss francs.
04 was hired by a Swiss company. Because there is no clear age limit for this "project",
was once regarded as the only way to immigrate to Switzerland in the Chinese market. But is it really that simple?
If you want to get a Swiss green card in this way, you must first obtain a work residence permit. If the employer wants to apply for a work residence permit for a Chinese, he must have sufficient reasons to prove that the job must be for this Chinese.
The federal government allocates fixed quotas to each state every year. When the quotas are used up, it is impossible to apply for a work residence permit even if the above conditions are met. In addition, the work residence permit in Switzerland must be renewed every year. Unless the contract with the current company is renewed, you must reapply for a work residence permit when changing employers.
If you are a super rich tycoon who can donate taxes for 12 consecutive years, that’s it. As a person who doesn’t have that much money, you can’t go there without a suitable immigration policy! what to do?
Apply for an EU passport and immigrate to Switzerland in an curve!
Czech passport, Latvian passport, Lithuanian passport, Bulgarian , Hungarian are all optional ways to get your passport directly.
What are the benefits of an EU passport: You can move freely within the 27 member states of the European Union and the 4 member states of the European Economic Area, a total of 31 European countries, and enjoy local education and welfare. In other words, an EU passport can knock on the door of 31 European countries.
Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, but it is a member of the European Economic Area. With a Bulgarian passport, you can live and work in Switzerland as an EU citizen.
Here, the editor objectively searched for information on the official website of the Swiss Immigration Service and shared with you the basis for EU (including Bulgarian) passport holders to enter Switzerland to live and work.
01 The most common type of short-term residence
is the L-type residence permit. Each issuance is valid for less than 1 year. According to the EU citizen’s residence intention, if the work and stay are less than 3 months, there is no need to apply. If the short-term stay and work (3 -12 months), you can apply for a Category L short-term residence card. If you stay for more than 1 year, you can extend it for another 1 year.
Long-term residence
If an EU citizen needs to live, work, or study in Switzerland for more than 1 year, he or she can apply for a Type B residence permit, which is issued every 5 years and renewed every 5 years. It should be noted that this period is still the temporary residence period. You can apply for permanent residence after living in Switzerland continuously for 10 years.
Family members
Family members of EU citizens holding a Bulgarian passport (regardless of their nationality) also have the right to reside, live, work and study in Switzerland!
05 Naturalization
At the federal level, the most basic and important naturalization condition is: foreign residents must live in Switzerland for 12 years. For teenagers aged 12 to 20, one year of residence in Switzerland can be counted as two years.
Other naturalization conditions cover various aspects, such as whether to abide by Swiss laws, master at least one official language, whether to adapt to the local Swiss lifestyle, etc., and even include learning not to speak loudly after 10 pm, let alone flushing the toilet.
During the naturalization investigation stage, the immigration department will send special personnel to the community or even the floor where the applicant lives to learn about the applicant's personality, level of civilization, and neighborhood relationships.
Swiss cantonal immigration conditions: Swiss cantons and towns have the right to determine their own naturalization standards, and these standards often vary widely.
