Germany is the main country of origin for naturalised citizens in the Swiss city of Lucerne for 2024, representing 40 per cent of all 307 naturalisations.
According to Statistics from Lustat, 117 German people obtained Swiss citizenship in 2022, followed by Italians (27) and Serbs (15), SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Local Swiss media report that Germans represent 18.2 per cent of all foreigners, indicating they are the city’s largest nationality group of foreigners.
Italians Less Likely to Gain Citizenship
Italians represent 10.7 per cent of the foreign nationals that have obtained citizenship in 2022. Italians are also the second-largest nationality in Lucerne but make up for 8.8 per cent of the newly naturalised people that come from Italy.
The naturalisation rates for Germans, on the other hand, have been higher, with 117 out of 309 naturalisations coming from the neighbouring country of Germany, representing 38 per cent of all naturalised population.
Local Swiss media reported that the Naturalisation Commission has decided to stop processing four applications, citing “a lack of civic knowledge” as the reason for the decision. The applicants remain eligible for citizenship acquisition and can receive an answer soon. In 2023, an application was also rejected due to “violations of the Swiss legal system”.
3 Top Nationalities Applying for Swiss Citizenship in 2022 Were EU Citizens
Germans are the main applicants for Swiss citizenship in 2022, with a total of 8,987 acquisitions being recorded. Italians followed second, with 4,666 people obtaining citizenship, while France was the third country of origin for 3,666 applicants to become Swiss citizens.
More than one-third (36 per cent) of people obtaining Swiss citizenship in 2022 came from these three countries, while the total number of foreign nationals being naturalised reached 41,566.
According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), employment was cited as the most common reason for 52.3 per cent of individuals’ immigration to the permanent resident population, representing 84,927 individuals, up by 26.8 per cent compared to 2021.
The second most common factor was family reunification, making up 26.5 per cent of all opting for permanent residency in Switzerland. A total of 43,026 persons immigrated to Switzerland for family reunification, with 16.5 per cent of them being family members of Swiss nationals. Permanent residency for family reunifications was up by 7.14 per cent compared to 2021 levels.
Education and training purposes were the main reasons for 10.4 per cent of applicants for Swiss permanent residency in 2022, representing 16,827 persons and four per cent more compared to 2021 levels.
