Swiss naturalisation costs: what you actually pay, including the hidden items

The official figure is only part of the bill

If you search for the cost of naturalisation, you find tables everywhere with federal fees and cantonal fees. The tables are not wrong, but they only show part of the picture. The real costs of a naturalisation procedure are made up of three big blocks.

First, the official procedural fees of the Confederation, canton and municipality. Second, the costs for the documents you have to submit. Third, indirect costs such as translations, certifications, or lost working time for appointments.

Anyone who only budgets for the first category will be surprised by the bill. Anyone who budgets for all three has a realistic picture.

The official fees: Confederation, canton, municipality

The procedure has three levels, so there are fees at three levels. Each level charges its own fee.

Federal fee: the same across Switzerland

The Confederation charges a uniform fee, regardless of where in Switzerland you live.

• CHF 100 for a single person under ordinary naturalisation.
• CHF 150 for married couples and registered partnerships.
• CHF 50 for minor children included in the family procedure.

For simplified naturalisation (erleichterte Einbürgerung) through marriage or for the third generation, the SEM charges CHF 500 for adults and CHF 250 for minors with their own application. It also collects at most CHF 400 for the investigation report of the canton of residence (BüV Art. 25). The SEM charges no fee for children included in a parent’s naturalisation.

Cantonal fee: varies widely

Cantons charge different fees, based on their processing costs. The difference between cheap and expensive cantons can be several hundred francs per person. Some cantons charge flat rates, others a base fee plus an hourly rate for the work involved. The exact amounts are set out in the ordinances or regulations of the respective canton and are communicated by the naturalisation office on a case-by-case basis.

Municipal fee: the biggest unknown

Municipal fees are the biggest source of uncertainty. They range from CHF 0 (some small municipalities charge nothing) up to CHF 2’500 in expensive municipalities, for example in the canton of Zurich.

The municipality can set its fee freely within the cantonal framework. This is why the same naturalisation in municipality A and municipality B of the same canton can sometimes differ by several hundred francs.

Rule of thumb: in a normal case, budget CHF 500 to 2000 for municipal fees. Some are higher, some lower.

Total cost of the official fees

If you add up the federal, cantonal and municipal fees, a single person in ordinary naturalisation pays roughly:

Cheap case: CHF 800 to 1500 (small canton, small municipality).

Normal case: CHF 1’500 to 2500 (average canton and municipality).

Expensive case: CHF 2’500 to 3800 (large canton with high fees, expensive city municipality).

For married couples, cantonal and municipal fees do not simply double, but are usually calculated as a couple’s rate, which works out somewhat cheaper than two single people.

The hidden costs: what no one lists on the fee table

On top of the official fees, the procedure causes further costs for you.

Language certificate

You have to take the language test at a recognised test centre. The costs are:

• fide test: CHF 250 for the spoken and written parts, CHF 170 for the spoken part only.
• Goethe-⁠Zertifikat: CHF 250 to 400 depending on the level.
• telc Deutsch: CHF 180 to 280.
• DELF (for French): CHF 150 to 250 per level.

Anyone who narrowly fails on the first attempt has to repeat the test. The exam fee is, as a rule, not refunded.

Criminal record and debt enforcement register extracts

These documents cost little each, but the costs add up because they often have to be recent.

• Swiss criminal record extract (Strafregisterauszug): CHF 17 per extract (private extract from the Federal Office of Justice or at a post office counter).
• Debt enforcement register extract (Betreibungsregisterauszug): CHF 17 to 25 per extract, depending on the canton.
• Criminal record extract from the country of origin: variable, often between CHF 50 and 200, plus any courier fees and translations.

Extracts must usually be no older than three months. If your procedure takes longer, you may have to renew them.

Documents from the country of origin

Birth certificate, marriage certificate, possibly a certificate of no impediment or family register. Obtaining these documents from your country of origin costs money and time.

Typical items: CHF 30 to 100 per document (issuance), plus apostille or legalisation (CHF 20 to 80 per document), plus, where applicable, translation by a sworn translator (CHF 80 to 200 per page).

The total cost of obtaining documents from abroad can quickly reach CHF 300 to 600, even with a manageable volume of paperwork.

Translations

Documents not in German or French usually have to be translated. Sworn translations are mandatory for official documents and are more expensive than ordinary ones.

Rule of thumb: CHF 80 to 200 per document page, depending on the language and the complexity of the document.

Photos and other items

Biometric passport photos for applications: CHF 15 to 30. Copies and certifications: CHF 5 to 20 per document. Postage for registered mail: CHF 5 to 10 per item.

These small items add up to CHF 50 to 150 over the course of the procedure.

The realistic total bill for ordinary naturalisation

If you add up all three blocks, the realistic total bill for ordinary naturalisation for a single person is:

Cheap variant (small municipality, simple document situation, native speaker with recognised schooling): CHF 1’200 to 2000.

Normal variant (medium-sized municipality, normal document requirements, new language certificate): CHF 2’000 to 3500.

Expensive variant (large city, many documents from abroad, translations, several language certificate attempts): CHF 3’500 to 5500.

For couples, total costs run at roughly 1.6 to 1.8 times these individual figures, because some fees are calculated as a flat rate for the couple.

Simplified naturalisation is usually cheaper

For simplified naturalisation (through marriage or for the third generation), the Confederation decides. Instead of cantonal and municipal fees, you pay the SEM CHF 500 and at most CHF 400 for the canton’s investigation report, so up to CHF 900.

Total bill for the person being naturalised through marriage: typically CHF 800 to 1800, including fees, language certificate and document procurement.

Anyone who meets the requirements for simplified naturalisation usually saves at least CHF 1’000 to 2000 compared with the ordinary procedure.

Where you can save (and where you cannot)

Not all cost items can be influenced, but some can.

Can be influenced

Complete file on submission: anyone who submits a complete file saves follow-up costs for new documents, repeat appointments and expired language certificates.

Well-prepared language test: anyone who passes the language test on the first attempt saves the repeat fee. It is worth taking a two-month preparation course beforehand if needed.

Coordinate documents in time: obtain criminal record and debt enforcement register extracts as close as possible to submission, so they don’t expire and have to be paid for again.

Cannot be influenced

The official federal and cantonal fees are fixed. The fees of your municipality of residence are set by the municipality, and you cannot negotiate them. Documents from the country of origin cost whatever local law provides for.

Instalment payment or fee waiver

A point many don’t know about: in cases of financial hardship, municipalities and sometimes cantons too can allow payment in instalments or, in very rare cases, a partial waiver. This is not a rule but a case-by-case decision.

Anyone receiving social assistance generally cannot naturalise anyway, because currently receiving it rules you out. But anyone living just above the social assistance threshold who cannot pay the fees all at once can ask the municipality for a payment arrangement. The municipality may agree, but this is not guaranteed.

What you should budget for as a minimum

If you are budgeting for naturalisation, plan realistically. The danger is not that the fees seem too high, but that you forget the hidden costs and then keep paying additional items throughout the procedure.

As a minimum budget for a single person in a normal case: plan for CHF 2’500. That is not stingy, it is realistic. Anyone who gets through more cheaply will be pleased. Anyone who plans with this figure will not run into trouble.

For a couple with one child: CHF 4’000 to 5000 as a realistic estimate for the ordinary procedure. For a couple in simplified naturalisation: CHF 1’500 to 2500 is usually enough.