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 is caught out by the bill. Anyone who budgets for all three has a realistic picture.

The official fees: Confederation, canton, municipality

The three-stage procedure leads to three-stage fees. 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.

Under facilitated naturalisation according to Swiss law (through marriage or as a third generation), the federal fee is charged separately. The exact amount depends on the type of application and the number of people being naturalised, and is confirmed by the SEM on a case-by-case basis.

Cantonal fee: strongly variable

Cantons charge different fees, based on their processing costs. The spread between cheap and expensive cantons can amount to several hundred francs per single person. Some cantons work with flat rates, others with a base fee plus an hourly rate for effort. 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 factor of uncertainty. They range from CHF 0 (some small municipalities charge nothing) up to CHF 3000 or more in expensive urban municipalities.

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: budget CHF 500 to 2000 for municipal fees in a normal case, with swings up and down.

Total cost of the official fees

If you add up the Confederation, canton and municipality, for a single person under ordinary naturalisation you end up at roughly:

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

Normal case: CHF 1500 to 2500 (average canton and municipality).

Expensive case: CHF 2500 to 4000 (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

Alongside the official fees come the costs the naturalisation procedure generates around you.

Language certificate

You have to sit the language proof at a recognised examination body. The costs are:

• fide language proof: CHF 250 to 350 per exam.
• 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 individually, but add up because you often have to submit them current.

• Swiss criminal record extract: CHF 20 per extract.
• Debt enforcement register extract: 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.

Fresh extracts are usually required to be no older than three months. If your procedure drags on, 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 1200 to 2000.

Normal variant (medium municipality, normal document requirements, fresh language certificate): CHF 2000 to 3500.

Expensive variant (large city, many documents from abroad, translations, several language certificate attempts): CHF 3500 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.

Facilitated naturalisation is usually cheaper

Under facilitated naturalisation (through marriage or as a third generation), cantonal and municipal fees largely fall away. The Confederation is the main authority and charges the only procedural fee.

Total bill for a married couple under facilitated naturalisation through marriage: typically CHF 800 to 1500, including the federal fee, language certificate and document procurement.

Anyone who meets the requirements for facilitated naturalisation saves, compared to the ordinary procedure, as a rule at least CHF 1000 to 2000.

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 everything complete saves follow-up costs for new documents, repeat appointments and expired language certificates.

Prepared language certificate: 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 grant instalment payment 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 ongoing receipt is a ground for exclusion. But anyone living just above the social assistance threshold who cannot raise the fees all at once can ask the municipality for a payment arrangement. There is a chance of accommodation, but it 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: reckon with CHF 2500. That is not stingy, it is realistic. Anyone who gets through more cheaply will be pleased. Anyone who has to reckon with this figure will not run into trouble.

For a couple with one child: CHF 4000 to 5000 as a realistic estimate for the ordinary procedure. For a couple under facilitated naturalisation: CHF 1500 to 2500 is usually enough.

In brief

Naturalisation is no bargain, but it's no fortune either. The official fees are only part of it. On top come the language certificate, documents from the country of origin, translations and small items, which add up quickly.

Realistic budget for ordinary naturalisation of a single person: CHF 1500 to 4000, depending on canton, municipality and document situation. For facilitated naturalisation through marriage or as a third generation: CHF 800 to 1500, because cantonal and municipal fees largely fall away.

Anyone who plans early, submits a complete file, and passes the language test the first time keeps costs at the lower end of the range. Anyone who muddles through the procedure tends to end up in the upper third.

You will find every step towards naturalisation in our free guide.