Swiss Citizenship Test: How It Differs by Canton

← All posts

If you are applying for a Swiss passport, sooner or later someone will ask you what you know about Switzerland. Most people call this the citizenship test — the Einbürgerungstest, or test de naturalisation.

The first thing to know is that there is no single one. There is one federal law, and then there are 26 cantons, each deciding how to check what you know. In some you sit a written multiple-choice test. In others you answer questions face to face. In at least one, you first attend a compulsory course and are examined at the end of it.

So the most useful question is not “how hard is the Swiss citizenship test?” It is “what does my canton do?” Here is what is the same everywhere, what changes at the cantonal border, and how to prepare.

One thing first: naturalisation rules change, and they differ from commune to commune. Everything below is general information, not legal advice. Before you plan anything, confirm the details with your commune and your canton — their information is the only information that binds.

One law, three levels

The current Swiss Citizenship Act has been in force since 1 January 2018. For ordinary naturalisation it asks for a C permit and ten years of residence in Switzerland, three of them in the five years before you apply. The years between your 8th and 18th birthdays count double, but you must have actually lived here for at least six years. On top of that, each canton sets its own minimum stay of between two and five years in the canton or commune.

The procedure runs on three levels. The State Secretariat for Migration issues the federal naturalisation licence, but the canton and the commune run the procedure — and you become a citizen of a commune and a canton, and through them of Switzerland.

The federal rules also say what you should know. You are expected to have basic knowledge of Switzerland’s geography, history, politics and society. A canton may test that knowledge, and if it does, it must make sure you can prepare for the test with suitable materials or courses. That is why the tests look so different: the Confederation sets the goal, and the canton chooses the method.

What the questions are about

Across cantons the subjects are remarkably similar: geography, history, the political system and everyday society — things like school, work, social security, and your rights and duties. What changes is the level the questions come from.

Many cantons ask about three: Switzerland, the canton, and your commune. Vaud makes this explicit, splitting its questions equally across the three levels and, within each, equally across geography, history, politics and society. Neuchâtel asks four questions per topic, at least one of them about the canton itself.

So a national question list is not enough on its own. You will also need to know your canton and the place you actually live.

Written, oral, or a course

Roughly, cantons fall into three groups.

A written test. Aargau, Zurich and Vaud use multiple choice. Bern, Obwalden, Geneva and Ticino also examine in writing, though not all of them publish the format in detail.

An interview. Lucerne prescribes no uniform written test; communes such as the city of Lucerne ask their questions in the naturalisation interview. Neuchâtel asks its questions orally at the naturalisation interview. Jura, Glarus and Nidwalden check knowledge face to face too, and in Valais it usually happens at the commune’s hearing.

Something else. Solothurn makes you attend a civics course of at least twelve hours first, and the course ends with a written exam. Fribourg chose informal conversations over a formal exam. In Thurgau, it is up to the commune, usually in a personal interview.

Here are six cantons side by side, using only what each canton itself publishes:

Some cantons publish everything; others publish almost nothing. If yours publishes no catalogue, be wary of anyone selling an “official” one for it.

Your commune matters too

Even inside one canton, the commune often decides the details. In Aargau and Zurich, the test is run by the commune you live in. In Vaud, the canton supplies the questions about Switzerland and the canton, but each commune writes its own list for the local level; the canton’s A-Vaud-Test practice platform includes the local questions too, and your commune can confirm which apply to you. In St. Gallen there is no cantonal test at all: each commune decides whether to check what you know in writing or in conversation.

In several cantons the commune also holds a naturalisation interview of its own, after or alongside the knowledge test. That makes it the best first stop for almost every question in this post.

Language is part of the test

The federal minimum is B1 spoken and A2 written in a national language. Some cantons ask for more. Nidwalden, Schwyz, Thurgau and Zug require B2 spoken and B1 written; Solothurn requires B2 spoken; Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Basel-Landschaft and St. Gallen require B1 in writing too. Check your canton’s current level before you book a language test.

The knowledge test is held in the canton’s language, or one of them. Vaud, Neuchâtel, Geneva and Jura examine in French, Ticino in Italian, and Bern in German or French depending on where you live.

How to prepare

Find out your format first. Ask your commune whether you will sit a written test, an interview, or both, and in which language. Preparing for multiple choice and preparing for a conversation are different jobs.

Check whether you are exempt. Many cantons — Bern, Zurich, Vaud and Neuchâtel among them — exempt people who went to compulsory school in Switzerland for five years, and several also exempt holders of a Swiss upper-secondary qualification. The details differ — Zurich, for example, wants three of those years at lower-secondary level — so read your canton’s.

Use what your canton publishes. If it has a catalogue or a practice test, start there. If it has neither, remember the federal rule: a canton that tests you must make it possible to prepare, with suitable materials or courses. Ask your canton or commune which ones.

Do not skip the local level. Questions about your own commune are the ones nobody else can prepare for you. Read your commune’s website and know who decides what.

Practise out loud. If your canton uses an interview, knowing the answer is not quite enough; you need to say it calmly in the language of the interview. Say your answers aloud, more than once.

Where Bürgertest comes in

We built Bürgertest because the honest answer to “how do I prepare for the Swiss citizenship test?” is “it depends on your canton” — and we wanted something that starts from that answer.

The app asks where you live first. Then it shows what your canton has published about its test and its language level, and says plainly when a canton does not publish something, instead of guessing. There is a question pack for every canton on top of the federal questions. Every question is written from primary sources such as the Federal Constitution and cantonal websites, carries its source, and explains its answer, whether you got it right or wrong. There is also practice for the naturalisation interview, and you can study in English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.

The canton facts for all 26 cantons, every interview question, three lessons, one mock test and a practice round each day are free. The rest unlocks with a subscription or a single one-time payment. Bürgertest is on iPhone.

To be clear about what it is: Bürgertest is a private learning app by KK Studio, with no connection to the Confederation, the cantons or the communes. It cannot promise you a pass, and its information comes without guarantee. Only the official information from your commune and canton is binding — so use the app to learn, and use them to check.

Viel Erfolg — bonne chance — in bocca al lupo.