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Stay · permanently in Switzerland

Make your stay permanent.

After years in Switzerland, the annual permit gives way to something settled: the settlement permit (C) – and, if you wish, the Swiss passport. Both paths follow clear deadlines and conditions.

See the two stagesAsk Clara
Aerial view of Lucerne with the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the old town along the Reuss, Lake Lucerne and the snow-capped mountains.

At entry and during your stay, the EU/EFTA-versus-third-country question separated almost everything. On the road to permanence the paths converge: naturalisation runs through the same Citizenship Act for everyone. What still differs is mainly how fast you reached the settlement permit (C).

Two stages to security

Settlement first, then the passport

Staying for good has two stages. The settlement permit (C) replaces the annual renewal; naturalisation makes you a Swiss citizen. The first is usually the condition for the second.

Settlement (C)

Foreign Nationals Act (AIG)

The C permit is of indefinite duration and carries no conditions. It comes after ten years – or sooner if you are well integrated.

  • Ordinary after ten years of residence, the last five uninterrupted under a residence permit.
  • Early already after five years given good integration and command of the national language spoken where you live.
  • Once granted it is indefinite – but still lapses after a long absence.
AIG Art. 34 Abs. 2AIG Art. 34 Abs. 4
Full guide to settlement permit C

Naturalisation

Swiss Citizenship Act (BüG)

The Swiss passport as a rule presupposes the settlement permit (C), plus ten years of residence and verified integration.

  • Ordinary: C permit, ten years of residence, three of the last five years in the country.
  • The years between ages 8 and 18 count double – actual residence must nonetheless be at least six years.
  • Facilitated for the spouse of a Swiss citizen: three years of marriage and five years of residence.
BüG Art. 9 Abs. 1 lit. bBüG Art. 21 Abs. 1
Full guide to naturalisation

Settlement and naturalisation are two separate procedures with their own authorities. For naturalisation, the canton and the commune set additional requirements of their own.

The long clock

Ten years – but childhood counts double

For ordinary naturalisation, all the time you have lived lawfully in Switzerland counts. Anyone who went to school here is often closer to the passport than they think.

Deadline

10years

from your first countable day of residence

BüG Art. 9 Abs. 1 lit. b
Until then: no entitlement to ordinary naturalisation.

The years between your 8th and 18th birthday count double (BüG Art. 9 Abs. 2) – but you must actually have lived here for at least six years. And three of them must fall within the five years before the application.

BüG Art. 9 Abs. 2Calculate your personal dates — C permit and citizenship

Conditions

What naturalisation requires

Naturalisation is no automatic step. The Confederation, the canton and the commune assess it together – these four points are at the centre.

  • Settlement (C) first

    Ordinary naturalisation requires a C permit. Without settlement the procedure does not even begin – the path runs through settlement first.

    BüG Art. 9 Abs. 1 lit. a

  • Ten years – childhood double

    You must have lived in Switzerland for ten years, three of them in the last five. The years between 8 and 18 count double; at least six must be real.

    BüG Art. 9 Abs. 1 lit. b + Abs. 2

  • Integration is assessed

    Respect for public security and constitutional values, communication in a national language, and participation in economic life or education – integration must succeed.

    BüG Art. 11 + Art. 12

  • Canton and commune count too

    On top of the Confederation, cantonal law requires its own residence period of two to five years. Where you live shapes both the pace and the requirements.

    BüG Art. 18

Language levels and fees are set differently by the Confederation and the cantons; in practice naturalisation usually requires level B1 in speaking and A2 in writing. Clara tells you the rule for your canton.

The path

From the B permit to the passport

  1. Keep your stay clean

    Gaps between permits, long stays abroad and social assistance can set the clock back. Anyone who wants to stay for good protects the continuity of their residence.

  2. Apply for settlement (C)

    After ten – or, given good integration, five – years you apply for the C permit at the cantonal migration office. It is the basis for naturalisation.

  3. Document your integration

    Language certificate, criminal-record and debt-enforcement extracts, and proof of participation in economic life: gather them as you go, not just before the application.

  4. File the naturalisation application

    The application goes through the commune, the canton and the Confederation. Duration and fees vary widely by canton – plan for time and cost.

Where this information comes from

Last reviewed on 09.06.2026

General information, not lawyer-reviewed legal advice. Deadlines and conditions vary by canton and individual case; the State Secretariat for Migration and your cantonal authorities are decisive.

Sources

AIG Art. 34 Abs. 4BüG Art. 9 Abs. 1 lit. bBüG Art. 9 Abs. 2

Asylum, provisional admission or protection status S?

For N, F and S permits, settlement and naturalisation follow entirely different, often stricter rules and deadlines. This page does not describe them.

Help and contact points

Are your years already enough?

Describe your situation – Clara roughly works out your countable time, names your canton's conditions, and says openly when you need a professional.

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Clara is an AI. It cites the law but does not replace advice from a lawyer.