The Federal Council has approved amendments to the Citizenship Ordinance and the SIMIC immigration database that will allow all ordinary naturalisation files to be exchanged entirely online. From 1 August 2026, five pilot cantons—Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Geneva, St. Gallen and Zurich—will transmit completed dossiers to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) through a new SIMIC interface. The SEM’s decisions will be returned electronically, eliminating postal delays. Today a paper file can bounce between communal, cantonal and federal authorities for up to 18 months. Digitisation could shorten this by several months, according to SEM projections, helping applicants—many of whom are long-term foreign employees—secure Swiss passports sooner.
![Switzerland digitalises naturalisation files, promising faster citizenship decisions]()
For those preparing their own naturalisation or residency paperwork, VisaHQ’s Switzerland hub (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) can streamline the process further with real-time status tools, tailored document checklists and expert support—resources that align neatly with the Confederation’s shift toward fully digital filings.
The project also adds data fields enabling better statistical tracking of processing times and demographic trends, which policymakers say will feed into future quota debates. Following a 12-month pilot, the system will roll out nationwide in the second half of 2027. Cantons must adapt their own IT platforms and train staff, but the federal government is offering technical support and a CHF 4 million transition fund. Immigration lawyers note that while substantive eligibility rules remain unchanged, faster procedures will influence expatriate retention strategies: companies often hesitate to relocate families when citizenship timelines are opaque. The reform dovetails with Switzerland’s broader ‘SIMIC Renewal’ programme, which aims to interconnect all migration procedures—from asylum to work permits—by 2028. For HR teams managing long-term assignees on the C-permit track, the move promises greater predictability and digital status updates, reducing the need for paper chasers and in-person appointments.
For those preparing their own naturalisation or residency paperwork, VisaHQ’s Switzerland hub (https://www.visahq.com/switzerland/) can streamline the process further with real-time status tools, tailored document checklists and expert support—resources that align neatly with the Confederation’s shift toward fully digital filings.
The project also adds data fields enabling better statistical tracking of processing times and demographic trends, which policymakers say will feed into future quota debates. Following a 12-month pilot, the system will roll out nationwide in the second half of 2027. Cantons must adapt their own IT platforms and train staff, but the federal government is offering technical support and a CHF 4 million transition fund. Immigration lawyers note that while substantive eligibility rules remain unchanged, faster procedures will influence expatriate retention strategies: companies often hesitate to relocate families when citizenship timelines are opaque. The reform dovetails with Switzerland’s broader ‘SIMIC Renewal’ programme, which aims to interconnect all migration procedures—from asylum to work permits—by 2028. For HR teams managing long-term assignees on the C-permit track, the move promises greater predictability and digital status updates, reducing the need for paper chasers and in-person appointments.
