Originally published in November 2016, when we were invited to take our tests.
Since January 1, 2014, our canton requires civics and language tests as part of the naturalization process. In my village, they’re still apologizing for the inconvenience.
But it’s no big deal, really; there’s even a practice link. For the civics section, you get 40 minutes to answer 45 questions. The language test, which is similar to deciphering announcements in an airport, is 12 exercises in 30 minutes.
Some of the questions in the civics test are not exactly trick questions: Switzerland is a) an absolutist state; b) a democracy; c) a dictatorship; d) a principality.1
There’s the political section, which is manageable if you read the newspapers: Who chooses the seven members of the Federal Council? a) the heads of the political parties; b) voters in a direct election; c) the Council of Elders; d) the parliament.2
And then there are the questions that, well, you just have to learn: Who was Nikolaus von der Flüe (1417-1487), also known as Bruder Klaus? a) a reformer; b) founder of a monastic order; c) a hermit and political advisor; d) a martyr.3 At least they don’t ask which canton he lived in. (Obwalden; I’ve actually been there.)
Still, these are multiple guess tests and fairly easy for the literate to get through. Assuming a satisfactory result4, we’ll be contacted with a date for the face-to-face interviews. This is the real nitty gritty, where we have to answer questions at the very local level. I am reading up on the historical and economic development of both the Furt valley and the Limmat valley, and trying to decide whether answering in standard high German is okay or if I’ll poker and slip into the local dialect.
ICYMI:
https://carolinesmrstik.substack.com/p/on-becoming-swiss-part-two
https://carolinesmrstik.substack.com/p/on-becoming-swiss-part-one
b) Switzerland is a democracy. Direct democracy, if you please.
d) The Swiss parliament.
c) A hermit and political advisor. Nice work if you can get it.
My mother always maintained that I test well. Helenka, I did not disappoint: scored a clean 100% on the civics test, and again full marks for the language portion.
My dear spouse maintains he “mistyped” one answer on civics, thus scoring “only” a 94%. Fortunately this was also enough to qualify for recommendation for citizenship.