Cabinet in favour of dual nationality

The debate over dual nationality continues Keystone

The government has rejected a proposal by the rightwing Swiss People’s party to abolish dual nationality.

It also came out against calls by the Greens for a law to streamline the citizenship procedure.

In a parliamentary motion tabled last year, Jasmin Hutter, a member of the People’s Party in the House of Representatives, called for the scrapping of dual nationality, which has been legal since 1992.

She argued it was not possible for a loyal Swiss citizen to possess two passports.

In a response issued on Tuesday, the government said that abolishing dual citizenship would create difficulties for married couples of mixed nationality and for children of immigrants.

It also pointed out that about 70 per cent of the Swiss abroad had dual nationality.

There are also half a million people living in Switzerland who benefit from dual citizenship, according to the last federal census in 2000.

The government also rejected moves by the Green Party to standardise the time applicants must live in the country before they are eligible for citizenship.

The Greens had called for the reduction of the average waiting time from 12 to eight years.

Waiting game

The government said that it preferred to wait for a full Justice Ministry report into the citizenship law, expected at the end of 2005, before making any decisions on nationality.

Its statement comes at a time of increasing controversy over citizenship.

Swiss voters last September rejected proposals to ease the citizenship procedure for young foreigners.

The move would have granted automatic citizenship to third-generation foreigners, and eased naturalisation restrictions on the second generation.

It was the second time in a decade that voters had refused to ease citizenship rules. Foreigners currently number 1.5 million – about 20 per cent of the population – and one in four of those were born in Switzerland.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

In 2003 37,000 people received Swiss passports.
Around 500,000 people living in Switzerland have dual nationality.
Of the 600,000 Swiss abroad, 434,000 are binational.