• Triple citizenship level
• Acquisition of citizenship through descent (ius sanguinis)
• Prevention of statelessness

Every Swiss is a citizen of his/her place/commune of origin, his/her canton of origin and the Confederation. He/she is entered in the family register of his/her place of origin. The place of origin is the place where the family (usually the father) comes from. It is not to be confused with the place of birth. The place of origin can be the same as the place of birth, but this is not necessarily the case.

There is no central register of Swiss citizens. In order to ascertain whether a person is or his ancestors are/were Swiss citizens, it is necessary to know the name of the place of origin. The name of the place of origin is indicated on official Swiss documents (birth, marriage, death certificates and passports.)

If there is doubt about whether a person holds Swiss citizenship, the authorities of the canton in which citizenship is claimed decide the matter. Decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court (Art. 49, 50 BüG.)


Full legal information on the Swiss Citizenship Law are available in french, german, italian, and in english on the Swiss Federal Office for Migration website.