January 15, 2025|
AI
|11 months agoZug Tightens Citizenship Requirements in Major Reform
Canton Zug implements stricter naturalization criteria including enhanced language requirements, affecting the 36% foreign population in the wealthy canton.
AI
Generated IllustrationKey Takeaways
AI
- The Canton of Zug has implemented stricter naturalization requirements as of January 1st.
- Applicants for naturalization must not have received social assistance in the last five years, an increase from the previous three-year requirement.
- The required level for oral German communication has been raised from B1 to B2.
- Minors must now be 16 years old to apply for naturalization independently, a change from the previous age of 9.
- The changes to the law were driven by the Swiss People's Party (SVP) and received broad support from bourgeois parties.
By The Numbers
36%
Foreign Population in Zug
from 24% to 36%
Increase in Foreign Population in the city of Zug since 2002
393
Citizenship Applications in 2023
around 600
Citizenship Applications by end of November 2024
They Said
"We already had a tightening of the law in 2018. There, too, we observed a significant increase in applications by the end of 2017."