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C permit and Swiss citizenship – how to stay in Switzerland for good

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

After five or ten years you can apply to swap your B permit for a C permit, and after ten years you can apply for Swiss citizenship. Here is what each step demands in language, integration and fees – and what changed in 2026, from lower fees in Basel-Stadt to the June vote on immigration.

Smiling woman holding a Swiss flag on a covered wooden bridge in Lucerne
Photo: rh2010/Adobe Stock

The C permit – the Niederlassungsbewilligung (settlement permit) – makes Switzerland home for good: it has no time limit and no conditions. The 2026 news: on 14 June, voters rejected the 'No 10-million Switzerland' initiative with 45.2 per cent yes, so free movement with the EU continues. On 1 July, the Canton of Basel-Stadt abolished its cantonal naturalisation fee. The Democracy Initiative, for naturalisation after five years, remains a proposal; the Federal Council recommended rejecting it on 5 November 2025.

When can you get a C permit in Switzerland?

Under the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, the standard route needs ten years on an L or B permit, the last five without interruption on a B permit, no grounds for revocation and successful integration.

Your situationC permit afterLanguage (local national language)
Standard route10 years, the last 5 on a B permitA2 spoken, A1 written
Citizen of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway5 years, under settlement treatiesCanton of Zurich: A2 spoken, A1 written; German, Austrian and Liechtenstein citizens exempt
UK, US or Canadian citizen (Canton of Zurich list)5 years, if integratedA2 spoken, A1 written
Spouse of a Swiss citizen or C-permit holderEntitled after 5 yearsA2 spoken, A1 written
Early C permit, anyone well integrated5 years without interruption on a B permitB1 spoken, A1 written

Source: Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and Canton of Zurich, read 23 September 2026.

Citizens of other EU states wait ten years: the free-movement agreement says nothing about settlement permits. The EU–Switzerland package (Bilaterals III) would give EU workers and their families permanent residence after five years, but it is a bill before Parliament.

Prove your level with the fide test (CHF 250), the fide-Dossier (CHF 150, B1 only) or an SEM-recognised certificate; course attendance certificates do not count. You are exempt if the local language is your mother tongue, if you attended compulsory school in a national language for at least three years, or completed upper-secondary or tertiary education in the local language.

For non-EU/EFTA nationals, federal law caps the cantonal fee for a C permit at CHF 95, plus CHF 22 for the card and CHF 20 for biometric data.

What changes with a C permit – and how can you lose it?

With a C permitWhat applies
TaxQuellensteuer (withholding tax) stops from the following month; you file a tax return (Canton of Zurich)
FamilyA right to family reunification (for B holders it is discretionary)
Self-employmentA legal right to set up your own business
Time abroadLapses after six months abroad without deregistering; can be kept for four years on request

Source: Canton of Zurich, Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, SECO and the official Swiss government portal, read 23 September 2026.

A C permit can be downgraded to a B permit (Rückstufung) if you no longer meet the integration criteria: respect for public order, respect for the Federal Constitution's values, language skills, and work or education. Serious breaches of public order or heavy, long-term reliance on social assistance – guideline: over CHF 80,000 for at least two to three years – can lead to revocation.

How do you become a Swiss citizen?

Ordinary naturalisation – ordentliche Einbürgerung / naturalisation ordinaire – requires, under the Swiss Citizenship Act, a C permit and ten years in Switzerland, three of them in the five years before you apply. Years between your 8th and 18th birthdays count double, but you must have actually lived here at least six years. B and C permit years count fully, F permit (provisional admission) years count half, and time on an N (asylum seeker) or L permit does not count.

Cantons add two to five years' residence in the canton and commune. The federal language minimum is B1 spoken and A2 written; cantons may demand more. You also need a clean criminal record, no debt enforcement, taxes paid, no social assistance in the three years before applying (unless repaid), work or education, basic knowledge of Swiss geography, history, politics and society, and contact with Swiss people.

You apply to your commune or canton; after its check, the SEM issues a federal naturalisation licence, and the canton must decide within a year or the licence expires. The federal fee is CHF 100 for an adult, CHF 150 for spouses applying jointly and CHF 50 for a minor. Communes charge on average CHF 500 to 1,000 per person and cantons up to CHF 2,000, says the official Swiss government portal.

Naturalisation rules in five cantons

CantonResidence before applyingLanguageFees for an adult
Zurich2 years in the same communeGerman B1 spoken, A2 written, plus a basic-knowledge testCanton CHF 500 over 25, CHF 250 under 25; City of Zurich adds CHF 500 over 25
Geneva2 years in the canton, including the last 12 monthsFrench B1 spoken, A2 writtenCHF 1,250 over 25, CHF 850 under 25; not refunded
Basel-Stadt2 years in the commune, immediately beforeFederal minimum or moreSince 1 July 2026, over 25: CHF 900 in total in Basel, CHF 1,800 in Riehen, CHF 1,500 in Bettingen
Bern2 years in the canton and in the communeFederal minimum or moreCanton CHF 1,150, even if refused, plus commune
Vaud2 years in the canton, including the year beforeFederal minimum or moreCommune CHF 100–400; canton CHF 450 plus CHF 75

Source: Cantons of Zurich, Geneva, Basel-Stadt, Bern and Vaud, and the City of Zurich, read 23 September 2026.

The procedure takes about two years in the Canton of Zurich and usually one and a half to two in the Canton of Basel-Stadt, which now takes applications fully online. The Canton of Geneva may refuse to process your file if you had social assistance in the last three years, owe over CHF 1,500 or are behind with taxes.

If you have protection status S from Ukraine: from March 2027 the first holders reach five years and are entitled to a B permit linked to that status, the Federal Council confirmed on 19 August 2026.

Married to a Swiss citizen? The simplified route

Spouses of Swiss citizens living in Switzerland can apply for simplified naturalisation after five years here, including the year before applying, and three years of marriage and living together. The SEM decides, not the canton; the fee is CHF 900, paid in advance and not refunded, and you need B1 spoken and A2 written. Registered partners cannot use this route, but qualify for ordinary naturalisation after five years here, one immediately before applying, and three years of partnership.

Dual nationality, votes and military service

Switzerland has recognised dual nationality without restriction since 1 January 1992, so you need not give up your citizenship – but your country of origin may withdraw it, so ask its authorities. New citizens gain the right to vote and stand for election, and the obligation to do military service. Dual nationals normally serve in the country where they live at recruitment.

Take Anna, an illustrative case: a German citizen on a B permit in Zurich. After five years she can get a C permit without a language test; after ten, two in her commune, she can apply for citizenship, her German mother tongue counting as language proof.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Count your years on B and C permits, and in your canton and communeNow
2Get language proof: fide test, fide-Dossier or a recognised certificateWell before you apply
3Apply for your C permit (in person at the Einwohnerkontrolle in the Canton of Zurich)After five or ten years
4Ask to keep your C permit if you will be abroad for longBefore six months abroad
5Collect residence certificates and criminal-record and debt-enforcement extracts; settle tax arrearsBefore applying for citizenship
6Ask your country of origin whether you can keep its citizenshipBefore applying for citizenship

Source: State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and the Canton of Zurich, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.