Image copyright AP Image caption Projections show nearly 60% of voters wanted to simplify the rules

People in Switzerland have voted to relax the country's strict citizenship rules, making it easier for third-generation immigrants to become Swiss.

Being born in Switzerland does not guarantee citizenship. Non-Swiss residents must typically wait 12 years before applying.

Tests and government interviews are also required, which can be expensive.

Initial projections suggest that 59% of Swiss voters said yes to simplifying the rules.

The new proposal will exempt third-generation immigrants, who are born in Switzerland and whose parents and grandparents lived permanently in Switzerland, from interviews and tests in the naturalisation process.

Supporters of the plan to simplify the process argue that it is ridiculous to ask people who were born and have lived all their lives in Switzerland to prove that they are integrated.

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The result is a defeat for the right wing Swiss People's Party, which had warned the measure was the first step to allowing all immigrants - 25% of Switzerland's population - to get citizenship, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports from Berne.

Some opponents had argued that the new proposal could lead to the "Islamisation" of the country.

One opposition poster featured a woman in a niqab - although this is a rarity in Switzerland.

However, the new law will affect only about 25,000 people, the majority of whom are of Italian origin, our correspondent says.

More than half of third-generation residents in Switzerland are descended from Italian immigrants, while other large groups have roots in the Balkans and Turkey.

The current vetting procedure, aimed at ensuring that new citizens are well integrated, includes interviews carried out by town councils. Questions put to interviewees can include requests to name local cheeses or mountains.

Those in favour of maintaining the current system also argue that the strict vetting rules make it superior to the more anonymous systems in neighbouring France and Germany.

Over the past 30 years, three previous attempts to relax the rules were defeated.</s>ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss voters on Sunday approved making it easier for third-generation immigrants to become citizens, dismissing suggestions that the move could pose a security threat.

Projections by broadcaster SRF after polls closed showed the measure easily winning by a 59-41 percent margin.

Right-wing activists had used posters showing a burqa-clad woman with the slogan “no unchecked naturalization” to campaign against the proposal, which was backed by the government and parliament.

Around a quarter of neutral Switzerland’s population is foreign, a relatively high rate in comparison with other countries that make it easier for the children and grandchildren of immigrants to be naturalized.

The government had lobbied for the measure helping many young foreigners born and raised in Switzerland after their grandparents moved here. Under the current system they had faced a lengthy and often expensive naturalization procedure.

The new constitutional amendment simplifies — but does not make automatic — naturalization for well-integrated people no older than 25 who were born in Switzerland, went to school here for at least five years, share Swiss cultural values, speak a national language and do not depend on state aid.</s>Switzerland has begun voting on whether to make it easier for third-generation immigrants to become citizens, after a campaign tainted by anti-Muslim messages and charges of religious prejudice.



Sunday’s vote is one of four reserved annually for plebiscites on subjects that affect federal as well as local laws and institutions.

Voting ends at noon and initial results are expected shortly after. Most people have already voted by post.



The Swiss government and a majority MPs and political parties support the proposal, which would allow the grandchildren of immigrants to skip several steps in the lengthy process of securing a Swiss passport.

But the outcome of the referendum has been clouded by the far-right nationalist Swiss People’s party (SVP), which put Islam and national identity at the centre of the debate.

According to a migration department study, fewer than 25,000 people in the country of about eight million qualify as third-generation immigrants, meaning they have at least one grandparent who was born in Switzerland or acquired residency.

Nearly 60% of these are Italian, followed by those from the Balkans or Turkey.

Initial debate on the proposal had nothing to do with religion, said Sophie Guignard of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern. But then the SVP, a party repeatedly accused of demonising Islam, that focused on the risks of more Muslims becoming citizens and the possible “loss of Swiss values”, Guignard said.

Central to that effort was a widely distributed poster showing a woman staring out from a black niqab with a tagline urging voters to reject “uncontrolled citizenship”. The SVP was not officially responsible for the poster, which was commissioned by the Committee Against Facilitated Citizenship. Though this group has several SVP members in leadership positions.

Jean-Luc Addor, co-chair of the committee and SVP lawmaker, urged people to reject the proposal because soon most third-generation immigrants will not be of European origin.

“In one or two generations, who will these third-generation foreigners be?” he wrote in an opinion piece on the SVP website. “They will be born of the Arab Spring, they will be from sub-Saharan Africa, the Horn of Africa, Syria or Afghanistan,” said Addor, who has defended the niqab poster.

Guignard said mainstream politicians and journalists viewed the poster as “a violent attack against Muslims”.

The SVP in 2009 successfully persuaded Swiss voters to approve a ban on new mosque minaret construction, while religiously charged messages have been a part of multiple referendums on immigration since.

Latest polls show that between 55-66% of people support easier citizenship for third-generation immigrants, with 31-44% against.

The no side has, however, gained about 10 percentage points since polling opened, with analysts saying an upset cannot be ruled out.</s>Swiss voters on Sunday appeared to back a measure to simplify the route to citizenship for third-generation immigrants, despite claims from right-wing campaigners that such a move could pose threats to national security.

Projections by public broadcaster SRF after polls closed Sunday showed the measure winning by a significant margin, according to reports.

The constitutional amendment would simplify the process of obtaining a Swiss passport for people born and raised in immigrant families in Switzerland.

About 25 percent of Switzerland’s population is foreign but fewer than 25,000 people qualify as third-generation immigrants, meaning at least one of their grandparents was born in the country or acquired residency and of those nearly 60 percent of are Italian.

The initial debate had nothing to do with religion until the SVP, an anti-Islam far-right party, began arguing that this would mean a loss of Swiss values. The party used posters showing a woman in a black niqab with the slogan that called on voters to reject “uncontrolled citizenship.”</s>Europeans are so weary of immigration that a recent poll found a majority of them support Donald’s Trump’s controversial order blocking people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US. But a recent referendum in Switzerland stands in stark contrast to the growing anti-immigrant feeling across the continent.

Some 60% of Swiss voters voted in favor of a government-sponsored initiative (paywall) to make it easier for third-generation immigrants to obtain citizenship yesterday; 17 of the country’s 23 electoral regions voted in favor of the measure, easily surpassing the minimum of 12 required for it to pass.

Children born in Switzerland do not automatically become citizens. The recent measure doesn’t change this, but it does speed up the approval process for Swiss-born people whose parents and grandparents have permanent residence status in the country. The measure is expected to benefit around 24,000 people, most of whom are Italian, followed by people from the Balkans and Turkey. Others who don’t have family connections to Switzerland will still have to live in the country for 12 years and go through a series of tests and interviews to gain citizenship.

Just over a decade ago, Swiss voters rejected government-backed proposals to automatically give citizenship to third-generation immigrants and ease the process for migrant children raised and schooled in the country. In the run up to this weekend’s referendum, the right-wing populist Swiss People’s party (SVP) argued the initiative would give passports to thousands of new citizens who don’t share “Swiss values.” The party campaigned against the proposals with posters showing a woman in a niqab with the slogan “no unchecked naturalization.”

The latest referendum result marks a second consecutive referendum defeat for the SVP, who led a robust anti-immigration campaign ahead of a referendum last year on a move to expel foreigners who commit crimes without appeal. The party plastered public spaces with a controversial poster showing a white sheep kicking a black sheep over the border. The measure was rejected by 59% of Swiss voters.

In 2014, Swiss voters narrowly backed a proposal to put a cap on immigration from EU countries, which would force a re-write of its trade and investment relationships with the bloc. But at the end of last year, the Swiss parliament watered down the measure for fear of losing access to its largest export markets.</s>Against the xenophobic tide in Europe, the Swiss voted in a referendum on Sunday to simplify naturalization for third generation immigrants.

The referendum result confirmed with a convincing 60% that grandchildren of immigrants who immigrated to Switzerland should be entitled to citizenship. The result was hailed by Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga as it allows socially integrated citizens to acquire full political and social rights.

Citizenship in Switzerland is determined by descent – i.e. nationality of the parents – rather than the place of birth. Swiss residents can apply for naturalization after 12 years of residence, and they have to take a series of exams at both cantonal and state level.

Children between nine and 25 raised in Switzerland will now be able to submit a formal naturalization application without having to pass costly and challenging exams. There could be at many as 24,000 potential beneficiaries whose parents originate from Italy, Spain Portugal, the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey.

Naturalization criteria are now extended to education, requiring that third generation migrants have at least five years of schooling in Switzerland.

Attempts to simplify naturalization law had failed over the last three decades in a country where one in four residents (25%) is a foreign national.

The naturalization proposal was staunchly opposed by the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and the Senior People’s Party.

The bill was fought on the grounds that it would widen the Swiss electorate, which is especially significant in Switzerland’s direct democracy. The opposition raised the specter of increasing numbers of foreign-origin citizens, especially when it comes to third generation Muslims. A typically Islamophobic poster portrays a woman with shadowed eyes staring out from a black niqab calling on voters to reject “uncontrolled citizenship.”</s>A welcome referendum result from Switzerland where, in a defeat for the right-wing People’s Party, voters have supported making it easier for immigrants to become Swiss citizens:

People in Switzerland have voted to relax the country’s strict citizenship rules, making it easier for third-generation immigrants to become Swiss.

Being born in Switzerland does not guarantee citizenship. Non-Swiss residents must typically wait 12 years before applying…

The new proposal will exempt third-generation immigrants, who are born in Switzerland and whose parents and grandparents lived permanently in Switzerland, from interviews and tests in the naturalisation process…

The result is a defeat for the right wing Swiss People’s Party … Some opponents had argued that the new proposal could lead to the “Islamisation” of the country. One opposition poster featured a woman in a niqab – although this is a rarity in Switzerland. [BBC]</s>Voters decides whether to make it easier for third generation immigrants to become citizens amid anti-Islam campaign.

Switzerland is holding a referendum on whether to make it easier for third generation immigrants to become citizens, after a campaign tainted by anti-Muslim messages and charges of religious prejudice.

The government, as well as most politicians and political parties, supports the proposal that would allow the grandchildren of immigrants to skip several steps in the lengthy process of securing a Swiss passport.

But the outcome of the referendum, the latest in Switzerland's direct democracy system, has been clouded by the far right nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP), which put issues of Islam and national identity at the centre of the debate.

According to a migration department study, less than 25,000 people in the country of about eight million currently qualify as third generation immigrants, meaning they have at least one grandparent who was born in the country or acquired Swiss residency.

Nearly 60 percent of that group are Italians, followed by those with origins in the Balkans and Turkish nationals.

Debate on the proposal had nothing to do with religion at the outset, said Sophie Guignard of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern.

It was the SVP, a party repeatedly accused of demonising Islam, that focused on the risks of more Muslims becoming citizens and the possible "loss of Swiss values", Guignard told AFP news agency.

Central to that effort was a widely-distributed poster showing a woman with shadowed eyes staring out from a black niqab with a tagline urging voters to reject "uncontrolled citizenship".

The SVP is not officially responsible for the poster.

It was commissioned by the Committee Against Facilitated Citizenship, which has several SVP members including in leadership positions.

The co-chair of that committee and an SVP lawmaker, Jean-Luc Addor, urged people to vote "No" on grounds that in the coming years most third generation immigrants will not be of European origin.

"In one or two generations, who will these third generation foreigners be?" he wrote in an opinion piece on the SVP website.

"They will be born of the Arab Spring, they will be from sub-Saharan Africa, the Horn of Africa, Syria or Afghanistan," said Addor, who has defended the niqab poster.

Critics of the inflammatory campaign image have denounced it as a brazen appeal to those worried about more Muslims becoming Swiss.

Guignard said mainstream politicians and journalists view the poster as "a violent attack against Muslims".

Political initiatives that either directly or implicitly target Muslims may be on the rise in the West, notably including US President Donald Trump's travel ban against seven mainly Muslim countries, which was undone in court this week.

But in Switzerland such moves are nothing new.

The SVP in 2009 successfully persuaded Swiss voters to approve a ban on new mosque minaret construction, while religiously charged messages have been a part of multiple referendums on immigration since.

The latest polls from the gfs.bern institute show 66 percent of people support easier citizenship for third-generation immigrants, with 31 percent against and three percent undecided.

Polls from the news company Tamedia have it closer, with 55 percent in favour and 44 percent against.

The "No" side has however gained about 10 points since polling opened, with analysts saying an upset can't be ruled out.</s>Early returns show Swiss voters want to make it easier for "third-generation" foreigners to get Swiss citizenship.</s>BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — The Latest on Switzerland’s referendums on Sunday (all times local):

Early returns show Swiss voters want to make it easier for “third-generation” foreigners to get Swiss citizenship.

Swiss broadcaster SRF said Sunday’s projections showed that the “simplified naturalization of third-generation immigrants” measure passed in a national referendum.

It will simplify applications for anyone under 25 whose parents and grandparents have lived in Switzerland for years.

The citizenship referendum was the latest installment of Switzerland’s direct democracy that gives voters a frequent say on political decisions.

It strikes at a Europe-wide dilemma about how best to integrate newcomers, but generally involves people from elsewhere in Europe or Turkey whose families have been in the Alpine nation.

While just under 25,000 people would be affected if the measure passes, the long-term implications are far-reaching: Roughly one-fourth of Switzerland’s total population of 8.2 million is foreign-born, one of the highest such percentages in Europe.

Swiss voters were deciding Sunday whether to make it easier for “third-generation foreigners” to get Swiss citizenship and whether to lock in competitive low tax rates for foreign companies in Switzerland.

The “simplified naturalization of third-generation immigrants” measure is expected to pass in the referendum. It would simplify applications for anyone under 25 whose parents and grandparents have lived in Switzerland for years.

Polls have suggested a tight race over the complex tax reform initiative, which aims to get Switzerland in line with international standards by scrapping a two-track tax system that offers lower rates to foreign firms to lure investment.

Sunday’s referendum is the latest installment of Switzerland’s direct democracy that gives voters a frequent say on political decisions. A third issue on the national ballot involves infrastructure spending.

Voters in the eastern Graubuenden canton, or region, are also deciding whether to bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Voters in Switzerland approve a referendum that makes it easier for third-generation immigrants to become citizens.