Expats

Argovia became the toughest Canton if you want to become Swiss

/ Geoch / Leave a comment


Source (photo and text): Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

The result is clear: with 64.8% “yes”, the voting people in Argovia has accepted the strengthening of the procedure to get the Swiss nationality in this Canton.
Argovia succeeds in making the hurdles to become Swiss higher than in the most of the other cantons. Who wants to get the Swiss pass shall not have got any social assistance in the last ten years. In the other cantons the minimal requirements are not so strict. An applicant shall not have got any social assistance in the last three years and shall not be dependent on social assistance during the application for the Swiss nationality.

If you wish to become Swiss in Argovia, do not lose your job, otherwise it will be a long(er) way!!

Argovia can become the toughest Canton if you want to become Swiss

/ Geoch


Collage of two pictures taken from Wikipedia.

On February 9th, in Switzerland a new referendum, pride of the direct Helvetian democracy, will take place.

Two questions… plus one additional, only in Canton Argovia. The Argovian proposal wants to increase from three to ten years the minimum possible period without receiving benefits from the social assistance (i.e. without unemployment) to be able to apply for the Swiss citizenship.

This strict requirement is even overruling the federal laws which currently accept three years only.

Why? They say that only in that way the possible applicants for the Swiss passport would really prove their “Swissness”. In a country where jobs are quite flexible and the possibility to fire a worker does not require particular justifications, the Argovian statement is quite… disputable!

Happy Halloween!

/ Geoch / Leave a comment

The pumpinks are smiling also in Switzerland in the night of Halloween!

It should be certainly a trick, rather than a treat…
… especially if you think that one of the most American “celebrations” is very popular also in the Confederation, where the USA are not so beloved and it is very rare to find someone not blaming the US for something!

You can forget it!

/ Geoch / 1 Comment


Picture: copyright Nike.

A nice slogan by one of the most famous sportwears in the world.
It seems to be a slogan also in Switzerland, for sure in the German speaking Switzerland, where the Confederates speak their “Mundart” (Swiss German dialect).

DAS CHASCH VERGÄSSE! (You can forget it!)

The noisy sentence above is quite interesting, especially in the work environment, which is one of the main sources of nice portraits of the most genuine Switzerland.

Whenever a Swiss is cornered by a colleague with a difficult question or a certain activity to complete within a tight due date, he/she starts declaiming the mentioned slogan. Possibly repeating it more than once to chase away any possible doubt!
Are you asking a Swiss something which is slightly outside his/her mindset?
Are you needing something from a Swiss which is not the most common thing he/she was expecting?
YOU CAN FORGET IT!

The long ride for the red pass – The beginning

/ Geoch / Leave a comment


Photo from Wikipedia “Rail transport in Switzerland”.

In a series of posts, I will tell you now the various steps, hurdles or (as the Led Zeppelin would say) the Starway to Heaven, which I needed to overcome and climb to reach the treasured Swiss nationality.
According to the instructions given on the relevant website (“Ordinary naturalisation of foreigners in Argovia” – “Ordentliche Einbürgerung von Ausländer/-innen im Aargau”), I started the online procedure for the Swiss nationality (Naturalisation) for myself on the 22nd April 2017.
After two days, the “Inhabitants control” department (Einwohnerkontrolle) of my village already gave me some very good news. Even if it was not so clearly mentioned on the internet instructions, they confirmed that I could have applied for my whole family!
Of course I proceeded in this way straight away! One day after this important detail, I quickly got the forms and explanations for the application by mail in a precious fat envelope.

The next step consisted on the collection of all the papers needed to complete the application form…

Finally… Real Swiss

/ Geoch / 1 Comment


Picture from Amazon.com

My blog is titled “Real Swiss – A Foreigner in Switzerland”.
Today I received a quite important letter. It announced that, after nearly two years from the official application, together with my family, I have become Swiss!

“Der Grosse Rat” of Canton Argovia took the topic decision!
And in one month, after all the administrative procedures are complete, we will be able to apply for the ID and the passport of the Confederation!

We will be pleased, as the letter encourages, to participate in the Swiss political life!

From now on: Absolutely Real Swiss and no longer (or not too much) foreigner in Switzerland!

18th Swiss anniversary!

/ Geoch / 2 Comments

Picture from “thelocal.ch”

Today it’s my 18th anniversary in Switzerland.

A lot of things had happened since that cold and snowy 31st January 2001…

Time has passed so fast! Maybe because in Switzerland time is faster than anywhere else? Or perhaps I just really have a lot of fun…!

No Brexit please, we are Swiss!

/ Geoch / Leave a comment


Picture from: svp.ch / Yes to direct democracy. Yes to self-determination.


Picture from: sbi-nein.ch / No to the self-circumcision/determination initiative.

On the 25th of November, in Switzerland, a referendum is planned on the so-called “self-determination”.
If the “yes” wins, the Swiss Constitution should prevail again on the international treatises (Especially with the European Union), which sometimes relegate the former in the background.
In short: Switzerland über Alles!

Some newspapers, like the Italian “Corriere della Sera”, start speaking of a possible Swiss Brexit.
I think that there should not be any alarm or fear for a possible, frightened “Swissexit”!

– First of all: Switzerland is not in Europe, and is very keen to stay out of it.
– Second: Swiss people, always careful with their wallets, would experience negative consequences if a lot of international treatises with Europe (main area for the export of the so-called “Swiss Quality”) are suspended.
– Third: why should Switzerland lose the acquired economical advantages (regarding trades with Europe) and even from its privileged position of not having to satisfy the duties as the EU member countries?

“No Swissexit: We are already out, we are Swiss”!

Money, money, money

/ Geoch / Leave a comment



[Photo of ABBA’s “Money money money”: from hitparade.ch]

Even if the title is the same as the successful song by ABBA, this story is just a boring “black and white” matter of Swiss francs, bills and burocracy.
Due to the fact that Switzerland is the country of all welfare records, including the highest prices of the world, a lot of people living near the border prefer to buy stuff in Germany.
Some weeks ago we went to Germany to buy some tyres. Coming back, with the tyres proudly making themselves visible from the trunk, we were stopped by the severe customs officer.
Having bought these tyres in Amazon with delivery in Germany, we did not have any receipt. By the way, for some ununderstandable rules, the tyres shall always be declared and the relevant 7.7% Swiss VAT shall be paid! (Apparently, also tyres which are lying in the trunk shall be considered as a single piece with the car, and therefore their VAT shall be paid).
How did the custom officer calculate the VAT? Basing his figures just on my verbal declaration of the possible price of the tyres!
Strange, right?!
Price and rigorous VAT calculation starting from a verbal supposed price, but the relevant receipt given to me as bumptious bill with Swiss flag and four languages to say “Swiss Confederation”.

Very vague about the rules, but very precise when it goes to money!
Should the famous ABBA song eventually be proposed as new national anthem of the Confederation?