Madame Ida Zahler and her eleven son and daughters emigrated to America in 1926. Many children of Swiss emigrants lost Swiss nationality over the generations. (Symbolic image)
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The descendants of Swiss emigrants, who no longer have a red cross -white passport, lead a fight to obtain nationality. From now on, these people place their hopes in a so far ignored provision.
Switzerland was a people of emigrants-thousands of Swiss citizens went overseas in the 19th century. The number of descendants of these Swiss emigrants is therefore high. In South America alone, there are several tens of thousands.
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These descendants certainly have Swiss roots, Swiss ancestors and maintain a deep link – especially emotional – with the Confederation. But many of them have lost Swiss nationality over the generations.
An almost unnoticed proposal
While the demands of the descendants of Swiss emigrants made a big noise in the media – 11,500 people asked by petition an easy access to the passport, another political initiative has remained almost ignored.
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This is the motionExternal link of the Socialist States Carlo Sommaruga. The latter asked for the creation of an additional special contingent of residence permit with lucrative activity, intended for descendants of Swiss citizens who did not have the Swiss passport or the nationality of an EU or AELE country. This initiative did not have success to the Council of States.
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Often, the obstacle is already presented at the time of the request for a residence permit, when these descendants wish to come to Switzerland for an extended period, for example to work there. Indeed, people from extra -European countries do not benefit from the free movement of people in Switzerland.
They are subject to contingents. For the descendants of Swiss from what are called third states, access to the Swiss labor market is therefore only possible in the context of strict quotas – at least, this was what we thought so far.
Special provisions
Another path is now emerging. As the answer to two petitions revealsExternal link From the Committee on Political Institutions of the Council of States, the foreign children of Swiss can already obtain a residence permit under simplified conditions. This applies when they wish to be reinstated in Swiss nationality or benefit from a facilitated naturalization.
“Today there is already a special legal provision for the admission of the children of Swiss,” confirmed the State Secretariat for Migration at Swissinfo. The exercise of a lucrative activity can be authorized in a facilitated manner within the framework of articles 29, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the order on the admission, stay and exercise of a lucrative activity (oasaExternal link), without priority to Swiss nationals and without being subjected to maximum ceilings.
This observation draws all the attention of descendants of expatriate Swiss who wish to recover the Swiss passport. It would therefore be possible for them to stay longer in Switzerland. “Until now, the main obstacle to the recovery of nationality was the legal stay in Switzerland without passport,” writes Dylan Kunz, grandson of Swiss emigrants in Argentina.
However, a three -year stay in Switzerland is a prerequisite in order to be reinstated in Swiss nationality or benefit from a facilitated naturalization, if all the other deadlines have been missed.
The law clearly governs the transmission of Swiss nationality abroad.
When a child born abroad of Swiss parents is neither announced to a Swiss representation nor registered in the Swiss civil status register before the age of 25 (until 1958: before the age of 22 years old), he lost Swiss nationality.
These descendants then had, in theory, another ten years to file a request for reinstatement in nationality.
If this period is exceeded, the only option remaining is a request for reintegration, provided you have resided fixed in Switzerland for three years.
New hopes
Dylan Kunz feels Swiss. Not having inherited Swiss nationality is difficult to live for him.
ZVG
The Federal Council duly taken this into account in the execution of the law of foreigners relating to the admission conditions. “Foreign children of Switzernesses and Swiss can be granted a residence permit according to simplified conditions, if a possibility of reintegration into nationality exists,” we can read in the response to petitions.
However, close links with Switzerland must be established, and there is no legal right to grant a residence permit. “A refusal of residence permit would however go against the objectives of the nationality law, since reintegration in certain cases requires a residence in Switzerland,” said the Commission’s response.
“It is a great step forward in our common struggle,” says Dylan Kunz.
Was Carlo Sommaruga’s motion a sword in the water? The state advisor certainly did not know the regulations already in force, but his proposal went further. The existing special provision only applies to the first generation no longer having Swiss nationality.
Necessary extension
“My proposal aimed at all people who could prove their Swiss ancestry-beyond the first generation-and maintaining a link with Switzerland through their commitment within the Swiss community from abroad as well as their descendants,” said Carlo Summaruga in Swissinfo.
Il n’empêche that pour la communauté «Swiss nationality for descendantsExternal link“, This new information gives new impetus. “We continue to commit to that this right is extended to grandchildren and the following generations,” said one since Argentina. Each authorization granted strengthens the arguments of the descendants of Swiss emigrants within the Swiss Parliament.
Text reread and verified by Balz Rigendinger, translated from German using AI/OP
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