Dual citizenship

In 2022, 20% of the Swiss permanent resident population aged 15 and over had a dual citizenship (1 095 000 people). Among the population of dual nationals, 65% obtained Swiss nationality through naturalisation, whereas 35% acquired it at birth.

Second nationality

An analysis by individual nationality shows that the most frequent second nationality among dual nationals is Italian (23%), followed by French (11%) and German (10%).

Types of acquisition of Swiss nationality

Among the ten most represented groups of dual nationals, the share of persons who obtained Swiss citizenship by naturalisation is almost always higher than the share who obtained it at birth. This is particularly true for people with a second nationality from Kosovo, Serbia or North Macedonia. Within these groups, about 90% of persons obtained Swiss citizenship through naturalisation. The percentage of individuals who obtained Swiss citizenship by naturalisation or at birth is closer among individuals with a second Italian, French or British citizenship (difference of less than 20 percentage points). Only dual French-Swiss nationals acquire Swiss citizenship at birth more often than by naturalisation (57% and 43% respectively).

Canton

The population with dual citizenship is not evenly distributed between the cantons. At national level, 20% of the Swiss permanent resident population aged 15 and over has a second nationality (in addition to Swiss nationality). This percentage is higher than 30% in the cantons of Ticino, Vaud, and Geneva where it reaches 48%. The cantons with the smallest proportion of dual nationals are Uri, Obwald, Nidwald and Appenzell Innerrhoden where it does not exceed 10%.

The term dual citizenship generally refers to having at least two different nationalities. In this analysis, however, only persons who hold a foreign nationality in addition to their Swiss nationality are considered dual nationals. In official statistics, these people are counted among the Swiss population, whether they are Swiss by birth (born to one Swiss parent and one foreign national parent) or through naturalisation.

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