Stricter conditions for naturalization in this Swiss canton

The Fribourg cantonal parliament on Wednesday approved a motion to tighten one of the conditions for naturalization. Under the change, foreigners who want to become Swiss citizens in Fribourg must not have received social assistance in the past five years, compared to three years previously.

The motion was approved by 64 votes in favour and 34 against, with no abstentions, while the left voted against. The five-year period is a compromise proposed by the Council of State, as the initiators of the motion, UDC deputy Roland Mesot and PLR deputy Sébastien Dorthe, had requested a 10-year period, which represents the maximum legal limit.

Following this decision, Fribourg will be the only canton in French-speaking Switzerland to adopt the three-year waiting period, which is the minimum required by the Confederation. Currently, 16 cantons in Switzerland use this three-year period, including Fribourg so far, 6 cantons apply a five-year period and 4 cantons, including Bern, apply a ten-year period.

“Successful integration”

The center-right was convinced by the government's compromise, supported by State Councilor Didier Castella, head of the institutions. The rule for obtaining Swiss citizenship will be not to have received social assistance in the five years before the application or during the application process.

“The motion provides that the cantons remain free to set stricter rules regarding the receipt of social assistance,” the document states. The Council of State stressed that one of the “material conditions for acquiring Swiss citizenship is successful integration.”

Rejection of the left

The government highlighted the law on naturalization, specifying that this integration “manifests itself in particular through participation in economic life or through the pursuit of education and training.” The left as a whole criticized the motion, emphasizing that social assistance is a right. Socialist MP Pascale Michel emphasized that this right is granted to face “life’s difficulties.”

She added that the motion creates a sense of "suspicion" about situations that could "change someone's life."

Several MPs expressed concern about the developments, referring to the initial and then revised refusal by the Council of State to accept an injured child from Gaza./Albinfo.ch/