If I get Swiss citizenship, will I have to renounce my U.S. citizenship?

Question

I am a future resident and business owner of Switzerland. Right now, I am a United States citizen. I eventually want to become Swiss. When I go to apply for Swiss citizenship, will I have to renounce my U.S. citizenship according to Swiss law?

Also, I would be at least 35 before I would be eligible for Swiss citizenship. I am currently a U.S. service member. Would this or anything else affect the requirement for conscription or voluntary military service?

Answer 1

<< ...I eventually want to become Swiss. When I go to apply for Swiss citizenship, will I have to renounce my U.S. citizenship according to Swiss law? >>

Yes, if you [intend to] become as citizen of another country, you must renounce your US citizenship. I do not want you to try to serve two masters, and if the US is not good enough for you (or if Switzerland is better for you), then I require your renouncing. I am not interested in the law, only what is Right.

That said, you should be wary of asking for ANY advice in this or any other public forum, inasmuch as the answers are laced with poor, wrong, and harmful responses. For example, an earlier response states that the US taxes the worldwide income of US citizens. Uh, no, this is not so.

Answer 2

Yes, you will keep your American citizenship but may not travel into America on your Swiss passport. My girls also were given American passports and records of birth abroad when they were born here. You don't however get a Swiss passport based on age. You need to be here quit a long time, sometimes 7-10 years before being concidered and they getting approved. A Swiss passport is very hard to get.

Answer 3

No, you can keep both.  Good luck getting Swiss citizenship.  It isn't easy...even if you marry a Swiss citizen.  It takes a long time and you will have to go through a lot of red tape.  I was a Swiss Resident B and I know it would have been quite a while before I would have been eligible to carry a Swiss passport.

Answer 4

No you need not renounce it. But I am not sure that you can own and operate a single-owned business if you are not a Swiss citizen. You may have to establish a GmbH and have at least one Swiss citizen among your managing directors.

Answer 5

The U.S. Government will only allow for dual citizenship in the case that you are originally American and have "acquired" citizenship of another country through the process of naturalisation. If either of your parents were Swiss, then you are allowed to hold a Swiss passport in conjuction with your U.S. passport irrespectively.

But if you're marrying a Swiss national, or have lived there for a period of time and decide to become Swiss, then the U.S. government will allow you to maintain your American citizenship and will demand that you continue to file your income tax returns with them on the basis of your worldwide income.

The Swiss government takes the stance of most European countries. Unlike the U.S., whereby if I, as a European, apply for American citizenship, the U.S. government demands that I renounce my European citizenship. This is driven by the tax authorities. As a new American citizen, they are now entitled to tax me on my worldwide tax income. In Europe, if you live abroad, you don't need to bother paying taxes in your home country for the period you're away, unlike that of the U.S.. So the Swiss government will essentially allow you to remain American AND Swiss.

You'll need to find a good tax lawyer (I can recommend some if you like) as you'll still need to file a tax return in the U.S. along with the ones in Switzerland and you'll need to include Swiss tax credits in the U.S. tax return when filing it.

Hope this helps somewhat

Answer 6

Well, first you need to get permission to emigrate anyway...

Being here and living in the same village/town the whole time, you usually should be able to become Swiss after about 8-12 years. Find more about that in the link offered.

Keeping the US nationality is OK, being in US army service has no influence. And the "normal" Swiss military service is finished at age 32 anyway.

So once you live here, the rest should be fairly easy.

Answer 7

no you can get a dual-citizenship but you have to have a residence in each counrty i believe...also u have to wait for your current U.S military contract to run out before you can leave

Answer 8

Switzerland allows dual nationality.

If you're talking about Swiss military service, you don't have to do it after you turn 35.

Answer 9

No you don't.