Switzerland Denies Citizenship to French Millionaire Over Speeding Offence
The decision to reject the citizenship application of the French national, who has been living in Switzerland for almost four decades and is the owner of luxury clinics and hotels, was taken by the Federal Administrative of Switzerland, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Swiss Info explains that the defendant was considered to be well-integrated as well as financially stable, with a fortune amounting to millions of francs.
Nonetheless, after he was caught driving at 80km/h in an area with a speed limit of 40km/h in 2017, the authorities decided to reject his application for naturalisation, which was submitted in 2018.
The same source further explains that the public prosecutor’s office of Geneva imposed a sentence as well as a fine for the French national in July 2017.
Taking into account the offence that the national of France made, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court ruled that a person who has a criminal record is not able to claim ‘successful integration’. Moreover, the court added that citizenship cannot be granted until the probationary measure has expired, Swiss Info stressed.
This means that the French national will soon be able to submit a new citizenship application.
Nationals of other countries can be granted Swiss citizenship as long as they meet certain requirements. There are two main ways through which a foreigner can gain citizenship and those are simplified naturalisation as well as ordinary naturalisation.
Simplified naturalisation is applied only to several categories of persons and the decision is faster since it is taken by the federal government.
On the other hand, ordinary naturalisation is a more complex process since it has to go through the cantonal, communal, and federal authorities of the country.
The general rule for ordinary naturalisation is that a person needs to prove that they have been residing in Switzerland for ten years and hold a permanent residence permit.
In addition to the above-mentioned, those applying for naturalisation must also prove that they have successfully integrated into society and have knowledge regarding customs. Moreover, those applying for naturalisation should also not pose a risk to the country’s security.
