Are the makers of Switzerland back? 

Are the makers of Switzerland back? 

I was surprised to read in my Tribune de Genève this week that there is apparently a "Manual on nationality" that sets out criteria for refusing entry to Switzerland to people who have committed traffic offences: what exactly are these criteria?

P, Vaud

The criteria for granting Swiss nationality are set out in a federal law that requires, among other things, that the applicant has successfully integrated, has familiarised himself or herself with living conditions in Switzerland and does not endanger Switzerland's internal or external security (art. 11 LN).

Under the terms of this law, successful integration means, in particular, respect for public safety and order, in other words respect for Swiss laws. The authorities responsible for examining an application for naturalisation will therefore be particularly interested in any offences that the applicant may have committed.

To ensure that this examination is carried out in a uniform manner throughout the country, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has drawn up a guide for its own staff and for the relevant cantonal and communal authorities. This document is known as the "Nationality Handbook" and can be consulted on the SEM website(www.sem.admin.ch).

This manual points out that naturalisation is conditional on an irreproachable criminal record and lays down time limits that must be respected before an application for naturalisation can be submitted, or even processed, if the applicant has committed an offence. For example, if the applicant has been sentenced to a suspended fine of between 30 and 90 days for a traffic offence, he or she will have to wait three years from the end of the probation period before the application can be processed. This is the period applied in the case of the person whose situation was described in the press this week.

The Federal Administrative Court, hearing an appeal by the person concerned, who referred to a single "error" in his criminal record and a mechanical - and therefore, in his view, unfair - application of the "Manual", without taking into account the particularities of his situation, rejected these arguments. However, the judges emphasised that the authorities can depart from administrative directives if they consider that they violate the law. In this case, however, the provisions of the 'Manual' embodied the conditions laid down by the law, enabled it to be applied correctly and guaranteed legal certainty, so that the contested decision was upheld despite its apparent severity.