Country guide · Switzerland

Does Switzerland allow dual citizenship with the USA?

Citizenship-by-Descent.com·Last reviewed November 2026

Educational information only — not legal advice. Always verify with the relevant authority, consulate or registry office.

Yes. Switzerland has recognised dual citizenship without restriction since 1 January 1992, so you can be Swiss and American at the same time, and a child of a Swiss parent keeps both. Taking another citizenship doesn’t cost a Swiss citizen their Swiss citizenship under Swiss law, and an American naturalising in Switzerland keeps US citizenship. The trap is for descendants. Under Article 7 of the Citizenship Act, a dual citizen born abroad loses Swiss citizenship at 25 if nobody ever reported them to a Swiss authority and they never declared they want to stay Swiss. People born in 1995 or earlier faced the same rule at 22. One notice in time is enough, and it can come from a parent.

The short answer

  • Born in the US to a Swiss parent, reported to a Swiss authority in time: Swiss and American.
  • Same, under 25, never reported: still Swiss for now. Report yourself before your 25th birthday.
  • Same, born in 1996 or later and now over 25: Swiss citizenship ended at 25. Reinstatement is the route.
  • Same, born in 1995 or earlier: it ended at 22 under the old Act.
  • Swiss citizen who becomes American: stays Swiss.
  • Grandchild of a Swiss citizen: there’s no route through a grandparent on its own. It depends on whether your parent was Swiss when you were born.

What Swiss law says about a second citizenship

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) says the right to dual nationality has been recognised without restriction since 1 January 1992, and that people becoming Swiss no longer need to give up their previous citizenship. It adds that Swiss citizens who take another nationality abroad don’t have to give up Swiss citizenship unless the other country requires it. The Federal Council calls dual citizenship an important part of Swiss society and says the 2018 revision of the Act confirmed the principle. Dual citizens have the same rights and duties as other Swiss citizens, and Swiss citizenship is what’s looked to, absent a special rule.

Before 1992 the position was narrower. Article 17 of the old Act, in the version SEM reproduces, told people seeking naturalisation to do nothing aimed at keeping their former nationality and, where reasonable, to give it up. And until 1992 a Swiss woman who married a foreigner lost Swiss citizenship unless she signed a declaration to keep it. Article 50 of the current Act says loss and acquisition are governed by the law in force when the relevant facts happened, so those old rules still decide family histories.

The age-25 rule

Under Article 7(1), you lose Swiss citizenship on reaching 25 if all of these are true:

  • you were born abroad to a Swiss parent;
  • you hold another citizenship;
  • your birth was never reported to a Swiss authority in Switzerland or abroad;
  • you never reported yourself or declared in writing that you want to stay Swiss.

The details matter more than the headline:

  • It’s automatic. No decision is needed. The Federal Council says the conditions are fixed so that everyone is treated alike, whatever their personal commitment to Switzerland, and that the bar for keeping citizenship was deliberately set low.
  • Almost any notice works. Article 7(3) accepts any notice by parents, relatives or acquaintances with a view to entry in the registers, registration with a mission, or identity documents. SEM’s Handbook says this is to be read broadly.
  • The deadline is the day itself. The Handbook was clarified in 2019 to say you have until the day of your 25th birthday.
  • There’s a narrow late door. Under Article 7(4), someone unable to report in time against their will can still do so within one year of the obstacle ending.
  • It carries down. Under Article 7(2), a person’s children lose citizenship with them. The Handbook says this draws in minor children.
  • Reporting doesn’t create citizenship. The Handbook is explicit: the notice prevents the loss and nothing more.

How the rule grew

  • Before 1953. SEM says the Act that took effect in 1953 was the first to limit the principle that Swiss citizenship can’t be lost.
  • 1 January 1953. The Citizenship Act introduced forfeiture, limited to dual citizens and aimed at the second generation born abroad and each one after it. The age was 22.
  • 1 July 1985. Forfeiture was extended to the first generation born abroad. A transitional rule meant people over 22, or reaching 22 within three years, lost citizenship if they weren’t reported by 30 June 1988.
  • 1 January 2018. The total revision raised the age from 22 to 25 and tightened reinstatement. After ten years, a person abroad now needs three years in Switzerland rather than close ties.

The Handbook draws the line by birth year. People who turned 22 by 31 December 2017, so those born in 1995 or earlier, lost citizenship on their 22nd birthday if not reported. For those born in 1996 or later, the age is 25, and such losses began in 2021.

Getting it back: reinstatement

  • Within ten years of the loss, from abroad: you must have close ties with Switzerland, respect public security and order and the values of the Constitution, and pose no security risk (Articles 26 and 27).
  • What close ties means: Article 11 of the Ordinance asks for at least three stays of at least five days in the six years before you apply, everyday spoken skills in a national language, basic knowledge of Swiss geography, history, politics and society, and contact with Swiss citizens. People living in Switzerland must confirm the stays and the contact. The Federal Council says SEM also looks at things like membership of a Swiss club abroad. SEM’s page adds work, study or training, and supporting your family’s integration.
  • After ten years: only with three years’ residence in Switzerland. SEM says it must be continuous and in line with immigration law. SEM has pointed Parliament to easier residence permits for foreign children of Swiss citizens where reinstatement is possible, but there’s no right to one.
  • Fees: SEM charges CHF 500 for an adult and CHF 250 for a minor. The Ordinance adds a charge for the cantonal report of up to CHF 400 and CHF 100 for checking civil status for people abroad, and missions charge their own fees. In heavy cases the fees can double; in light ones they can halve.
  • Timing: SEM normally decides within twelve months of receiving the report.

Reinstatement isn’t available if the link to your Swiss parent was ended, if a foreign parent adopted you, if your naturalisation was declared null and void, or if your citizenship was revoked.

Other ways Swiss citizenship can end

  • Relief (Article 37). A citizen living abroad who holds, or is assured of, another nationality is relieved on request. It takes effect when the certificate is served.
  • Revocation (Article 42). This applies only to dual citizens. SEM, with the canton’s consent, may revoke citizenship if the person’s conduct seriously harms Switzerland’s interests or reputation. SEM mentions convictions for war crimes or terrorism as examples. In a reply to Parliament, the Federal Council said SEM had ordered six revocations in ten years: three final and three under appeal.
  • Nullity (Article 36). A naturalisation obtained with false information or by hiding material facts can be declared void, at the latest within eight years of acquiring citizenship.
  • Family changes (Articles 5 and 6). Citizenship can end when the link to the Swiss parent is ended, unless that would leave the child stateless, or when a foreign parent adopts a Swiss minor who gets or holds that parent’s nationality.

What descendants claiming by descent need to know

Under Article 1, you are Swiss from birth if your parents are married and either is Swiss, or if your unmarried mother is Swiss. So work down from your Swiss ancestor:

  1. Was your parent still Swiss when you were born? If they were born abroad with another citizenship, check whether they were reported by 22 or 25. If they lost it first, nothing passed to you.
  2. Was your Swiss parent your mother, married to a foreigner? Children have become Swiss at birth in all such cases since 1 July 1985, apart from some mothers who were Swiss by marriage, a distinction removed in 2006. Before that, Article 51(1) allows simplified naturalisation for a foreign child with close ties, if the mother held Swiss citizenship before or at the child’s birth and couldn’t pass it on. SEM says it isn’t open if the mother forfeited or gave up her citizenship before the birth, and the grandchildren of a woman who lost it before her children’s birth no longer have this route.
  3. Was your father Swiss and unmarried to your mother? A minor child becomes Swiss as if at birth once the legal link with the father is established. For someone born before 1 January 2006, Article 51 gives simplified naturalisation with close ties, or citizenship as if from birth if the parents marry.
  4. Did the authorities treat you as Swiss by mistake? Under Article 22, someone who for five years believed in good faith they were Swiss, and was treated as Swiss by cantonal or communal authorities, may apply for simplified naturalisation.

Minor children living with an applicant are normally included in the application (Article 30). Adult children aren’t, so check each person’s position separately. More on records is in the Swiss citizenship by descent guide. Our document chain guide helps you line up the dates.

Is any of this changing?

We found no bill that would change Article 7 or Article 27 as of 6 November 2026. On Parliament’s records:

  • Petitions 24.2025 and 25.2003 asked to ease forfeiture and reinstatement. The Council of States’ political institutions committee recommended no action on 7 April 2025, saying the step needed to keep citizenship is no great burden. Both are recorded as closed.
  • Interpellation 25.4337 questioned the rule, and the Federal Council replied that neither it nor Parliament saw reason to adapt it, apart from raising the age.
  • Parliamentary initiative 25.459 would have ended dual citizenship for people naturalising in Switzerland, while leaving out people born with two citizenships and Swiss abroad who take another. It’s recorded as closed, and the Act hasn’t changed.

The American side

Swiss citizenship doesn’t endanger US citizenship. The Foreign Affairs Manual says US citizens who naturalise abroad don’t automatically lose US citizenship and that their intent to keep it is presumed, and loss under 8 U.S.C. 1481 requires a voluntary act done with the intention of giving up US nationality. You still enter and leave the US on a US passport.

Americans with no Swiss parent can naturalise after at least ten years’ residence with a permanent residence permit (Article 9), without giving up US citizenship. SEM says it can’t advise on whether another country will let you keep its nationality, so anyone with a third citizenship should ask that country. On military duty, SEM says service is normally performed where a dual national lives at the time of recruitment, and those who have already served another country aren’t called up. More is in European citizenship by descent for Americans.

Practical steps

  1. Parents of a child born abroad: report the birth to the Swiss representation for your area. It sends the foreign birth certificate on to the cantonal civil registry for entry in the Swiss register.
  2. Under 25 and unsure: ask the Swiss representation or the civil registry of your commune of origin whether you’re recorded. If not, report yourself or send a written declaration, and keep proof.
  3. Check your parent’s line. If your parent was born abroad, find when they were first reported. Article 43 lets the canton decide if there’s doubt about whether someone is Swiss.
  4. If you’ve lost it, note the exact date. The ten years run from that day. Start building your stays in Switzerland early, since the Ordinance looks back six years.

To check whether you have a claim at all, use our free citizenship by descent checker. For how Switzerland compares, see dual citizenship by descent, country by country, and the similar age deadline in Norwegian dual citizenship.

Frequently asked questions

Does Switzerland allow dual citizenship with the USA?

Yes. The State Secretariat for Migration says dual nationality has been recognised without restriction since 1 January 1992. An American who naturalises in Switzerland doesn’t have to give up US citizenship, and a Swiss citizen who takes US citizenship stays Swiss unless the other country requires otherwise. The catch is for people born abroad: a dual citizen who is never reported to a Swiss authority loses Swiss citizenship at 25.

Will I lose Swiss citizenship at 25?

Only if you were born abroad, hold another citizenship, and by your 25th birthday you hadn’t been reported to a Swiss authority, reported yourself, or declared in writing that you want to stay Swiss. Birth in Switzerland, or holding only Swiss citizenship, takes you outside the rule. Keep proof of any report: the foreign ministry told Parliament it can’t fully rule out errors in handling them.

What counts as being reported to a Swiss authority?

Article 7(3) says any notice by parents, relatives or acquaintances aimed at entering the child in the registers, registering the child with a mission, or getting identity documents is enough. The Handbook of the State Secretariat for Migration says the notice is to be read broadly and that you have until the day of your 25th birthday. It doesn’t create citizenship, though. You must have been Swiss in the first place.

I was born in 1990 and never registered. Did the age-25 rule apply to me?

No. The age-22 rule did. The Handbook says people who turned 22 by 31 December 2017, meaning those born in 1995 or earlier, lost Swiss citizenship on their 22nd birthday under the old Act if they hadn’t been reported. Those born in 1996 or later fall under the age of 25. The date matters, because the ten-year window for reinstatement from abroad runs from the date of loss.

My parent lost Swiss citizenship at 25 or 22. Am I Swiss?

Usually not. Citizenship passes from a parent who is Swiss when you’re born, so a parent who had already lost it had nothing to pass on. Under Article 7(2), a person’s children also lose it when that person loses it, which the Handbook says draws in minor children. If you lost it this way, reinstatement is the route to look at. Being Swiss through a grandparent alone isn’t a route.

How do I get Swiss citizenship back after losing it at 25?

Apply for reinstatement within ten years of the loss. From abroad you must show close ties: at least three stays of at least five days in the six years before applying, everyday spoken skills in a national language, basic knowledge of Switzerland, and contact with Swiss citizens. After ten years you need three years’ residence in Switzerland. The federal fee is CHF 500 for adults, plus cantonal and mission charges.

Is Switzerland changing the age-25 rule?

We found nothing that would. Two petitions on Articles 7 and 27 are recorded as closed after the Council of States’ committee recommended no action, and in reply to an interpellation the Federal Council said neither it nor Parliament saw reason to change the rule beyond raising the age. A 2025 initiative to end dual citizenship for people naturalising in Switzerland is also recorded as closed.

Official sources

Checked against these sources on 6 November 2026. German texts were read directly and the summaries are ours; the English translation of the Act has no legal force. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs’ pages refused automated access that day, so this page doesn’t rely on them. Only the Swiss authorities can decide your case; confirm with your Swiss representation, well before your 25th birthday.