Over 2,100 Kosovars obtained Swiss citizenship in 2025, the fourth highest number
Express newspaper
08/04/2026 22:58
According to data from the Swiss Immigration Office (SEM), during 2025, 2,106 Kosovars acquired Swiss citizenship, ranking fourth in number among all naturalizations.
In total, 41,269 foreign nationals became Swiss, a similar figure to 2024, but lower than the 46,711 naturalizations in 2006. Swiss media outlet Thelocal.ch reports that since then, the number has hovered around 40,000, much higher than the 11,208 naturalizations in 1992.
Where do new citizens come from?
Nearly half of the new citizens come from Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and Kosovo. The largest numbers were registered from:
Germany – 8,980 (22%)
Italy – 4,220
France – 3,914
Kosovo – 2,106
Portugal – 1,840
Turkey – 1,404
North Macedonia – 1,307
Spain – 1,280
Serbia – 1,096
United Kingdom – 927
About 19% of naturalizations were citizens from outside Europe, and 18.5% of them benefited from the simplified naturalization procedure.
Cantons with the most naturalizations
The canton of Zurich leads with over a quarter of the total (11,100), with 3,756 citizens naturalized in the city of Zurich. The canton of Vaud follows with 5,459 and the capital Bern with 3,578. The smallest canton, Appenzell-Innerrhoden, recorded only 14 naturalizations.