Swiss Citizenship in 2026: Which Cantons Got Cheaper – and Which Got Stricter

There is one fact that surprises almost everyone planning naturalisation in Switzerland: the federal rules are only the floor. The Confederation sets a national minimum – ten years of residence, a C permit, language and integration requirements – but the fee, the exact language level and parts of the procedure are set by your canton and even your commune. Two people with identical files can pay very different amounts and face different tests simply because they live in different places.

That is why people talk about a naturalisation “postcode lottery.” And in 2026 the map is moving in two opposite directions at once. Some cantons are making naturalisation cheaper and more digital; others are making it harder by raising the language bar. This guide walks through both, with the concrete changes that took effect in 2026, so you can see where your canton stands and plan accordingly. (If you want the basics of the three-level system first, see our explainer on Swiss federalism.)

The federal fee is small and fixed: CHF 100 for an adult (CHF 150 for a married couple applying together, CHF 50 for a minor). Everything on top of that is cantonal and communal – which is where the big differences appear. As a rough guide, the all-in cost typically runs from about CHF 500 to CHF 3,500, and a family in an expensive commune can pay more still.

A few concrete reference points for 2026:

• Among the cheapest: the canton of Jura (around CHF 630, and only about CHF 210 for under-25s) and the city of Lausanne (around CHF 800).
• Among the most expensive: the canton of Schwyz, where a single commune can charge roughly CHF 2,850, and families pay well into four figures.
• A common mid-range example: Ticino’s cantonal fee is about CHF 800, with the commune and the federal fee added on top.

Because these figures change and depend on your exact commune, always confirm the current amount on your canton’s official page before you budget. For the full breakdown of who charges what, see our guide to the cost of naturalisation. And remember the cost is not just the fee: the language certificate and your study materials are part of the real budget too – which is exactly where a single structured handbook saves money against booking a course.

The clearest good news of 2026 comes from two places.

Basel-Stadt. From 1 July 2026, the canton abolishes its cantonal naturalisation fee and moves the whole application online. People under 25 and those on low incomes then pay only the federal fee (CHF 50–150). Note one detail so you are not caught out: applicants over 25 still pay a municipal fee – around CHF 900 in the city of Basel, more in Riehen – but dropping the cantonal layer and digitising the process is a real saving and a real simplification.

City of Lucerne. Since 1 April 2026, the city charges a flat CHF 500 for naturalisation (it was well over CHF 1,500 before), and it remains free for under-25s. This is the city of Lucerne specifically, not the whole canton.

The pattern is the same in both: lower fees, simpler steps, and a deliberate effort to stop money being a barrier for young people who grew up in Switzerland. If you have a choice of timing, it can be worth checking whether a fee change is about to take effect in your commune before you file.

The other trend runs the opposite way: a handful of German-speaking cantons are raising the language requirement above the federal minimum. Remember the national floor is spoken B1, written A2. These cantons go higher:

• Zug – since 1 January 2025, you need spoken B2 and written B1 (up from B1/A2), and the period you must be free of social assistance rose from three to five years.
• Solothurn – since 1 January 2026, the spoken requirement rose from B1 to B2 (the written requirement stays at A2).
• Aargau – this one is only a proposal, not yet law. A reform passing its first reading would lift the bar to B2 spoken / B1 written, require five years in the same commune, and add a clean debt-register condition. The earliest it could take effect is 2027, and a referendum is likely – so today Aargau still applies the current B1/A2 rule.

Why does this matter so much? Jumping from B1 to B2 is a genuine step up – B2 means you can follow and join a complex discussion with relative ease. If your canton has moved (or might), give yourself more lead time for the certificate, because it is often the slowest part of the whole file. Our language-certificate guide explains which exams each level accepts.

Amid the headlines, it is worth being clear about what is stable in 2026.

• The federal baseline is unchanged: ten years of residence (including three of the last five), a C permit, spoken B1 / written A2, and the rule that years between ages 8 and 18 count double (with a minimum of six actual years).
• Bern did not cut its cantonal fee. The cantonal fee (around CHF 1,150 for a single adult) is unchanged. Only the city of Bern passed a motion to scrap its small municipal fee – and that has not yet been implemented. If you read a headline about “Bern abolishing fees,” this is the narrow, not-yet-in-force version.
• Dual citizenship is still allowed, and the national residency rule has not dropped to five years – that is the Democracy Initiative, which Parliament rejected in the National Council and which has no vote date.

One more correction worth making, because it spreads easily: it is not true that French-speaking cantons naturalise far less than German-speaking ones. In the most recent cantonal data, Vaud and Geneva are actually among the highest, while the lowest tend to be small rural cantons. The real divide is more urban-versus-rural than language-region – don’t plan around the myth.

So how do you turn all this into action? Three practical moves:

• Look up your own canton and commune first. The fee, the language level and the test format are decided there, not nationally. Start with our canton comparison and the canton overview to see exactly what applies where you live.
• Confirm your language level for your canton – B1 in most places, B2 spoken in Zug and Solothurn, possibly Aargau later. Then book the certificate early.
• Practise the knowledge test the way your canton asks it. That part you fully control, and it does not change with the fee debates. Run a few mock exams to find your weak spots.

The takeaway from 2026 is reassuring: in much of Switzerland naturalisation is getting cheaper and more digital, and where it is getting stricter, it is the language bar – something you can prepare for with enough lead time. None of the year’s changes touch the part the exam tests, so the smartest thing you can do today is simply start practising.