Citizenship Test Basel-Stadt 2026 – What You Actually Need to Know

If you search for a citizenship test in Basel, you will find something different from Zurich: no multiple-choice test on a computer, but a personal interview. The naturalisation commission of the Bürgergemeinde checks in it whether you are familiar with Swiss and local life. According to the Bürgergemeinde the interview has the character of a test and is recorded.

What familiar means is written in section 11 of the cantonal citizenship act: basic knowledge of the geographic, historical, political and social conditions in the federation, the canton and the commune, participation in social and cultural life, and contacts with Swiss people.

The act knows one exception: anyone who completed compulsory school entirely in Switzerland, with all of lower secondary school in the Canton of Basel-Stadt, counts as familiar and is no longer asked civics questions in the interview.

The federal frame applies in Basel-Stadt too: a settlement permit C and 10 years of residence in Switzerland, 3 of them in the 5 years before the application. The years between 8 and 18 count double, years with provisional admission count half, and years on an L, N, G or S permit do not count at all.

On top of that the canton requires at least 2 uninterrupted years in the same commune: Basel, Riehen or Bettingen. From the age of 12 an application in your own name is possible.

For the language, German at B1 spoken and A2 written applies. The Migrationsamt accepts the fide language passport, the Goethe certificate, telc Deutsch, ÖSD, the ECL exam and TestDaF (levels 3 to 4); a course attendance certificate is not enough. You can take the fide test at the Bürgergemeinde Basel, among other places. No proof is needed from native German speakers, from anyone who attended school in German for at least five years, or from anyone who completed an upper secondary or tertiary education in German.

Before the interview you have filed the application with the Migrationsamt Basel-Stadt and had the fact-finding interview there. Then the Bürgergemeinde invites you to an information event at the Stadthaus, where the procedure, the requirements and the course offers are explained.

The naturalisation interview itself is held by the naturalisation commission. It checks the requirements, the interview is recorded, and afterwards the commission asks the Bürgerrat to approve, reject or postpone your application.

The content is what the act requires: the federation, the canton and the commune in geography, history, politics and society, your everyday life in Basel, your contacts. There is no official question catalogue as in Zurich, but the topics of the Bürgergemeinde's compact course show what is expected: the political system at all three levels, plus the geography, history and culture of Switzerland and Basel.

You file the application with the Migrationsamt, since 2026 online through the canton's ePortal with an upload of all documents, or still by post if you prefer. The cantonal and communal fees are paid in advance.

Since 1 July 2026 the canton no longer charges a fee. The City of Basel charges CHF 800 per person and CHF 950 for couples and families, Riehen CHF 1,700 and Bettingen CHF 1,400. Anyone under 25, or receiving premium reductions, supplementary benefits or social assistance through no fault of their own, pays no communal fee. Add the federal fee of CHF 100 per person, CHF 150 for married couples and CHF 50 under 18. A single adult over 25 therefore pays CHF 900 in the City of Basel instead of the previous CHF 1,750, CHF 1,800 in Riehen and CHF 1,500 in Bettingen.

According to the canton the whole procedure usually takes one and a half to two years.

The Bürgergemeinde Basel offers the voluntary Kompaktkurs Einbürgerung: three sessions of 1¾ hours, CHF 120 per person or CHF 180 for couples and families, on site or online. It requires that the fact-finding interview at the Migrationsamt has taken place; children under 16 do not need a course. There is also the Fit für Basel programme.

Start with the federal topics: the political system, direct democracy, Swiss history and geography. Then Basel: the three communes, the Grosser Rat and the Regierungsrat, the separation of 1833, the Rhine, the Fasnacht and the role of the pharmaceutical industry. Our seven Basel lessons with practice questions cover exactly these topics.

If the Bürgerrat agrees, you are admitted to communal citizenship. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) then examines the file and issues the federal naturalisation permit. Finally the Regierungsrat grants cantonal citizenship; with this decision, which is published in the Kantonsblatt, you are a Swiss citizen. The Bürgergemeinde hands over the Bürgerbrief at a ceremony.

If the commission proposes to postpone or reject the application, you are heard before the authority decides. A negative decision by the Bürgergemeinde can be appealed to the Regierungsrat, and its decisions to the administrative court. Ask the Migrationsamt or your Bürgergemeinde what the next step is in your case.