Appenzell Ausserrhoden reverses the usual order: the test comes before the application. If you meet the requirements, you register online for an initial meeting with the Abteilung Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand in Trogen, then sit the canton's civics test (Staatskundetest), and only after passing may you file the naturalisation application. The next test dates are 21 September, 26 October and 30 November 2026, each at 9 a.m.; if you fail, you register for a repeat test. The canton does not publish the format, the number of questions or the pass mark, but it does publish the preparation aids it recommends: VoteInfo, CH Info and ECHO.
On top, the canton asks for more than federal law: German at B1 written and spoken, no social assistance in the last five years, no open taxes, debt enforcement or criminal proceedings, three uninterrupted years in the same commune. The cantonal fee is CHF 1,000 for an adult applying alone, communal fees are capped at CHF 2,000, the procedure takes about a year and a half according to the canton's leaflet, and at the end the Regierungsrat grants cantonal citizenship (Landrecht). This page summarises what the citizenship act, the Abteilung Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand and the communes of Herisau, Gais, Teufen and Speicher published on 6 September 2026; every figure is linked to its source.
Facts checked on 6 September 2026.
The basis is article 3 of the act on cantonal and communal citizenship: cantonal and communal citizenship go only to people who are "mit den schweizerischen, kantonalen und örtlichen Lebensgewohnheiten vertraut", respect the legal order and have sufficient language skills, together with article 11 of the federal act on familiarity with Swiss living conditions. Unlike in most cantons, this is not checked by the commune in an interview but by the canton itself in a civics test, and before you may file an application at all. The Abteilung Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand writes: "Ein Gesuch um ordentliche Einbürgerung kann nach erfolgreichem Abschluss des Staatskundetests eingereicht werden." The way there has two stages: first you register online for the initial meeting and confirm the eight basic requirements (10 years in Switzerland, 3 years in the same commune, C permit, no open taxes, no criminal proceedings, no debt enforcement, 5 years without social assistance, German B1); at the meeting the division explains the procedure and hands you the application documents. Only then can you register for the test.
The test is held on fixed dates in Trogen, currently 21 September, 26 October and 30 November 2026, each at 9 a.m. In the registration form you choose between first and repeat test, name two preferred dates and can add up to five further participants, for example family members. What the canton does not publish: the number of questions, the form (written or oral), the pass mark, the duration and any fee; the 2018 leaflet names the test only as the second of seven procedural steps. What it does publish are the aids the division recommends for preparation: the VoteInfo app with the federal and cantonal ballot proposals, the CH Info platform on Swiss politics and the ECHO information series of HEKS on life in Switzerland. Anyone who fails can register for a repeat test; the canton names no waiting period.
The test alone does not settle familiarity. After you file, the canton checks whether the application is complete and the cantonal requirements are met, and forwards it to your commune. There the Gemeinderat or a commission designated by the communal regulations decides on communal citizenship; in Herisau that is the Bürgerrechtskommission at Poststrasse 6, whose president also gives information, while Teufen, Speicher and Gais refer applicants on their pages directly to the cantonal division for the preliminary check. How the communes shape their examination, with an interview or on the file alone, the four communes do not publish. You no longer have to prove the language: the B1 certificate from telc, Goethe or fide is on the table before the initial meeting, unless you are a native speaker of German or completed five years of compulsory school or a vocational qualification in Switzerland.
Our 35 questions on Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden cover the cantonal part of what "civics" means in Ausserrhoden: the division of 1597 and the Reformed tradition, the Kantonsrat with 65 members and at least one seat per commune, the Regierungsrat with five full-time members under the Landammann, the abolition of the Landsgemeinde in 1997, women's suffrage in 1989, the government building in Herisau and the Landsgemeindeplatz in Trogen, the 20 communes in Hinterland, Mittelland and Vorderland, the textile and embroidery history, the Säntis and Lake Constance. Add the lessons on Swiss politics, history and geography for the federal part and the preparation aids the canton names. The totally revised cantonal constitution, accepted by the people on 30 November 2025 and in force from 1 January 2027 once the Federal Assembly has guaranteed it, keeps both numbers: 65 members of the Kantonsrat (art. 89) and five full-time members of the Regierungsrat (art. 102).
The canton's leaflet counts seven steps, the first three of which are yours: initial meeting, civics test and application; then canton, commune and Confederation examine independently, and the Regierungsrat grants cantonal citizenship.
Check the eight basic requirements of the self-declaration: 10 years in Switzerland, 3 uninterrupted years in the same Ausserrhoden commune, C permit, no open due taxes, no pending criminal proceedings, no open debt enforcement, no social assistance in the last 5 years and German at least B1 written and spoken. You obtain the language proof (telc, Goethe or fide) beforehand, unless you are a native speaker of German or completed 5 years of compulsory school or a vocational qualification in Switzerland; the division publishes a list of language-course providers.
If you meet all requirements, you register through the online form for the initial meeting with the Abteilung Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand in Trogen (according to the leaflet also by phone on 071 343 63 35). At the meeting the division informs you about the procedure and hands you the application documents. The meeting is the prerequisite for registering for the civics test.
After the initial meeting you register online for the civics test with two preferred dates; the test takes place in Trogen, currently on 21 September, 26 October or 30 November 2026 at 9 a.m. Prepare with VoteInfo, CH Info and ECHO and with our questions on the Confederation and the canton. Only with a passed test can you file the application; otherwise you register for the repeat test.
You file the fully completed naturalisation application with all documents on the list on page 4 of the form with the Amt für Inneres, Abteilung Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand, Landsgemeindeplatz 2, 9043 Trogen. Naturalisation extends to the children under your parental care; young people from 16 must consent in writing, as must a non-applying parent with joint custody. Minors can apply on their own from age 9 through their legal representative. You report marriage, divorce, widowhood or the birth of a child during the procedure at once with the civil-status document.
The Abteilung Bürgerrecht und Zivilstand checks whether the application is complete and whether the naturalisation requirements under cantonal law are met. Complete documents avoid queries and delays. The application then goes to your commune; if you move to another commune in that time, the procedure lapses.
The Gemeinderat also checks the cantonal requirements and grants communal citizenship; the communal regulations may delegate this to a commission, in Herisau the Bürgerrechtskommission. The communal fee follows time and effort and is at most CHF 2,000 per application, in Herisau CHF 500 / 1,000 / 1,500 plus 150 per child, in Gais CHF 500 / 750 / 1,000. Against the decision of the Gemeinderat you can appeal to the Regierungsrat within 20 days.
The State Secretariat for Migration checks the federal requirements and issues the federal naturalisation authorisation (CHF 100 per adult, 150 for spouses, 50 for minors applying on their own). Then the Regierungsrat grants cantonal citizenship against the cantonal fee of as a rule CHF 500 / 1,000 / 1,500 plus 150 per child; with the acquisition of cantonal citizenship communal citizenship also takes effect, and you are a Swiss citizen. Against cantonal naturalisation decisions an appeal to the Obergericht is open within 30 days. The whole procedure takes about a year and a half as a rule according to the leaflet.
This is what the practice questions in our lessons look like. The correct answer is marked and the explanation gives the background.
The Kantonsrat of Appenzell Ausserrhoden has 65 members elected every 4 years - by majority vote in 19 municipalities and by proportional representation only in Herisau. It replaced the Landsgemeinde's legislative function in 1997 and meets in Herisau.
The Regierungsrat has had 5 members since 2015; from 1859 until then it had 7. They are elected directly by the people every 4 years under a majority system, and the people elect one of them Landammann (president) for 2 years.
Appenzell Ausserrhoden abolished the Landsgemeinde in 1997. The final assembly, on 27 April 1997 in Hundwil, resolved to put the question to the ballot box; on 28 September 1997, 54.0 percent voted for abolition. Voting has been written ever since.
The people elect one member of the Regierungsrat as Landammann (president) for 2 years. The Landammann is the highest cantonal official, presides over the executive council, and represents the canton externally.
The full federal course plus Appenzell Ausserrhoden in depth — lessons, canton-specific questions and key procedural facts. PDF + EPUB, CHF 19.90.
Procedure, topics and preparation for Appenzell Ausserrhoden: our full guide goes beyond this overview.