In the Canton of St. Gallen the Einbürgerungsrat, the naturalisation council of your commune, decides on communal citizenship and checks in the naturalisation interview whether you are familiar with Swiss and local conditions. There is no cantonal test, but most communes, including the City of St. Gallen, require you to have passed the civics test (Staatskundetest) of Arge Integration Ostschweiz before you apply: a written exam of about one hour for CHF 120 whose certificate may be at most two years old when you file.
This page sums up what the canton and the City of St. Gallen officially require: five uninterrupted years in the canton and the commune, German at B1 spoken and written, the civics test and its exceptions, the public display with the right of objection, the communal, cantonal and federal fees and the duration. Every figure is backed by an official source.
Facts checked on 5 September 2026.
Article 14 of the St. Gallen citizenship act requires you to be familiar with Swiss and local conditions: you take an interest in public affairs, know about them and take part, know the principles of the structure of the state and have basic knowledge of geographic, historic, political and social conditions. The naturalisation council establishes these facts and holds the naturalisation interview with you. Neither the act nor the ordinance says how the knowledge is tested; the canton notes that some naturalisation authorities run a written or oral test.
In practice most St. Gallen communes require the civics test of Arge Integration Ostschweiz, some together with its civics course; Arge lists the requirements of 26 communes. The test is written, lasts about one hour and costs CHF 120; sittings take place in St. Gallen, Goldach, Rapperswil-Jona, Uznach and Wil. The sample questions show open and matching tasks in six areas: geography, history and languages, democracy and federalism, rights and duties, social security and health, work and education, and the Canton of St. Gallen, for instance which river flows through the canton to the North Sea or at what age women and men receive the old-age pension.
In the City of St. Gallen every person aged 15 or over who is included in an application must have passed the Arge test before the application is filed; the certificate may be at most two years old, and the city does not accept tests from other providers such as the Migros Klubschule. Since 4 September 2026 the two naturalisation councils waive the test for applicants under 18 who attended all three years of upper primary school in Switzerland, because the relevant knowledge is taught there. From the age of 18 the test must be taken in every case.
You can pass the test long before you meet the residence periods; the city explicitly recommends taking it early and working on your German in the meantime. If you fail, you register for one of the next sittings. To prepare, Arge offers its civics course in six modules and teaching material on the canton and its regions. Even with the test passed, the naturalisation interview remains: there the council wants to hear that you connect the knowledge with life in your commune.
In St. Gallen the procedure starts at the naturalisation council of your commune, which decides on communal and local citizenship and displays its decision publicly. Only then do the cantonal Amt für Gemeinden und Bürgerrecht, the State Secretariat for Migration and the cantonal government come in.
Check the ten years in Switzerland, the five uninterrupted years in the canton and the commune, the C permit, your orderly finances and your German. If you are not yet entered in the Swiss civil register, register at the civil registry office before filing. The city's Administration Einbürgerungen or the naturalisation council of your commune advises you and hands out the application form.
Register with Arge Integration Ostschweiz for the civics test if your commune requires it, and time it so that the certificate is no older than two years when you file. Obtain the German proof at B1 spoken and written, for example with the fide test, unless you can show German as your mother tongue or five years of German-language schooling.
The application goes to the naturalisation council or the office it designates, in the city to the Bevölkerungsdienste. It includes the letter of application with your motives, a photo, residence certificates for the last ten years, the civil-status or family certificate, copies of your foreigner's permit and passport, the language proof, the civics-test certificate and the signed declaration on the rule of law. Minor children are included if you hold parental care.
The administration checks that the documents are complete and the conditions met; the department queries the criminal register. The city then invoices the communal fee, which must be paid before the interview, otherwise the application is rejected. The naturalisation council then invites you to the naturalisation interview and records the results in the investigation report.
If the naturalisation council approves, it publishes the decision with name, date of birth, nationality and address in the official gazette and displays the file publicly for 30 days from the following day. Voters of the commune may inspect it and lodge a written, reasoned objection; the citizens' assembly or the communal parliament decides on a valid objection. If the council refuses, you can appeal to the department within 14 days. In the special naturalisation of young people under 20 there is no display and no objection.
After the legally binding communal decision the naturalisation council forwards the application, the investigation report and the summary of the interview to the Amt für Gemeinden und Bürgerrecht, which applies to the State Secretariat for Migration for the federal naturalisation authorisation and collects an advance on the cantonal and federal fees. Before the government's decision the office queries the criminal register again and checks your finances.
Once the federal authorisation is in, the cantonal government decides on the grant of cantonal citizenship; it must do so within one year, otherwise the authorisation lapses. With the government's decision communal, local and cantonal citizenship take effect and you are Swiss. You can then apply for a passport and identity card and automatically receive the voting material for the next vote.
This is what the practice questions in our lessons look like. The correct answer is marked and the explanation gives the background.
Canton St. Gallen was established in 1803 through Napoleon's Act of Mediation, uniting the Protestant city, Catholic Abbey territories, and the surrounding regions. The Abbey was dissolved in 1805.
Säntis peak is 2,502 meters high and is the highest point in the Alpstein massif, which is shared by St. Gallen and Appenzell. On clear days, six countries can be seen from the summit!
The St. Gallen Cantonal Council has 120 members elected for 4-year terms through proportional representation, reflecting the canton's large population.
The St. Gallen Executive Council (Regierungsrat) has 7 members elected by the people. It operates as a collegial government where all members share responsibility, with one member serving as Regierungspräsident (president) annually on a rotating basis.
The full federal course plus St. Gallen in depth — lessons, canton-specific questions and key procedural facts. PDF + EPUB, CHF 19.90.
Procedure, topics and preparation for St. Gallen: our full guide goes beyond this overview.