The basis is article 5 of the cantonal citizenship act in the version of 1 January 2018: anyone who wants cantonal and communal citizenship must be successfully integrated and "familiar with Swiss, cantonal and communal living conditions". The ordinance on eligibility requirements turns this into three things in article 2: basic knowledge of the geographical, historical, political and social conditions in Switzerland, in the canton of Uri and in the commune, participation in social and cultural life, and contacts with Swiss citizens. The basic knowledge "is proven with a test"; the Justizdirektion may run it together with the communes or delegate it to public or private providers, must make sure you can prepare with aids or courses, and you bear the costs. Exempt are people who attended primary or upper-secondary school in Switzerland for at least five years in total and can prove it, people under 16 at filing, and people whose knowledge of the rights and duties is obvious for other reasons.
The Justizdirektion has delegated the test to the Berufs- und Weiterbildungszentrum Uri. According to the leaflet, the bwz uri runs the civics test twice a year; its course listing number 115 names as its goal the "proof of knowledge in connection with citizenship" and as its content questions from the areas Uri/Switzerland, democracy, federalism and justice, social security, everyday law, education and work, and everyday life and customs. It presupposes German at B1 and knowledge of geography, history, democracy, federalism, social security, health, work and education in Switzerland as well as the rights and duties of Swiss citizens. The test takes one evening of two lessons, Tuesday 19:30 to 21:00, in groups of 2 to 20 people at Attinghauserstrasse 12 in Altdorf, costs CHF 180 and is held in standard German; people with attested illiteracy take it orally and enclose the confirmation with their registration. The date of 10 November 2026 with a registration deadline of 20 October was already fully booked on 6 September 2026; the bwz uri does not publish the number of questions or the pass mark. The leaflet recommends the course "Politik und Gesellschaft", also offered twice a year.
The second hurdle is the language. Article 6 of the ordinance requires German at B1 spoken and A2 written; the proof counts as given with German as a mother tongue, five years of compulsory school in German, German-language education from upper-secondary level up, or a certificate based on a language test that meets recognised quality standards. The Justizdirektion refers to the list of recognised language certificates on fide-service.ch and to the fide language passport, which more than 100 accredited examination institutions across Switzerland administer. You bear the costs. The ordinance allows deviations on language and work if you cannot meet the criteria, or only with difficulty, because of a disability, a serious or long illness, a pronounced learning, reading or writing difficulty, working poverty or care duties (art. 9).
You are also examined without a questionnaire. The Abteilung Justiz und Handelsregister clarifies the eligibility requirements and obtains a detailed enquiry report from the cantonal police; the Gemeinderat checks the integration criteria before the assembly, in Schattdorf with a home visit and interview by a delegation of the Gemeinderat, and the authorities may question your three Swiss reference persons. At the communal assembly the Gemeinderat discloses your nationality, length of residence and the facts relevant to integration (art. 8 para. 4 KBüG), and the proposal counts as accepted if no admissible counter-motion comes from the floor. Our 50 questions on the canton of Uri cover the cantonal part of the test: the Federal Charter of 1291 and Uri's role as a founding canton, Altdorf as the capital and seat of the Landrat, the Regierungsrat and the courts, the Landrat with 64 members, the Regierungsrat of Landammann, Landesstatthalter and five members, all elected by the people, the Landammann's two-year term, the last Landsgemeinde of 1928, the 19 communes on 1,077 square kilometres with 37,313 inhabitants at the end of 2022, the Gotthard, the Reuss and Lake Uri with the Rütli and the Tellskapelle. Add the lessons on Swiss politics, history and geography for the blocks on democracy, federalism and social security.