Swiss Citizenship Laws Considered Harsh and Racist.

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/world/...2a0754ffd16e59

LAST week, two young girls had their citizenship applications rejected by the Swiss government.

The girls, aged 12 and 14, were denied a Swiss passport because they refused to participate in school swimming lessons and camps, saying the proximity to men in these contexts was forbidden by their religion.

Swimming lessons are compulsory in the Swiss city of Basel, where the incident took place.

Stefan Wehrle, president of the naturalisation committee, said that young people who wish to become citizens need to prove they're meeting the requirements of the country's education system.

"Whoever doesn't fulfil these conditions violates the law and therefore cannot be naturalised," he told the Swiss TV station SRF.

It's the first in a string of cases where individuals and families have seen their citizenship requests denied on the basis of not properly integrating into the country's society and culture.

WHAT IS 'NATURALISATION'?

To become an Australian citizen, you basically need to be a permanent resident, have a clean record, pass a general knowledge test and intend on staying in Australia.

In Switzerland, however, the rules are more stringent. Foreigners with no direct blood ties to Switzerland must live in the country for at least 12 years before they can apply for citizenship (although years spent in the country between ages 10 and 20 count for double).

Unlike in Australia or the United States, general knowledge of the country is considered less important than provenly integrating into society.



Authorities can and will do regular check-ups to determine whether or not a migrant is making genuine attempts to assimilate into their local neighbourhood, and adopting the national customs and traditions.

According to the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, one of the country's largest newspapers, it is very rare for a naturalisation application to be denied.

But a string of recent cases suggest otherwise.

In an incident last month, a Bosnian Muslim father was fined for refusing to allow his daughters to take swimming lessons at school.

He also forbade them from going to camps and other school events, claiming such activities ran counter to his religious beliefs, the AFP reported.

He was ordered to pay 4000 Swiss francs (almost $A5500), and the prosecutor additionally requested he serve four months in jail, saying he had been living in Switzerland since 1990 and had made no attempts to integrate.

The Swiss government is not shy about threatening fines over a lack of integration. A case of this a few months ago sparked national outrage after two Muslim schoolboys refused to shake their female teacher's hand, saying any physical contact with a non-related female was prohibited by Islam.

Shaking hands in Switzerland is a common display of cultural etiquette, taught from a very young age as a sign of respect.


The incident largely sparked fury after the school agreed that the boys would no longer have to shake their female teachers' hands, with the country's Justice Minister insisting "shaking hands is part of our culture".

The decision was later overturned, and replaced by a rule that stated a parent or guardian could be fined up to 5000 francs ($A6805) if their child refused to shake hands.

In 2015, a 76-year-old American immigrant abandoned his quest to become a Swiss citizen after living there for 43 years.

Local officials refused his naturalisation application, claiming the man — who lived there with his three children and German wife — had not sufficiently integrated.

They justified this by claiming, based on tests they conducted, that he wasn't familiar with the local area and didn't have any local friends.

In a comparatively stricter ruling, a family from Kosovo was denied citizenship because they wore tracksuit pants around town.

Initially, the family's application process seemed solid: they knew the customs and geography of their region, and they could all speak German (there is a rule that citizens must speak one of the three national languages fluently — German, French or Italian).

But some panel members said the fact that they didn't wear jeans was a hindrance, as was the fact that they didn't greet people they passed in the street.

Gee! do they sure have ways to keep the riff raff out! How are you supposed to police if they wear jeans or not? How many friends are Swiss?