Dual Citizenship: Swiss Abroad Explain Why It Matters To Them

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) For some Swiss citizens living abroad, dual citizenship is a sign of their attachment to their new home; for others, it makes daily life easier. But not everyone is free to choose whether to take up the citizenship of their country of residence. This content was published on November 10, 2026 - 09:00 7 minutes

In my work, I focus on topics that are relevant to Swiss citizens abroad – from political developments in Switzerland and their impact on the diaspora to social, economic, and cultural issues. Before joining SWI swissinfo, I worked as a local journalist for the Aargauer Zeitung. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Multilingual Communication and, as is typically Swiss, completed an apprenticeship as a commercial employee.

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Three-quarters of Swiss citizens living abroad hold dual citizenship, with at least one other nationality in addition to their Swiss citizenship. By comparison, only around one in five Swiss citizens living in Switzerland has more than one nationality.

One of these Swiss Abroad is Swissinfo reader Paul Widmer, who emigrated to Germany 15 years ago. In time, he started a family, built a house and found a permanent job. He realised that he wanted not only to live in Germany but also to become a German citizen. For him, citizenship was an expression of“respect and affection for Germany”, he writes.

However, around that time, debate flared up again in Germany over the possible abolition of dual citizenship. Paul suspended his application. Otherwise, he writes,“it would have led to the rather bizarre and amusing situation in which I would have been the only person in my family to be exclusively German”. His German wife had acquired Swiss citizenship through their marriage, while his children had obtained it through him.

A few years later, dual citizenship became possible in Germany againExternal link, and he reapplied. Today, he holds both passports. He particularly values one benefit: he can vote in both Germany and Switzerland.“I value this enormously and see it as a great privilege,” he writes. He says the right to vote in Switzerland helps him maintain his ties to his former home.

Home: having more than one passport

Other Swiss citizens living abroad also see dual citizenship as part of their identity. Peps Türler writes on Facebook that she emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1983 and acquired British citizenship four years later. She wanted to express“that my life is now here”. Nevertheless, Switzerland remained important to her.

Brexit has changed her relationship with the UK. Today, she feels less at home there, and British citizenship no longer means much to her.“I see myself first and foremost as Swiss and may return to Switzerland towards the end of my life,” she writes.

A Swiss woman who has lived in Australia since 1971 says she holds Italian citizenship through marriage, in addition to Swiss and Australian citizenship. Asked whether the three nationalities represent a sense of home for her, she replies:“Certainly.”

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