The required levels
Speaking and writing are graded separately, so every requirement comes as two levels. Find your row. These are the legal minimums:
| What you’re applying for | Who | Speaking | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residence permit B | EU/EFTA nationals | none | none |
| Residence permit B | Third-country nationals, integration agreement | A1 | none |
| Settlement permit C, after 10 years | Any nationality | A2 | A1 |
| Settlement permit C, after 5 years | Treaty countries (24 listed below) | A2 | A1 |
| Settlement permit C, early granting | Any nationality, applying before you qualify | B1 | A1 |
| Naturalisation, ordinary or simplified | Any nationality | B1 | A2 |
Your canton can ask for more. These are the minimums in federal law. Some cantons set a higher bar for citizenship, and some communes add rules of their own. Check with your cantonal migration or naturalisation office before you book a test.
Residence permit B
As an EU or EFTA national you need nothing here, because free movement covers you.
As a third-country national there are two cases where you do need proof:
- Your permit renewal comes with an integration agreement. You’ll usually need A1 speaking, and nothing in writing.
- You’re arriving through family reunification. Below A1, you’re normally asked to sign up for a language course instead of taking a test.
Settlement permit C
Every route to a C permit needs proof of language. Your passport changes how long you wait, how strong your claim is, and which level you need if you go early. It doesn’t change whether you have to prove anything.
| Route | Who | Wait | Speaking | Writing | Your claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary granting | Everyone | 10 years | A2 | A1 | A right |
| Settlement agreement | 11 countries listed below | 5 years | A2 | A1 | A right, checked automatically |
| Reciprocity or memorandum | 13 countries listed below | 5 years | A2 | A1 | Up to your canton, you must apply |
| Early granting | Everyone | 5 years | B1 | A1 | Up to your canton, based on your integration |
Is my country on a five-year route?
Settlement agreement. You have a right to the permit, and your canton checks your file automatically, with no application from you: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Portugal.
Reciprocity, or a memorandum of understanding (United States and Canada). No automatic right. Your canton decides, and only if you apply: Andorra, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican.
Married to a Swiss citizen or a C permit holder? You’re also looked at after five years. Time on an N or F permit doesn’t count.
Are nationals of countries with a settlement agreement exempt from the language requirement?
Not any more. Until 2022, people from the eleven settlement-agreement countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and others) got the C permit after five years without proving any language skills.
That changed with Federal Supreme Court ruling 2C_881/2021 of 9 May 2022. The court held that the integration rules in Art. 34 para. 2 of the Foreign Nationals Act, language included, apply to these cases too. The State Secretariat for Migration updated its instructions on 1 October 2022, and cantons started applying them in 2023.
Why do people still believe there is a nationality exemption?
Germans, Austrians and Liechtensteiners in a German-speaking canton usually do get through without taking a test. But that’s because they’re native speakers, which is an exemption anyone can use, whatever their passport. It has nothing to do with the treaty. The two get mixed up because the same people qualify both ways.
Someone from Greece or Portugal, on exactly the same settlement agreement, has to prove their German, French or Italian like everyone else.
After ten years, ordinary granting
Open to everyone after ten years of living here without a break. Your passport is irrelevant on this route: someone from Poland or Romania proves exactly what someone from Brazil or India proves.
After five years, settlement agreement or reciprocity
Both lists land on the same levels: A2 speaking and A1 writing. What differs is how strong your claim is. With a settlement agreement you have a right to the permit, and your canton reviews your file on its own. With reciprocity or one of the two memoranda you don’t. You have to apply, and your canton decides. Neither list gets you out of the language requirement any more.
After five years, early granting
For people who’d normally wait ten years but apply at five because their integration is strong. At B1 speaking it’s the toughest C permit route, and it’s where most people who miss their target fall short.
Swiss citizenship
B1 speaking and A2 writing. The same for everyone, whatever your passport and however long you’ve been here, for both ordinary and simplified naturalisation. It’s the highest bar of the lot, and the one cantons are most likely to raise even further.
Exemptions: the fide test is not your only option
You have to prove a level. You don’t have to prove it with this test. You’re exempt if you:
- already hold a recognised certificate at the right level (telc, Goethe-Institut, DELF/DALF, TCF, CELI and more are on the official list)
- are a native speaker of German, French or Italian
- finished compulsory school in Switzerland in a national language
- finished post-compulsory education taught in a national language
Most people take the fide test anyway. It was built for exactly these procedures, every canton accepts it, and it tests everyday situations instead of academic language. If you already have a certificate, check the official list before you pay for another exam.
Next steps
- Check your target levels with your canton. The federal minimum might not be your number.
- Find out where you stand. See what A1, A2 and B1 actually require.
- Learn the format before you book. The fide oral exam doesn’t work like a school language test.
Official sources: residence and citizenship on fide-service.ch and the State Secretariat for Migration.