Over in MSIMP forum, there is a thread about Bachmann’s recent dual citizenship declaration and rapid denouncement of said citizenshop.
Apparently her husband is of Swiss ancestry and since she is married to him she was eligible…at least that’s what the press says.
I too am of Swiss ancestry. The last descendants I have that were born and lived in Switzerland are 8 generations back, my sixth great grandfather and grandmother.
According to the Swiss government’s website if I am of Swiss ancestry I can only claim Swiss citizenship under the following circumstances:
I’m pretty sure Bachmann’s husband is over 32, so how did he get it and can I. Not that I seriously want to, but curious if I could.
His parents are/were Swiss. That’s probably a lot closer of a connection than you have. ETA: And I don’t know that he “recovered” his citizenship recently. This Politico article makes it sound like he was a Swiss citizen when he married Michele.
I read this yarn that Michelle Bachmann had to get Swiss citizenship in order that her kids might get Swiss citizenship. Her kids were too far removed unless she did it.
Makes sense. Why should her kids suffer because of her isolationist viewpoint? I see nothing wrong with someone who has a connection through ancestry or marriage having dual citizenship. It’s not like they came along with the intent - “I’m taking out Swiss citizenship so I can forget the USA.”
Ironically, one of the most Islamic of the candidates for the Egyptian presidency was disqualified because his mother had dual American citizenship. Apparently their rules are that the parents of a candidate cannot be foreign citizens either. (Hope it does not give the tea party ideas!)
If you don’t have any family ties to Switzerland, getting the Swiss citizenship is very difficult, requiring 12 years residence in the country and proving that you’re well integrated into Swiss society. More about Swiss nationality law. Ancestors from 8 generations ago wouldn’t count as sufficiently close family ties.
It seems that in Ms. Bachmann’s case, she got married with a man who already was a Swiss citizen in 1978, correct? Now normally in most countries after getting married with a citizen you still need to be resident in said country for some number of years before you can apply for citizenship, and even after applying, you are not automatically granted it. This case is different, however.
Switzerland changed their laws on naturalization through marriage in 1992. Before that, they had very different laws for men and women (remember, this is a country which values gender equality so much that they gave women the right to vote already in 1971…). Swiss women living abroad who married a foreigner were routinely taken away their citizenship, only from 1950’s onward could they specifically request to keep it, while foreign women who married Swiss men were more or less automatically granted Swiss citizenship. So because of this, it appears that she in fact might have been Swiss citizen since 1978.
Nowadays there is a waiting period regardless of gender before you can apply, so the current law is more similar to that of most other countries. Though now another Swiss specialty is that even if a couple resides abroad, the foreign spouse can apply for Swiss citizenship after 6 years of marriage, provided there are close links to the country. Of course participating in other country’s politics seems to be rather opposite of what they mean by close links, but this all wouldn’t matter since the marriage took place before 1992 and the law revision.
So, what do the rules say about their children? If he was born outside of Switzerland, then I assume if their laws are close to British laws, grandchildren of natural-born citizens are not automatically citizens?
