Purpose: The aim is to draw immigrants’ attention to the new naturalisation rules and encourage them to apply for citizenship.
Stimulus: Zurich City Council wants as many Zurich residents as possible to participate in the direct democratic process. The more people participate, the more vibrant democracy becomes. It is therefore important and desirable that foreigners who meet the requirements are naturalised.
Process: Approximately 434,000 people live in the city of Zurich (2019), of whom 32.2% (139,803) are foreigners. In May 2017, the City of Zurich sent letters to the nearly 40,000 foreigners in Zurich who meet the residence requirements, informing them about the possibilities of naturalisation. The city launched the information campaign in anticipation of a change in naturalisation law that came into effect on 1 January 2018. Following this campaign, the number of naturalisation applications increased significantly, a change directly attributable to the impact of the information letters. The measure was implemented as part of the city's integration strategy. In October 2019 and May 2020, a second wave of information was sent to a further 11,000 people who had in the meantime fulfilled the residence requirements. As with the first initiative in 2017, the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) studied the impact in detail. The study showed that an active information campaign can reduce the hurdles to naturalisation and thus increase the number of naturalisation applications (by around 40%). Other effects are that informed applicants have a better understanding of the process, are encouraged to apply and feel welcome. The information also reduces the complexity of the process. The results show how barriers to naturalisation, such as lack of information and public encouragement, can be effectively reduced.
Impact: Naturalisation increases political participation and promotes economic integration. The studies show that naturalisation has a positive impact on the economic participation of naturalised citizens.
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