People from more than a hundred countries settled in the city of Zurich

Every spring, the Zurich City Council invites those who moved to the city in the previous year to a celebration in the congress center. About 1,200 people followed the call this year, the city announced Monday.

In 2023 a total of 2,950 people in the city of Zurich acquired Swiss and Zurich citizenship. This corresponds to a small decrease compared to 2022 (3297 naturalized).

Naturalized people in the city of Zurich come from more than 100 countries. However, like last year, the majority of people were from Germany. Germans make up 40 percent of the naturalized population (1,123 people).

A tenth are from another neighboring country of Switzerland: Italy. By 2023, 250 Italians had become citizens of the city. Among the best performers are people from France (131) and Spain (102).

But people from distant countries were also settled in the city. For example, 14 people from Colombia, seven from Cuba and one each from Zimbabwe or South Korea received Swiss and Zurich citizenship.

In 2022, 28 people from Ukraine were granted Zurich citizenship, compared to 11 last year. Three stateless persons and one from an unknown country became citizens in 2023.

Mayor Corine Mauch, city council members Daniel Leupi, Karin Rykart, Simone Brander, Andre Odermatt, Michael Baumer and Raphael Golta and city clerk Claudia Cuche-Curti and legal advisor Andrea Töndury participated in the city council delegation.

Zurich's City Youth Music provided a festive musical arrangement. Moderator Salar Bahrambouri led a panel discussion in which three naturalized individuals told their personal stories and Michael LaMatch provided insight into his role as the mayor's naturalization leader. In her speech, Mayor Corine Mauch warmly congratulated all newly naturalized people and emphasized how important the opportunity for co-determination is to strengthening democracy.