Swiss Citizenship (Einbürgerung) — Canton Knowledge Tests
Ordinary naturalisation in Switzerland requires a C permit and 10 years’ residence in Switzerland, 3 of them in the 5 years before the application (Citizenship Act, BüG Art. 9), plus the residence the canton sets (2 to 5 years, BüG Art. 18). Applicants must speak a national language at B1 and write it at A2 (Citizenship Ordinance, BüV Art. 6) and be familiar with Swiss living conditions (BüV Art. 2). The ordinance lets each canton decide whether to test that knowledge, so the test differs by canton: Aargau runs a 45-question computer test, Zurich a 50-question test drawn from a published 350-question catalogue, Bern a 48-question written test in 90 minutes, Basel-Stadt a recorded interview. The federal fee for an adult is CHF 100 (BüV Art. 25); canton and commune fees come on top.
Choose your canton
Each canton decides how your knowledge of Switzerland is tested. We have a trainer for Aargau, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Geneva, Thurgau and Zurich: pick your canton.
Aargau citizenship test trainer
45 questions · 40 min · pass mark 34
Full refund: email us within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. Our own practice questions, written from official sources, every answer explained. The real test is drawn from the official catalogue on gemeinden-ag.ch; our questions are not taken from it. Open the free official catalogue
Basel-Stadt naturalisation trainer
30 questions · 30 min
Full refund: email us within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. Basel-Stadt has no written knowledge test: the Bürgergemeinde of your commune checks your knowledge in the naturalisation interview, and we found no question list for adults on bs.ch or bgbasel.ch. Ours are our own practice questions, based on the cited sources, in German. Our guide to Basel-Stadt (in German)
Bern citizenship test trainer
48 questions · 90 min · pass mark 29
Full refund: email us within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. Our own practice questions, written from official sources, every answer explained. Many questions in the old test papers are tied to a particular year. Our questions are not real test questions. Open the free past tests (bzi Interlaken)
Geneva practice tests (French)
45 questions · 45 min · pass mark 40
Full refund: email us within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. The canton publishes its course and a questionnaire with answers free of charge on ge.ch. We write our own practice questions in French and do not present them as questions from the test. Our guide to the Geneva test (in French)
Thurgau naturalisation trainer
40 questions · 40 min
Full refund: email us within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. If your knowledge is not evident, your municipality checks it by a test or in an interview; we found no single cantonal test or question catalogue on tg.ch. Ours are our own practice questions, based on the cited sources, in German. Our guide to Thurgau (in German)
Zurich citizenship test trainer
50 questions · no time limit · pass mark 30
Full refund: email us within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. Our own practice questions, written from official sources, every answer explained. The real test is drawn from the official catalogue on zh.ch; our questions are not taken from it. Open the free official catalogue
Guides
Explore resources
Einbürgerungstest Schweiz: Fragen und Antworten nach Kanton (2026)
Die Bundesvoraussetzungen in einfachem Deutsch, der Vergleich der Wissenstests in Aargau, Zürich, Bern, Waadt und Basel-Stadt, der fide-Test und die Kosten des Bundes.
Einbürgerung Basel: Ablauf, Kosten und das Gespräch statt Test
Ordentliche Einbürgerung in Basel-Stadt: fünf Schritte, Fristen, Deutsch B1/A2, Gebühren seit Juli 2026 mit Gesamtkosten und das Gespräch mit der Einbürgerungskommission statt schriftlichem Test.
Swiss citizenship test and requirements: an English guide
The federal rules for Swiss naturalisation in plain English, the knowledge test in Aargau, Zurich, Bern, Vaud and Basel-Stadt compared, the language each test is in, and what it all costs.
FIDE-Test für die Einbürgerung: Ablauf, Niveaus, Kosten
Der fide-Test als Sprachnachweis für den Schweizer Pass: welches Niveau Sie brauchen, die zwei Teile, Kosten, Anmeldung, Sprachenpass, Wiederholung, fide-Dossier und andere anerkannte Zertifikate.
Leave with a plan for today.
- 21 min
Study: Federal requirements
- 6 min
Review what you missed. Write down the reason behind each correction.
- 3 min
Close your notes and recall the main ideas in your own words.
A personal study plan, saved only in this browser.