Neuchâtel citizenship test

How the Neuchâtel test works

Neuchâtel checks basic knowledge orally in the integration interview at the Service de la cohésion multiculturelle (COSM). You are asked 16 questions, four per topic: geography, history, politics and society. At least one question per topic concerns the canton of Neuchâtel. You pass with at least 10 correct answers. Important: partly correct answers count as wrong.

All possible questions come from the COSM’s public questionnaire, available with and without answers and last updated in June 2026. The questionnaire also contains an open question about your municipality. There is no separate test fee.

Who is exempt

For ordinary naturalisation you are exempt if you attended compulsory school in Switzerland for at least five years, hold a Swiss upper secondary qualification or have completed the course «Vivre en Suisse et à Neuchâtel : connaissances civiques». In facilitated naturalisation you are always questioned orally.

What you should know about the canton of Neuchâtel

• Structure: The capital is Neuchâtel, on the lake of the same name. Since 2018 four regions have replaced the districts: Littoral, Montagnes, Val-de-Ruz and Val-de-Travers. Since 2025 there have been only 24 municipalities, and the canton has about 180,000 inhabitants. The official language is French.
• Authorities: The Grand Conseil has 100 members and meets in Neuchâtel Castle; the Conseil d’État has five. Both are elected for four years. The constitution dates from 2000 and declares the canton a secular republic: there is no state religion, and freedom of religion is guaranteed.
• People’s rights: A legislative initiative needs 4500 signatures within six months, a referendum 4500 within 90 days. Foreign nationals with a C permit and five years in the canton may vote at cantonal level, but can only be elected to municipal bodies. Neuchâtel and Jura are the only cantons where foreign nationals can vote at cantonal level.
• History: Neuchâtel was admitted to the Confederation on 12 September 1814 and was both a canton and a Prussian principality until 1848. The republic was proclaimed on 1 March 1848, and in 1857 the King of Prussia finally renounced his rights. Guillaume Farel introduced the Reformation in 1530, Huguenots found refuge here, and in 1871 the Bourbaki army crossed into Switzerland at Les Verrières.
• Geography: Lake Neuchâtel is the largest lake lying entirely in Switzerland. The Creux-du-Van rock amphitheatre is near the Val-de-Travers, and the Doubs forms the border with France. La Chaux-de-Fonds is the largest Swiss town above 1000 metres.
• Culture and economy: The watch industry shapes the canton; La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle are a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their watchmaking town planning. Le Corbusier and Louis Chevrolet came from La Chaux-de-Fonds. The Val-de-Travers is considered the birthplace of absinthe, and Suchard invented Sugus sweets in 1931. The Federal Statistical Office is based in Neuchâtel, and the Fête des Vendanges (grape harvest festival) is held at the end of September.

The naturalisation process in the canton of Neuchâtel

The COSM and the municipality carry out the assessments, and the integration interview with the 16 questions takes place at the COSM. After the permit from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), the canton grants citizenship.

The residence rule is two years in the canton. Fees total 1750 francs for an adult (of which 1500 francs go to the canton), 850 francs for minors and 2250 francs for married couples. For French you need at least B1 spoken and A2 written.

How to prepare

Download the COSM questionnaire with answers and learn it thoroughly, because all the questions come from it. Since partly correct answers count as wrong, you should be able to give complete answers, for example all four regions rather than just two. The optional course lasts six weeks, three hours each week, and costs 150 francs. Anyone who completes it is exempt from the questions in ordinary naturalisation.

Practise the answers out loud in French, because the questions are asked orally. Also prepare the open question about your municipality: what makes it special, who runs it, what happens there?

The Neuchâtel mock test on this page has the same format: 16 questions, passed with 10 correct. Ours are multiple-choice questions; in the real interview you answer freely.