How to prepare for the citizenship test

Step 1: Find out how your canton tests

Before you start studying, you should know what to expect. A written test, an interview or a course? How many questions, how much time, what pass mark? Is there a public question catalogue? You will find this information on your canton’s page. If the canton requires a test, federal law obliges it to let you prepare with suitable aids or courses.

Step 2: Get the right material

• Your canton’s official material: question catalogue, study booklet or study programme. Zurich, Aargau, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Geneva and Valais publish questions, some with answers.
• For Switzerland: «The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide» from the Federal Chancellery, the booklet «ECHO – Informationen zur Schweiz» and the textbook «Die Schweiz verstehen».
• For your municipality: your municipality’s website, its newsletter and the local newspaper.

Step 3: A six-week study plan

Week 1: Overview. Read the basics on federalism, separation of powers and direct democracy. Take the Swiss practice test once without studying first. That way you see where you stand.

Week 2: Politics and the state. Federal Council, Parliament, courts, initiative and referendum. These topics make up a large part of almost every test. Practise with the questions on politics and the state and on rights and duties.

Week 3: History and geography. Key dates, cantons and capitals, rivers, lakes and mountains. Link dates to stories and they will stick better.

Week 4: Society and symbols. Social insurance, education, public holidays, customs and well-known figures.

Week 5: Canton and municipality. Work through the questions about your canton and learn who runs your municipality and what happens there. This part in particular is often underestimated.

Week 6: Test conditions. Take several mock tests in your canton’s format, with a timer. Go back over the questions you got wrong.

Study techniques that work

• Spaced repetition: Review difficult questions after one day, after three days and after a week. That moves the knowledge into long-term memory. Our app does this automatically.
• Explain rather than memorise: Explain to someone else why the Federal Council is elected by Parliament but the cantonal government by the people. If you can explain it, you understand it.
• Short and daily: 20 minutes every day achieves more than three hours on a Sunday.
• Follow the news: votes, elections and local issues come up in tests and interviews.

On test day

Arrive in good time and bring valid ID. Read every question twice and watch out for words such as «not», «always» or «only». Answer what you are sure of first, then come back to the rest. At the end, check that you have answered every question.

And if it does not work out?

In most cantons you can retake the test: in Bern and Aargau as often as you like, in Ticino after six months, in Vaud up to three times in writing. Failing the test is therefore not the end. Look closely at your results and study the topics that were missing.