Fourteen German-speaking cantons apply federal immigration law in much the same way, with no strong cantonal rules of their own: Aargau, both Appenzells, Glarus, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Uri and Zug. In all of them you deal with the authorities in German, and the language certificates you need are in German. This page lists each canton's migration office and explains what the cantons share and where they differ.

In short

  • Same federal rules: the FNIA, OASA, SCA and the SEM directives apply everywhere; the cantons vary only on details such as the early C permit and social assistance.
  • German only: applications, documents and appeals must be in German or come with a certified German translation.
  • Language levels: A1 spoken for family reunification from a third country; B1 spoken and A1 written for an early C permit; B1 spoken and A2 written for naturalisation.
  • Aargau is the main exception: since early 2024 it has applied a stricter line on social assistance at renewal.
  • Moving here from a French- or Italian-speaking canton means proving your German, since other language certificates do not carry over.

What the cluster is

Swiss immigration law is federal, but the 26 cantons apply it. The federal texts are the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20), the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201), the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0) with the Citizenship Ordinance (SCO, SR 141.01), the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) and, for EU/EFTA nationals, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) with its implementing ordinance (OFMP).

Grouping cantons into families with similar languages, traditions and administrations is not a legal concept. It is a way to find your way around. This cluster covers 14 of the 26 cantons. Zurich and Bern are treated separately because of their size, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft because they border France and Germany, and Graubünden because it is trilingual.

The cantons in this cluster share four features:

  • Language: all written dealings are in standard German. Officials may switch to Swiss German when speaking, depending on who is at the counter.
  • Language certificates: in German, for example fide or an equivalent under Art. 77d OASA.
  • Standard practice: they apply the FNIA and SEM directives without strong cantonal doctrines, with some variation, for example on the early C permit (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA) or on social assistance as a revocation ground (Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA).
  • No major international-organisation practice, except Zug; see the Zug page.

This grouping says nothing about which canton is easier. Cantonal differences exist, but a well-prepared, complete file matters much more.

The 14 cantons and their offices

Addresses, opening hours and fees change often, so use each canton's official website. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) keeps a directory of all cantonal migration offices at www.sem.admin.ch. The language is German in every canton below.

  • Aargau (AG): Amt für Migration und Integration Kanton Aargau (MIKA), the cantonal migration office, at www.ag.ch. Since the start of 2024, Aargau has reportedly applied a stricter line on dependence on social assistance. The grounds are Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA for B permits and Art. 63 para. 1 let. c FNIA for C permits, within the limits set by Federal Supreme Court case law. Debts alone are not a revocation ground but can count in the integration assessment (Art. 58a FNIA); see debt enforcement and residence rights.
  • Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR): Amt für Inneres, Migrationsamt, at www.ar.ch. A small canton with consistent practice. Few cases mean the same staff often handle files for years.
  • Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI): Amt für Inneres, Migrationsamt, at www.ai.ch. The least populous canton; the Federal Statistical Office (www.bfs.admin.ch) and the canton have current figures. Its small office means individual caseworkers shape practice, which is neither stricter nor more lenient in itself.
  • Glarus (GL): Departement Sicherheit und Justiz, Abteilung Migration, at www.gl.ch. Known for its Landsgemeinde, the open-air assembly with voting by show of hands. Permit practice is standard. The limits of naturalisation follow the SCA and Federal Supreme Court case law.
  • Lucerne (LU): Amt für Migration Kanton Luzern (AMIGRA), at www.lu.ch. A central Swiss hub with standard practice. Caritas Switzerland, based in Lucerne, provides the federally mandated legal advice in asylum cases; the SEM (www.sem.admin.ch) and Caritas have the regional details.
  • Nidwalden (NW): Amt für Migration, at www.nw.ch. A small central Swiss canton with standard practice. Cases often involve neighbouring Obwalden and Lucerne.
  • Obwalden (OW): Amt für Justiz, Migration, at www.ow.ch. A small central Swiss canton where individual caseworkers matter a lot; interpretation stays within the standard range.
  • St. Gallen (SG): Migrationsamt Kanton St. Gallen, at www.sg.ch. The main canton of eastern Switzerland, with a large migrant population and standard practice. HEKS provides the mandated asylum legal advice in the eastern Switzerland asylum region; the SEM lists the federal asylum centre.
  • Schaffhausen (SH): Migrationsamt Kanton Schaffhausen, at www.sh.ch. Mostly surrounded by Germany (Konstanz, Singen, Waldshut), so G cross-border permits under the AFMP and OFMP matter more than in most cantons. The FSO (www.bfs.admin.ch) has cross-border commuter figures.
  • Schwyz (SZ): Amt für Migration Kanton Schwyz, at www.sz.ch. Standard practice. The early C permit (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA) requires successful integration and is at the office's discretion; no official approval rates are published.
  • Solothurn (SO): Migrationsamt Kanton Solothurn, at www.so.ch. A medium-sized canton with standard practice.
  • Thurgau (TG): Migrationsamt Kanton Thurgau, at www.tg.ch. On the German border by Lake Constance, with standard practice. It belongs to the eastern Switzerland asylum region, where HEKS provides legal advice.
  • Uri (UR): Amt für Migration, at www.ur.ch. A small central Swiss canton with few migrants and standard practice.
  • Zug (ZG): Amt für Migration Kanton Zug, at www.zg.ch. Shaped by finance and holding companies. It has a small practice for people privileged under international law (legitimation cards, headquarters agreements with some international organisations), much smaller than Geneva's. See the Zug page.

What the cantons have in common

These are general tendencies, not guarantees. If in doubt, ask your cantonal office.

Language certificates

For a B permit through family reunification from a third country, these cantons usually require German at A1 spoken on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The basis is Art. 58a para. 1 let. c FNIA, detailed in Art. 77d OASA. For an early C permit (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA with Art. 62 para. 1bis OASA), the higher federal level applies, in practice B1 spoken and A1 written in German, and the office decides at its discretion.

The fide certificate in German is accepted, as are equivalent diplomas under Art. 77d OASA, such as the Goethe-Zertifikat, telc Deutsch or ÖSD. No canton in this cluster is known to apply a systematically stricter line. See language certificates.

You need standard German, not Swiss German. The fide test does not check dialect. Officials sometimes speak dialect, but you have no right to be served in dialect and they cannot expect you to understand it.

B, L and C permits

Practice follows the FNIA and SEM directives closely. Differences are in three areas:

  • Early C permit (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA): at the office's discretion, with successful integration required. Practice varies between cantons, and no official approval rates are published.
  • Social assistance at renewal (Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA): Aargau applies its stricter line since early 2024. The other cantons follow the Federal Supreme Court. Social assistance never leads to automatic revocation; the office weighs your whole situation.
  • Integration agreement (Art. 58b FNIA): used case by case here, not routinely as in some French-speaking cantons, where it is common at renewal when integration is lacking. Ask your office how it uses it.

Everything in German

Applications, submissions, appeals and translated annexes must be in German, or come with a translation by a recognised translator under the cantonal procedure acts. Letters in French or Italian are usually refused or returned with a request for translation.

If you move here from a French-speaking canton or Ticino, you must prove your German again. See changing canton (Art. 37 FNIA).

Differences between the cantons

These points help you understand your own file in your current canton. They are not a reason to choose one canton over another.

  • Aargau (since 2024): stricter line on social assistance; receiving it can lead to closer checks at renewal.
  • Schwyz: early C permit within the standard range; no official rates published.
  • Appenzell Innerrhoden, Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus: small offices, so individual caseworkers matter. Practice tends to be consistent over time.
  • Lucerne: home of Caritas Switzerland, which provides asylum legal representation.
  • Zug: small international-organisation practice.

Standard practice does not mean identical practice. It means no strong departures from the FNIA, OASA and SEM standard.

Asylum

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) applies the Asylum Act in its Federal Asylum Centres (FAC). See the Asylum Act glossary. The cluster cantons fall into three asylum regions:

  • North-western Switzerland: includes Aargau and Solothurn.
  • Central Switzerland: includes Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Uri and Zug.
  • Eastern Switzerland: includes St. Gallen, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, both Appenzells and Glarus.

The SEM (www.sem.admin.ch) has the current centres and regions, which the Confederation adjusts from time to time. Asylum seekers are allocated to cantons under the federal distribution key (Art. 27 AsylA). The canton then provides housing and emergency aid.

Legal advice in asylum cases

SEM-mandated organisations run the legal advice offices in the federal asylum centres. As a general pattern:

  • Eastern Switzerland: Swiss Church Aid (HEKS), for SG, TG, AR, AI and GL.
  • Central Switzerland: Caritas Switzerland, for LU, NW, OW, SZ, UR and ZG.
  • North-western Switzerland: also HEKS, for AG and SO among others.

Mandates are reassigned periodically; the SEM has the current list. These offices are federal, not cantonal. They support asylum seekers in the accelerated procedure in force since 1 March 2019. Free advice and legal representation are set out in the Asylum Act (Art. 102f ff. AsylA).

Naturalisation

Ordinary naturalisation involves the Confederation, the canton and the municipality. The Swiss Citizenship Act sets the main requirements, such as residence and integration, and the Citizenship Ordinance adds details such as the language level (Art. 6 SCO). Cantonal citizenship acts and municipal regulations govern the other two levels. See the 2018 Citizenship Act glossary.

Language level

The federal minimum is B1 spoken and A2 written in the cantonal language, here German (Art. 6 SCO, SR 141.01). It gives concrete form to the integration requirements of the SCA (Art. 11 let. a SCA). Cantons can set higher requirements in their own citizenship acts, and some do. Check your cantonal act and ask the office.

The municipal decision

The municipality, through its citizenship commission, council or assembly, decides whether to grant municipal citizenship, which you need for the cantonal and federal levels.

  • Some municipalities, for example in Schwyz and Aargau, keep a public or semi-public hearing tradition. Ask your municipality how it works.
  • Other municipalities leave the decision mostly to a citizenship commission, with less public involvement.

Municipalities decide within federal and cantonal law and must not discriminate. The Federal Supreme Court has ruled naturalisation decisions by ballot inadmissible (BGE 129 I 217 and later cases). Current case law is at www.bger.ch.

Tax at source

This section explains tax only as it affects your permit. For individual tax questions, ask a tax adviser.

  • Tax at source: if you work without a C permit (usually on a B or L permit), your employer usually deducts income tax from your salary. It is mainly a cantonal tax (cantonal and municipal share plus the direct federal tax share), run by the cantonal tax office. Above a threshold of gross income, a subsequent ordinary assessment follows. The threshold is the same across Switzerland and has stood at around CHF 120,000 for years, but it can change. The cantonal tax office and the Federal Tax Administration (www.estv.admin.ch) have current figures and rules.
  • Tax rates: they differ by canton and municipality; the Federal Tax Administration (www.estv.admin.ch) publishes a comparison. Tax rates do not directly affect your permit, but they can matter indirectly, for example when your ability to support yourself is assessed, or for self-employed people admitted for work under Art. 18 FNIA.

Documents and interviews in German

  • Forms and cover letters: in German. Few cantons offer forms in other languages.
  • Documents from abroad: birth and marriage certificates, certificates of capacity to marry, criminal-record extracts, diplomas and similar need an officially certified German translation. Translations by translators on Swiss cantonal lists, or translations certified by the Swiss consulate in your home country, are usually accepted. Most originals also need an apostille (1961 Hague Convention).
  • Interviews: in standard German. If your German is not good enough, an interpreter is used, paid by the authority or by you depending on the procedure.
  • Moving to a French- or Italian-speaking canton: the language of procedure changes completely. Files and annexes may need new translations, and your German certificate does not count as proof of French or Italian.

Complaints about lawyers

Under the Lawyers Act (LLCA, SR 935.61), each canton appoints a supervisory authority for lawyers on its bar register (Art. 14 LLCA). In most cantons it is attached to the high court or administrative court; in some it is an independent body linked to the bar. A national conference of these authorities coordinates their work. If you want to complain about a lawyer's conduct, ask your canton which authority is responsible.

Economic profiles

  • Zug: finance, holding companies and commodity trading; small international-organisation practice.
  • Aargau: industry and commuter towns in the Zurich and Bern labour markets, with a diverse migrant population.
  • Lucerne: tourism, education (University of Lucerne, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), insurance and culture.
  • St. Gallen: medium-sized industry, textiles, insurance, and the University of St. Gallen (HSG) with many international students.
  • Schwyz: municipal hearings play a traditionally strong role in naturalisation.
  • Thurgau: farming, medium-sized industry, Lake Constance tourism and commuting to Zurich and Winterthur.
  • Schaffhausen: industry and an above-average share of cross-border commuters.
  • Solothurn: industry (with a watchmaking tradition around Grenchen) and farming.
  • Glarus, Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden and both Appenzells: mostly rural, with small businesses and local industries such as watchmaking, woodworking and tourism, and small migrant populations.

Common reasons people move here

  • Work, for example insurance around Lucerne, finance around Zug, or industry around St. Gallen and Thurgau.
  • Family reunification with a relative already living in a cluster canton.
  • Tax reasons: your residence must be real and lived in. A sham residence is not allowed under either tax or immigration law. Residence is defined in Art. 23 CC (Swiss Civil Code, SR 210) and Federal Supreme Court case law.
  • Study, for example at the University of Lucerne or the University of St. Gallen.
  • Work in the asylum system, for example at a legal advice office or in security at a federal asylum centre, or allocation as an asylum seeker.

In each case, Art. 37 FNIA decides whether you need permission to change canton, depending on your permit and situation. See changing canton (Art. 37 FNIA).

Getting legal help

This page explains the law in general. It is not individual legal advice. For social-assistance problems (especially in Aargau), hardship cases (Art. 30 FNIA), changing canton (Art. 37 FNIA) or naturalisation, contact a lawyer registered with the bar in your canton (Art. 12 LLCA sets their professional duties).

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