On becoming Swiss – Through the Interface

Last week I received an important letter through the post. It was final confirmation from the Swiss Confederation that I’m being granted Swiss nationality.

My Swiss letter

This is something I could have requested some time ago – due to the years I’ve been married to a Swiss person (something I lovingly refer to as “time served” 😉 – but it was the Brexit referendum that pushed me over the edge. The day after the vote I requested the forms I needed to fill out. It took me a few more months to get around to submitting them, but Brexit was definitely the trigger.

My decision wasn’t about making sure I still had a European passport – Switzerland isn’t part of the EU, although the two have strong bilateral agreements in place – it was really about two things: firstly, it was an emotional reaction, a rejection of the isolationist attitude that allowed the “Leave” camp to win. I felt (and still feel) very deeply that Brexit would be a disaster for the UK, and this small act did…

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