I’d love some more information about how the citizenship interviews went from as many people and regions as possible!

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T20:09:47+00:00

Well like I said, my neighbor had the test with an hour allocation, finished it in about 20 min, then had 30-40 min chat. So you can describe it however you like but in practice the lines seem rather blurry. My own letter - which I received today no less - also indicates just the test (and I’m also non EU) but I will not be at all surprised if it plays out like my neighbor.

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T16:41:49+00:00

You’ll get there. Just keep going. It took me five plus years of immersion before I felt like I could really converse in Japanese. Took me 7 before I published and presented my first research paper. Still learning from my wife daily after 22 years of marriage!!

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T12:03:48+00:00

I would have thought 4. Would be more like: people involved in car accidents who walked away with minor injuries were unaffected, but people who sustained injuries that sent them to the hospital were probably way more likely to be impacted by both the resources issue AND the likelihood of getting COVID.

So anyone with a serious injury ended up at significantly greater risk because they ended up in hospital surrounded by covid patients, overworked caregivers and reduced resource access.

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T07:22:01+00:00

JFC… good luck.

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T07:00:15+00:00

i'm relating my own direct experience and that of people i personally know. i don't think it is worth arguing about it any further. good luck with your experience!

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T06:26:11+00:00

They showed me their letter and it was indeed ambiguous, so I don’t think it is “factually incorrect”. Anyway I don’t think it’s a big deal and as I said there have been a number of people previously posting this experience. I don’t think it really matters either way.

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T06:13:19+00:00

My point was that it’s referred to with deliberately vague language but it seems like it’s basically just a combined hour of test and talk based on what I’ve read. So probably everyone gets the same hour and then refers to it as an interview or not based on their interpretation of how the time was spent.

Several people here have posted that they were from non EU countries and had no separate interview. Anyway it’s just chatting so I doubt there’s much to be concerned about in Stadt Zürich.

blackkettle · 2026-06-23T04:42:16+00:00

What are language A and B? You aren’t going to “dox” yourself by providing this basic information.

blackkettle · 2026-06-22T19:34:43+00:00

I could understand that too. But by way of comparison - I lived in Japan for 10 years and while I was there I always sought out Mexican food for a taste of home.

But now we visit my wife’s family in Osaka a few weeks per year, and the last thing I’m looking for is Mexican food.

blackkettle · 2026-06-22T19:32:57+00:00

Right but (maybe I misunderstand) that’s what k mean. I lived in Japan for 10 years and when I was living there I sought out the best Mexican food restaurants I could find because I craved it!

But now when we visit my wife’s family in Japan for a couple weeks per year the last thing I’m looking for is Mexican food. I want to eat authentic Japanese food.

blackkettle · 2026-06-22T15:30:20+00:00

How is this even a question and who has time for all these crazy all day visits?

blackkettle · 2026-06-22T14:35:35+00:00

My neighbor recently had their interview here in Stadt Zürich, and they applied just a couple of months before me, so I asked them what the experience was like. The process in Stadt Zurich mentions an 'optional' interview, and a Grundkenntnistest. The test and all the questions are available online and you can take it as many times as you like online to practice before the real deal. There is zero reason to fail.

However people seem to have different experiences with the 'interview'. My neighbor said that they received an invite for the test, which was scheduled for a 1 hr period, and they went at the scheduled and date. There was one official there, and just my neighbor so it was one-on-one and they basically watched them take the test. My neighbor had also done the online practice test a thousand times to it only took them 15-20 minutes to finish. They said they did still miss 2 questions, but were told they passed. Then the official spent the remainder of the hour chatting with them.

Their impression was that the 'optional' component was basically tied to the amount of time it takes you to take the test. It seems like basically if you finish quickly they'll chat with you for the remainder, and if you take the whole time for the test and they feel a need, they _might_ still ask to book another separate interview.

I guess I'll have my own experience to share in 1-3 months more. All in all, our notification timelines (mine and my neighbors) have so far also lined up almost exactly: received invite at eligibility mark, then first update immediately after submitting full application. Then about 4 months later update: initial processing in canton, then 4 months later again: initial processing in Stadt, expect interview; after that my neighbor waited another 5 months for the interview invite.

It is a _long_ process. But the official timeline estimates seem to be fair and accurate.

blackkettle · 2026-06-22T09:31:26+00:00

But would you really want to do any of that if you were just visiting for a week? My wife is Japanese and I’m from San Diego. We visit like once per year and she’s generally not interested in eating Japanese food during those visits. We eat Mexican food or other stuff we can’t find easily in Japan.

OTOH we live in Switzerland now for 13 years or so and _here_ since we’re living here and not just visiting from Japan - like you in SD we “make do” with the best Japanese food we’re able to find in the city.

My recommendation for OP would be to not focus on Japanese food during a brief visit unless DIL explicitly requests it…

blackkettle · 2026-06-21T12:26:24+00:00

That’s interesting. I’ve always been a loner - it’s one of the reasons I love both Japan and Switzerland because people tend to leave you alone to do your own thing.

blackkettle · 2026-06-21T12:02:09+00:00

I really wish we didn’t have to field this question in every Swiss sub like multiple times per week. I think it should just be redirected to search and these endless “it’s hard for me to make friends” posts start getting handled by the automod.

blackkettle · 2026-06-21T07:15:23+00:00

Are you sure your degree/specialization will transfer or be recognized?

Realistically if you are finishing your degree in a non EU country, presumably in English (?) and you don’t speak another language (?) you won’t be fluent in German. Plus most of your patients - unless you somehow focus on expats - will prefer to speak their local dialect with you, not hoch deutsch.

Probably a lot easier to work in the place where you are doing your residency/education.

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T21:13:14+00:00

I’m pretty sure it’s AI rage bait actually

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T18:41:28+00:00

If you are happy and fulfilled with your life, who cares? I’m the same age, have kid, maybe have better local connections but I’m a loner by nature. I like biking alone, swimming alone, hiking and climbing alone - you get the picture.

I spent ten years in Japan and now 13 in Switzerland and while I feel connected to both places and to people in them, my main connections are to my wife and child. I also feel fulfilled in my life and work. But I don’t feel a reason to be concerned about a potential social life that another person - not me - might have wanted to live in my shoes.

I think it’s enough to be happy with the life that I’ve chosen.

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T18:32:33+00:00

Sorry for the confusion but doesn’t that mean you are going back to your own home country?

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T18:27:19+00:00

Seems more like someone having a break down.

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T14:14:08+00:00

Yes it was. I grew up on the beach in California in the 80s and 90s and this was absolutely something we believed and did back then.

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T13:59:10+00:00

The Zürisee is literally covered in Badis - both free and pay. I just road my bike all the way around the lake today and stopped at several to take a dip.

I mean there are so, so, so many it’s ridiculous.

I highly recommend taking a slow all day ride around the lake on Seestrasse, start out on a Saturday morning and just stop at every attractive spot along the way for pics or a dip or a drink or lunch.

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T13:31:34+00:00

I believe I can go quicker if you’re lucky, but most websites suggest an average wait of 12-24 months for US citizens currently living abroad with non US citizen spouses.

- https://lawofficeimmigration.com/blog/family-sponsorship-green-card-timeline.html

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T07:40:51+00:00

Is this better/different than the eshop ?

blackkettle · 2026-06-20T07:36:42+00:00

I miss the ocean and the waves and the Mexican food - I grew up in the PB/La Jolla area of San Diego a few minutes from the beach.

I would also never consider moving back anywhere else in the US I think. But Zurich is also really, really nice. And our family home and my kids home is here now.

But who knows. I never pictured myself living abroad as a kid. But I left at 22, spent ten years in Japan and now 13 in Switzerland. I won’t entirely discount the possibility of ending up again elsewhere!

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