Those who have high hopes about immigrating to switzerland and thinking about becoming a swiss citizen, this may come as a surprise. Many from third world countries, mistakenly assume Switzerland is a an EU country. This is fatally wrong.
Here are some important facts
4. Switzerland does not offer EU citizenship
First you need to know, Swiss nationals are not EU citizens and the swiss passport is not an EU passport, since switzerland rejected membership has opted out of EU. Yes Switzerland is in Europe but not in EU. There is a huge difference saying EU (European Union) and Europe.
But under the EU-Switzerland agreement, the swiss are treated equally with freedom of movement, free to live and work in the EU. Switzerland has adopted various EU laws in order to participate in the Union’s single market, without joining as a member state. Therefore, Switzerland is not an EU or EEA member but is part of the single market.
Note: Like Switzerland, these countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are also non-EU nationals
Map of EU, EEA and EFTA
Secondly, Swiss passport is not EU passport, this is also a reason why the two words European Union are NOT written on its bright red cover embossed in 5 languages. The first swiss passports were issued in 1915. It was not until 1959 the Red Swiss passport was created.
Thirdly, Switzerland is in Schengen area member.
Fourthly, Switzerland uses Swiss Franc (CHF) and does not use Euro currency, so does not participate in Euro zone
Finally, Switzerland is represented by two letter country code CH, which represents Helvetic Confederation. The swiss country level domains also have .ch extensions.
Before we end, here is some information about Citizenship of the European Union (EU)
The European Union (EU) citizenship, first of all does not exist as its own, it a supplemental citizenship conferred by member states of the EU. The Citizenship of the European Union shall not replace national citizenship and is automatically lost if revoked by the member state.
Abbreviations
EU – European Unition
EEA – European Economic Area (EEA)
EFTA – European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
