Switzerland to relax rules around foreign names
Swiss residents with names that include special characters from European languages other than German or French will be to change how their names are recorded in the country's records from later this year.
The change comes as a new version of the country’s civil status register, Infostar NG (or 'Next Generation') is rolled out on November 11th, 2024.
From this date, special characters in European languages can be used in Swiss civil status registers and official documents, the Federal Council said on Wednesday.
An example is the 'c' with an acute accent (ć) in Croatian, and the ^ used in other languages.
READ MORE: What are the most popular names for adults in Switzerland?
Foreign nationals will therefore be able to ask the civil registry to adapt the spelling of their name, at the of cost of 75 francs for a single person and 100 francs for a family.
This process will be free of charge, however, when registering babies’ births.
Infostar functions as the country's central database of births, deaths and marriages, and replaces the separate registers that were used for each since the 19th century.
It has been operational since January 1, 2005 and serves as a central reference point for cantonal and federal authorities, avoiding the duplication of data.
Infostar also records such information as name changes, changes of gender and dissolution of marriages, in regards to individuals.
READ MORE: IN NUMBERS: Understanding Switzerland's growing foreign population
The change comes as Switzerland's migrant population is increasing. The latest OECD data shows that thirty percent of the country's population is foreign-born, with a 4.1 percent increase in migration between 2020 and 2021.
A significant number of thee migrants come from Portugal. Portuguese uses a number of diacritics - ie, á, é, í, ó and ú - in written language.
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The change comes as a new version of the country’s civil status register, Infostar NG (or 'Next Generation') is rolled out on November 11th, 2024.
From this date, special characters in European languages can be used in Swiss civil status registers and official documents, the Federal Council said on Wednesday.
An example is the 'c' with an acute accent (ć) in Croatian, and the ^ used in other languages.
READ MORE: What are the most popular names for adults in Switzerland?
Foreign nationals will therefore be able to ask the civil registry to adapt the spelling of their name, at the of cost of 75 francs for a single person and 100 francs for a family.
This process will be free of charge, however, when registering babies’ births.
Infostar functions as the country's central database of births, deaths and marriages, and replaces the separate registers that were used for each since the 19th century.
It has been operational since January 1, 2005 and serves as a central reference point for cantonal and federal authorities, avoiding the duplication of data.
Infostar also records such information as name changes, changes of gender and dissolution of marriages, in regards to individuals.
READ MORE: IN NUMBERS: Understanding Switzerland's growing foreign population
The change comes as Switzerland's migrant population is increasing. The latest OECD data shows that thirty percent of the country's population is foreign-born, with a 4.1 percent increase in migration between 2020 and 2021.
A significant number of thee migrants come from Portugal. Portuguese uses a number of diacritics - ie, á, é, í, ó and ú - in written language.
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