Facts
The Italian national A.A., born in 1968, has been living in Switzerland since 1989 and has been residing in the municipality of Arth since 1993. Together with his wife B.A. and their two sons C.A. and D.A., the family submitted an application for ordinary naturalization on March 20, 2015. The Arth naturalization authority rejected the application of A.A. on September 14, 2017.
A.A. subsequently filed an appeal with the Administrative Court of the Canton of Schwyz. On November 28, 2018, the court upheld the appeal with regard to B.A. and D.A., instructing the naturalization authority to further process the naturalization procedure for these two applicants. In all other respects, it dismissed the appeal, as it considered the proof of integration into Swiss and local conditions for A.A. as not provided.
With a subsidiary constitutional appeal, A.A. turned to the Federal Supreme Court and requested that his naturalization application be approved.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal and instructs the Arth naturalization authority to grant A.A. the municipal citizenship.
The Federal Supreme Court states that A.A. fulfills all the requirements for naturalization. While there is a certain reservation regarding his geographical and cultural knowledge, this is not serious enough in view of the other criteria, such as his economic and social integration, to refuse naturalization. A…