Naturalization of the Appellant

Facts

The Iraqi spouses B.B. (husband) and A.A. (wife) entered Switzerland in 1998 with their children C.B. and D.B. Since April 1999, they have been living in the municipality of Ingenbohl, with an interruption of around ten months. The two children were naturalized in 2011 and 2013.

On June 22, 2013, B.B. and A.A. successfully passed a language test (so-called language proficiency analysis) at the Vocational Training Center (BBZ) Pfäffikon. On August 10, 2015, they jointly filed an application for ordinary naturalization with the naturalization authority of the municipality of Ingenbohl. After a hearing on April 27, 2016, and a further discussion on May 23, 2016, the naturalization authority rejected the application. On January 31, 2017, the Administrative Court of the Canton of Schwyz upheld an appeal by B.B. and A.A., overturned the decision on non-naturalization, and remanded the matter to the Ingenbohl naturalization authority for further procedural steps, fact-finding, and a new decision.

Subsequently, the naturalization authority conducted further investigations. On January 21 and August 23, 2017, it held discussions with the applicants, with the second discussion being recorded on tape. By decision of August 23, 2017, the naturalization authority granted B.B. the municipal citizenship, subject to the suspension of legal force, but again refused to naturalize A.A. The main reason given was that while the applicants were making efforts to integrate and met the suitability criteria in terms of integration and social aspects, A.A.'s language skills were considered insufficient or not at the required level, which excluded her naturalization.

Considerations

The Federal Court examines whether the naturalization authority and the Administrative Court acted arbitrarily in assessing the appellant's language skills.

The Federal Court finds that the naturalization authority and the Administrative Court did not have the necessary expertise to assess the appellant's language skills without arbitrariness based on the Common European Framework of Reference. The municipality has therefore arbitrarily denied the appellant the required language skills.