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US expat in Switzerland abandons citizenship mission after 43 years
| Published: | 6 Jan at 9 AM |
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A US expat who has been living in Switzerland for 43 years says he has finally given up hope of become a citizen of the country.
Seventy-six-year-old Irving Dunn, formerly a professor at the landlocked country’s top university, explained that he was abandoning his second citizenship application because he would have to fork out 3,100 Swiss francs on top of the 3,600 francs he paid for his first application, which was rejected.
Dunn, a retired chemical engineering professor and researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, has resided in the small town of Einsiedeln, Schwyz canton, for 39 years.
However, local authorities rejected his first citizenship application last autumn, stating that, despite the fact he spoke fluent German and had raised three children in Ensiedeln with his German wife, he wasn’t sufficient integrated in the local community.
After the initial rejection, Dunn said he hoped he would have another chance after officials told him he didn’t have friends in the town or know the area well enough. However, he was of the mindset that the fees would be less second time round; he was right, but district officials took just a miserly 500 francs off the cost.
Dunn said he felt local officials did not want him to be a citizen of Einsiedeln. He claimed he had been treated unfairly, but insisted he would not be applying again.
His case is not new to Switzerland, where longtime expats have great difficulties in getting citizenship applications accepted.
Seventy-six-year-old Irving Dunn, formerly a professor at the landlocked country’s top university, explained that he was abandoning his second citizenship application because he would have to fork out 3,100 Swiss francs on top of the 3,600 francs he paid for his first application, which was rejected.
Dunn, a retired chemical engineering professor and researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, has resided in the small town of Einsiedeln, Schwyz canton, for 39 years.
However, local authorities rejected his first citizenship application last autumn, stating that, despite the fact he spoke fluent German and had raised three children in Ensiedeln with his German wife, he wasn’t sufficient integrated in the local community.
After the initial rejection, Dunn said he hoped he would have another chance after officials told him he didn’t have friends in the town or know the area well enough. However, he was of the mindset that the fees would be less second time round; he was right, but district officials took just a miserly 500 francs off the cost.
Dunn said he felt local officials did not want him to be a citizen of Einsiedeln. He claimed he had been treated unfairly, but insisted he would not be applying again.
His case is not new to Switzerland, where longtime expats have great difficulties in getting citizenship applications accepted.
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