Swiss Baby?

photo from marvinwatches.com

While we didn't think we would be expecting so soon after our arrival, when we decided to move here, we did so under the assumption that our first child would be born in Switzerland. When people heard this, a natural assumption that typically followed was that our baby would be SWISS! 

Fortunately, not so. 

While it's true that our baby will be born in Switzerland and will have a Swiss Birth Certificate, it will be an American baby with a blue passport.

The simple reason: Switzerland confers citizenship at birth by blood. This is very unlike the United States where babies have a birthright to citizenship. You can read all about Swiss citizenship here and American citizenship here. After a few lines of the Swiss citizenship requirements, it's quite clear that dad-to-be and I don't qualify because neither of us is a Swiss citizen. That is just fine with me. It's 100% true that we are not Swiss, so all things considered, why would we want our baby to be Swiss? We don't plan on living here long term. And when we go home, we want to take our American baby with us. No strings, or should I say, red tape, attached!  

If red tape and bureaucracy are really your thing, you can read all about American foreign births here. It's still a long time coming, but it makes me feel good to know we'll remain a true blue American family despite the foreign birth.