Swiss language tests — permits, naturalisation & recognised certificates
fide is the Swiss test: a pass issues the fide language passport, which is what permit and naturalisation procedures ask to see. SEM also recognises certificate alternatives — telc and Goethe for German, DELF and TCF for French, CELI for Italian. Each assesses Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Pick one for an honest readiness estimate — never a fabricated official result.
You do not choose which national language you are tested in — your canton does. German, French and Italian are each the procedural language somewhere in Switzerland, and a few cantons are officially bilingual. Practise the one your canton and commune actually use.
The language tests
The federal minimum for naturalisation is B1 spoken and A2 written in one national language — a floor set by the Confederation, not the answer to your case: for an ordinary naturalisation your canton and commune decide, and some ask for more. The settlement permit asks less, but route-dependently — the five-year route still wants B1 spoken. We currently ship German and French; Italian follows once its content meets the same bar, and we would rather list it late than list it empty.
- A1–B1fide (German)GermanCitizenshipThe Swiss test, in German — built around everyday situations you actually deal with here rather than classroom exercises. A pass issues the fide language passport, which is what naturalisation and permit procedures ask to see. The federal minimum for naturalisation is B1 spoken and A2 written; your canton decides what applies to you.
- A1–B1fide (French)FrenchCitizenshipThe Swiss test, in French — built around everyday situations you actually deal with here rather than classroom exercises. A pass issues the fide language passport, which is what naturalisation and permit procedures ask to see. The federal minimum for naturalisation is B1 spoken and A2 written; your canton decides what applies to you.
- A1–B1fide for the C permit (German)GermanThe same fide test in German, aimed at the settlement permit rather than citizenship. The levels are lower than naturalisation — but they depend on your route: the early route after five years asks B1 spoken, the same speaking level as citizenship, while the ordinary route asks A2 spoken. Both ask A1 written.
- A1–B1fide for the C permit (French)FrenchThe same fide test in French, aimed at the settlement permit rather than citizenship. The levels are lower than naturalisation — but they depend on your route: the early route after five years asks B1 spoken, the same speaking level as citizenship, while the ordinary route asks A2 spoken. Both ask A1 written.
- A1–B1telc / Goethe (German)GermanSEM-recognised German certificates, accepted as proof of language alongside the fide passport. Set in Standard German, not Swiss-German dialect. Useful if you already hold one, or want a certificate that travels beyond Switzerland — check with your canton that the certificate and level you plan to take are accepted for your procedure.
- A1–B1DELF / TCF (French)FrenchSEM-recognised French certificates, accepted as proof of language alongside the fide passport. Useful if you already hold one, or want a certificate that travels beyond Switzerland — check with your canton that the certificate and level you plan to take are accepted for your procedure.
- A1–A2Getting started in GermanGermanFirst steps in German — the everyday language of appointments, housing, work and neighbours. Not an exam: the groundwork that makes fide at A2 and B1 reachable.
- A1–A2Getting started in FrenchFrenchFirst steps in French — the everyday language of appointments, housing, work and neighbours. Not an exam: the groundwork that makes fide at A2 and B1 reachable.
Canton local knowledge — not a national test
There is no national Swiss civics test. Cantons and communes handle local knowledge differently — some use a written test, some an interview, some neither — and they set their own content. So what follows is practice for the kinds of local knowledge these procedures tend to cover, not a mock of an exam. We will not invent a national test, or a canton's questions, and no score here is a result. Ask your commune what your procedure actually involves.
- Local knowledgeLiving in Switzerland — local knowledge (German)GermanNot a testPractice for the kinds of local knowledge naturalisation procedures tend to cover — how the political system works, rights and obligations, geography and everyday rules. There is no national civics test: your canton and commune decide whether you face a test, an interview, or neither, and set their own content. This is preparation, not a mock.
- Local knowledgeLiving in Switzerland — local knowledge (French)FrenchNot a testPractice for the kinds of local knowledge naturalisation procedures tend to cover — how the political system works, rights and obligations, geography and everyday rules. There is no national civics test: your canton and commune decide whether you face a test, an interview, or neither, and set their own content. This is preparation, not a mock.
One more thing we are not: fide is not a university admission test. It runs A1–B1 and no university accepts it for admission — degree programmes typically want around C1 in whichever language that university teaches in, or English via IELTS or TOEFL. If that is what you need, you need a different exam than anything on this page.