In a Kafkaesque battle with authorities a 22-year-old man has been told by the Federal Court he is not actually Swiss, despite having a passport.
The battle has been with the courts for the last 6 years. The man was born in Winterthur to a Lebanese father and a French mother, who had obtained Swiss citizenship through a previous marriage.
Federal judges ruled Zurich authorities made an error in giving the man a passport. He was not entitled to it under the rules. The error came to light when he tried to renew it.
There is actually a rule that if someone has been treated as a citizen by a canton or commune, then they can apply for a fast-tracked citizenship process. But that was denied because the man was in debt.
But the debts he had were unpaid military tax bills.
The man argued in court that if he’s not Swiss – then he doesn’t need to pay military tax and so not in debt.
But the judges ruled the man is still not entitled to a passport. Although they did recognise the exceptional nature of the case, and so waived court fees.
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