Home/Language assessment fide

Since 1 January 2019,Logo Fide new conditions for obtaining naturalisation have been in application in Switzerland.

According to Art. 6 of the Swiss Nationality Ordinance, any person wishing to obtain citizenship must demonstrate oral language skills in at least one Swiss national language at reference level B1, and written language skills at least at reference level A2 of the European Reference Framework for Languages.

The Confederation only sets minimum conditions within the framework of the ordinary naturalisation procedure. The cantonal authorities may provide additional conditions for naturalisation and thus require higher levels of language proficiency.

For naturalization, certificates that simply confirm participation in a language course and completed online assessment tests are not enough.

As regards residence and settlement permits, a new law came into effect on 1 January 2019. Federal law requires that candidates for a C licence must provide written proof of level A1 and oral proof of level A2 in one of the national languages. For the B permit, the minimum requirement is level A1 orally.

In these cases, language course certificates or language certificates may be accepted until 31/12/2019.

upcoming exam dates

What is fide?

Fide stands for "French, Italian, German in Switzerland" and refers to the Swiss programme for the promotion of linguistic integration. fide's objective is to guarantee effective and high-quality language development and assessment opportunities for allophones*. Fide's diploma is recognised at the Swiss level and is issued on behalf of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). It certifies the oral and written skills of the candidate in the three national languages.

*A person whose mother tongue is a foreign language in the community where he or she is located.

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FIDE Assessment Prices

Prices are set nationally and are as follows:

Oral part
 “Speaking and understanding”: CHF 170.-
Written part
 “Reading and writing”: CHF 120.-
Full assessment
 (oral + written): CHF 250.-

You can register for both parties or only one of them. Payment is made by credit card at the end of the registration form, your data is encrypted and secure.

Terms and conditions of participation

  • Minimum age 16 years

  • Presentation of an identity document with photo

Barrier-free access

All persons with a disability can participate in the evaluation of langue fide. Special arrangements are made between the assessment centre and the fide Secretariat.

It is necessary to specify this during registration, a field at the end of the form is provided for this purpose.

Registration Process

Register using the forms at the bottom of the page by clicking on the desired date, make sure you have these documents at hand:

  • Your stay permit

  • Your credit card for payment
Every person registered for the assessment will receive a confirmation of registration no later than two weeks prior to the assessment date, detailing the location, day and time of the assessment.

Documents

  • Règlement Évaluation de langue fide
  • Blanc Examination
  • Feuille d’information voie 1
  • Flyer
  • Règlement Passeport des langues

Process & schedule

The evaluation is in two parts:

  • Oral: speaking and understanding (40 minutes) taking place in the morning between 8:30 and 12:30.

  • Writing: reading and writing (60 minutes) taking place in the afternoon between 1:30 and 3:30 pm.

You can register for both parties or only one of them. After passing the language evaluation, you will receive a language passport indicating the level achieved (A1, A2 or B1) in the corresponding national language, separately for written and oral skills.

Evaluations can take place on two different days with a maximum difference of one week between the two. The written part always takes place after the oral part.

Evaluations are only carried out in our Geneva and Nyon.

Evaluation results

The FIDE secretariat will transmit the results.
This can take up to 6 weeks minimum after the evaluations.

Learn more

FIDE Evaluation Preparation Course

Need a refresher? Our qualified trainers will prepare you, in small groups or privately, for the language evaluation in order to give you the best possible chance on the day of the evaluation.
Learn more

Next sessions of French fide Exam 2020

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL REGISTRATIONS FOR EVALUATIONS ARE MADE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE VIA THE FORMS. NO REGISTRATION WILL BE PROCESSED ON OUR PREMISES, THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
Click on the desired date to access the registration form.

Geneva

Exam date Registration deadline
October
6 october FULL
13 october FULL
20 october 5 october
27 october 12 october
November
3 november 19 october
10 november 26 october
17 november 2 november
24 november 9 november
December
1st december 17 november
8 december 24 november
15 december 1 december

Nyon

Exam date Registration deadline
October
1st october FULL
08 october FULL
15 october FULL
November
12 november 28 october
19 november 4 november
26 november 11 november
December
3 december 19 november
10 december 26 november
17 december 3 december

Cancellation policy

  1. The registration fee for the final evaluation must be paid at least three business days before the first evaluation date.
  2. In the case of cancellation until the closing date of registration, an administrative fee of CHF 30.00 will be charged.
  3. In the case of cancellation between the closing date for registration and the date of the evaluation, the amount corresponding to the registration is due.
  4. In the case of absence or delay in the evaluation, no refund can be made.

Our accredited fide evaluation centres

Geneva

Boulevard du Pont-d’Arve 28
1205 Geneva, Switzerland

Nyon

Rue de Perdtemps 5
1260 Nyon, Switzerland