Why a Polish/Scottish couple became Swiss

A Polish/Scottish couple decided to apply for Swiss citizenship to boost their children's integration. This is their story. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch)

David Kirk comes from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Dominika Wieczorek Kirk is from the town of Piastow in central Poland. They came to Switzerland as research scientists, and met here. Dominika works at the pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, in Basel, where David also used to work. He is now a house husband, and takes care of their two small children.

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When he arrived he could already speak German having worked previously in Germany. Their children have been leaing German at daycare. The Kirks like Switzerland because it is clean, relatively safe and offers a comfortable standard of living. When they decided to apply for Swiss citizenship, they had to attend “interesting” courses to find out about Swiss history. Although the couple described the naturalisation tests as easy, the whole application process took several years.

They have many friends in Basel, but David still misses his house in Scotland and the sea, while Dominika misses Polish food, and speaking her own language.