Written + oral
Written by us from the ARGE booklets and the cantonal laws — written ARGE test; no public catalogue
Written from the official content. The federal part uses official questions. Other questions are possible at the exam. Question count and duration are estimates (not published).
Study questions authored from the official ARGE civics booklets — not the real test questions. The exam is written; the question count and pass mark are not published by the canton (estimated values).
Real exam — How the test works
Every exam mixes cantonal and federal questions. The cantonal ones were written by US, from the official ARGE booklets and the canton's laws (constitution, citizenship act, referendum and initiative act); for history, geography and society, where those texts are silent, from public sources (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA). The federal ones are official, taken in German from the Zurich test. The real ARGE test is written, but the canton publishes neither the questions nor the count or threshold: the number of questions, the threshold and the duration are our estimates, aligned with the German-speaking written tests (Zurich, Aargau, Bern). These are not the questions of the real St. Gallen test.
The interview
In every ordinary naturalisation, the municipality holds a binding naturalisation interview (BRV Art. 7) — it tests knowledge AND integration, freely structured, without a published list of questions. It is the element prescribed canton-wide (the written test, by contrast, is municipal/optional).
Reicht von einem formellen Einbürgerungsrat-Gespräch (Stadt SG) bis zur Abstimmung an der Gemeindeversammlung (Oberriet/Rheintal — ~jede zweite Person über neun Jahre abgelehnt; das Verwaltungsgericht erzwang wiederholt Einbürgerungen).
DAS mündliche Einbürgerungsgespräch ist das gesetzlich UNIVERSELLE Element: BRV Art. 7 verlangt von jeder Gemeinde eine « Zusammenfassung des Einbürgerungsgesprächs » in jedem ordentlichen Verfahren. (Umgekehrt zum schriftlichen Test, der diskretionär/kommunal ist.)
What the test covers
| Topic | federal | cantonal | same topic, any level | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democracy & Federalism | 5 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| Geography | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| History | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Social welfare & Civil society | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Total | 20 | 20 | 5 | 45 |
What the app holds for this canton
Simulated written exam
75 communes in the canton
No commune matches.
Official source
Swiss Naturalization Test