Information about the fide test

fide stands for Français, Italiano, Deutsch, Switzerland's official languages, and was originally developed by the Institute of Multilingualism in Freiburg, on behalf of the Confederation. It was developed in order to promote linguistic integration in Switzerland.

The end goal of this exam is to provide Swiss residents who speak other languages with an opportunity to develop and provide proof of their competency in the official language of the canton where they live.

The fide-test is a language test that tests language skills in everyday life in Switzerland. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) recommends the fide-test for proving language skills in the naturalisation procedure and for residence and settlement permits because, unlike the well-known foreign language tests, it takes Swiss circumstances into account and tests the linguistic ability to cope with everyday situations.

Anyone over the age of 16. People with a disability can also take the fide test. Special rules apply to them, which are agreed upon between the examination institution and the Secretariat fide.

You can contact an examination institution directly from our list (see below) to register (at the latest 15 days before the examination date). When registering, you can also choose whether you want to take the entire fide test, or only one of the two parts (written/oral).  

The entire test costs CHF 250. Only the oral part costs CHF 170. Only the written part CHF 120.

The oral part lasts 40 minutes, the written part 60 minutes.

You will receive the Language Passport and the test results directly by post approximately 4 weeks after the test. The examination institution and the fide office cannot give any information about the results over the phone.

You can download the model test (on the righthand side of this page) or register for a mock exam (part «speaking») of the fide test in German or French.

For a more personalised accompaniment to reach success at your fide test, we highly recommend that you also check our Preparation Program for the fide test. Our special program consists of a combination of private online lessons with our Super Profs & access to our e-courses for independent learning.

Accredited examination institutions offer participants with impairments (e.g. visual impairment, hearing impairment, reading or writing difficulties, etc.) individual performance conditions. When registering, clarify with the examination institution which aids or which special conditions are possible. When registering, it is best to submit a medical certificate which is not older than two years and describes the impairment in German, French, Italian or English.

In principle, all recognised language certificates, as well as the language passport, are valid for life. If a language certificate dates back many years and the authorities have doubts about your current language level, a new language certificate may be required.

The Swiss fide test is similar to the French DELF A1/A2/B1 exams in its format, but slightly different as it focuses mainly on situations which can happen in your everyday life, with special emphasis on actions and needs. As its content is based on useful daily life scenarios, most Permis C and Swiss naturalisation applicants choose to obtain their Passeport des langues fide (as opposed to the DELF certificates). Also, as the fide certificate is valid for life, it is indeed worth investing in an efficient preparation program which will assert your success.