<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by terenz:
Word of warning for anyone wishing to claim Swiss citizenship based on descent. Apparently there is a cutoff over which you are no longer eligible (I think it's 30).</font>
Canada has a somewhat similar law for very rare circumstances (that I happen to fall under, and am in the process of doing right now)--
anyone born abroad as a second-generation to a canadian citizen (i.e., my grandfather was born canadian, my mother was born in the states, as was I) is a canadian citizen, but must apply to retain the citizenship before the age of 28. that is, you can be canadian all your life, and if you don't get your certificate of retention, you lose it.
not cheap either! I'm going to fork over $175 CDN for the whole process, but my tuition savings will be worth it.