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PASSPORT

Swedish conservatives propose stricter rules for citizenship

Sweden's main opposition party, the Moderates, want to tighten the rules for people seeking Swedish citizenship, suggesting a string of new measures they say will encourage integration and better correspond to the rules of other Nordic countries and Germany.

Published: 7 September 2017 11:05 CEST
Updated: 7 September 2017 16:45 CEST
Swedish conservatives propose stricter rules for citizenship
A Swedish passport. Photo: TT

In an opinion piece published in daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Thursday, Moderate party members Tomas Tobé and Gunnar Strömmer said that the rules to become Swedish aren’t strict enough, and in some cases even hamper the integration of the country’s new citizens.

“Sweden should be an open country (…) But at the same time we have to make demands: Everyone is expected to contribute to their best efforts,” they wrote.

The authors said that today, Sweden differs from its Nordic neighbours in the sense that those applying for a Swedish passport only need to have lived in the country for a total of five years (three years if you've lived with a Swedish partner for at least two years).

There are also no demands on an applicant to speak the Swedish language or have any civic knowledge and there are no legal measures to strip a person of his or her citizenship in terror-related cases.

“First of all, the citizenship must be valued higher than what it is today. Secondly, the rules concerning citizenship must be formed so that they encourage integration. And thirdly, our rules should to a large extent correspond to those in similarly comparable countries like the Nordic countries and Germany.”

Tobé and Strömmer then listed six new measures they feel should apply before a person can become a Swede.

The first measure concerns higher demands on a person’s Swedish language skills, which they said “is of great importance for integration”. The skills should be proved through language tests or the ability to show valid university grades, they propose.

They also want to impose requirements on a person’s ability to make a living, suggesting for example that a person can no longer rely on any kind of financial aid as their main source of income.

Thirdly, they suggest extending the time-period before a person to become a Swedish citizen from five years to seven years, in order for Sweden to “better harmonize with corresponding rules in other comparable countries”.

In addition, they said a so-called “integration bonus” should be offered to those who can show a good level of integration efforts by for example speaking good Swedish and making an income. The bonus would entail shaving three years off of the proposed seven to become Swedish.

In their fifth point, the authors said that the ability to strip an individual of their Swedish citizenship should be imposed if the person commits serious crimes, like terror crimes.

Finally, they said that the rules of keeping one’s passport safe need to be tightened to curb the amount of stolen or lost passports. Last year, more than 60,000 passports were reported lost or stolen. “We want tougher penalties than what we have today for when a passport is misused to gain entry and the expiry date for a new passport should be shortened if a person has previously reported their passport lost or stolen.”

The centre-left government last year changed the rules so that a Swedish citizen can only be granted three new passports to replace a lost or stolen document over a five-year-period, to combat forged passports.

For members

SWEDISH CITIZENSHIP

EXPLAINED: How to get Swedish citizenship via notification

Sweden’s government has moved to tighten up the rules for citizenship via notification. But what is citizenship via notification, and who is eligible?

Published: 26 January 2024 10:33 CET
Updated: 2 February 2024 05:50 CET
EXPLAINED: How to get Swedish citizenship via notification

Essentially, there are three different routes for getting Swedish citizenship. The first happens automatically by birth or adoption, for children who have at least one Swedish parent at the time of their birth or adoption.

For immigrants, there are two routes. 

Citizenship via application

The first option is medborgarskap genom ansökan (citizenship via application) which is by far the most common option for immigrants applying for citizenship in Sweden. 

This is the most restrictive route for applying for citizenship, with rules requiring you to have lived in Sweden for at least five years, as a general rule (three years for partners or spouses of Swedish citizens and two years for Nordic citizens).

You also have to have “lived an orderly life in Sweden”, by, for example, not having a history of debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, as well as an extra qualifying period if you’ve committed a crime. You’ll also need a permanent residence permit or right of residence under EU rules.

It also comes with a hefty fee of 1,500 kronor.

See here for more information on the rules for applying for this kind of citizenship.

Citizenship via notification

The less well-known option is medborgarskap genom anmälan (citizenship through notification). This is available to children who have lived in Sweden for at least three years (two if stateless), young adults between 18 and 21 who have lived in Sweden since they turned 13 (15 if stateless) and Nordic citizens – meaning citizens of Denmark, Norway, Iceland or Finland – who have lived in Sweden for five years or more.

The requirements for citizenship through notification are not as restrictive as citizenship through application. There is, for example, no requirement to have “lived an orderly life”, although those who have been sentenced to prison or other incarceration within the last five years do not qualify.

Be aware, though, that this could change in the future. Under proposed new rules, people suspected or convicted of committing certain crimes, deemed a threat to Swedish security or connected to “certain groups and organisations” would be barred from citizenship via notification.

The fee is also lower (475 kronor for adults) and, for adult Nordic citizens at least, you apply to your local Länsstyrelse or County Administrative Board rather than to the Migration Agency. Children and young adults applying by themselves pay just 175 kronor and apply to the Migration Agency.

Waiting times for citizenship via notification are shorter, too – 75 percent of applicants going via the Migration Agency received a response within 11 months, according to agency figures, compared with a wait of 32 months for citizenship via application. For those who can apply via the County Administrative Board, the wait can be as short as 4-6 weeks.

I think I qualify for citizenship via notification. How do I apply?

First, double check that you definitely qualify – you can do this on the Migration Agency’s website (in Swedish) here.

For Nordic citizens, you’ll need to apply directly to your local County Administrative Board, which you can do via filling in this form (Anmälan om svenskt medborgarskap för medborgare i Danmark, Finland, Island eller Norge), and sending in your application to the relevant administrative board, which is determined by the county or län you live in.

Make sure you pay the fee to the relevant board, including your name and Swedish personal number, as they won’t be able to process your application until this is received. Payment details are available on each board’s website.

If your application is successful, you’ll be sent a citizenship document, with another one sent to the Tax Agency. If your application is denied, you’ll be sent a decision document detailing this. You’ll have three weeks to appeal, with information on how to do so provided in the decision document.

In terms of citizenship via notification for children who have lived in Sweden for at least three years, their legal guardian (vårdnadshavare) will need to apply to the Migration Agency. This can be done digitally via the agency’s website or by filling out this form (anmälan om svenskt medborgarskap för barn som bor i Sverige), paying a 175 kronor fee and sending it to the Migration Agency – the address is on the form. 

The process (and the fee) is essentially the same for young adults aged between 18 and 21, although you apply by yourself. Again, you can apply online or by filling out a form – in this case the catchily-named anmälan om svenskt medborgarskap för dig som har haft hemvist i Sverige sedan den dagen du fyllde 13 år eller 15 år om statslös och som har fyllt 18 men inte 21 år, paying a 175 kronor fee and sending it to the Migration Agency address on the form.

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