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RESIDENCY PERMITS

What could the Swedish civics test for permanent residency look like?

Sweden plans to introduce language and civics tests for permanent residency from 2027. What could the civics test entail and what topics will you need to know about?

Published: 1 June 2023 14:59 CEST
Updated: 5 June 2023 05:15 CEST
What could the Swedish civics test for permanent residency look like?
You could be asked simple questions about Sweden's political system and who can vote, for example. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

These language and civics tests haven’t yet been drawn up, but here’s what they could look like based on the suggestions in a new proposal.

What topics will the society test cover?

The test on knowledge of Swedish society would be designed to “test basic knowledge needed to live and work in Swedish society”, the proposal states, and it will be based on material adapted from the website informationsverige.se.

It would test the following areas, according to the proposal:

  • Coming to Sweden
  • Living in Sweden
  • Supporting yourself and developing in Sweden
  • The rights and obligations of the individual
  • Starting a family and living with children in Sweden
  • Having influence in Sweden
  • Caring for your health in Sweden
  • Growing old in Sweden

Will it be in Swedish?

Yes. It will be at CEFR level A2, the same level of Swedish as the language test.

This is equivalent to SFI level C, and is classified as a “basic” level of Swedish.

It won’t be a formal test of your Swedish, but you will have to have A2 level skills in reading Swedish in order to understand the questions.

Here are the CEFR guidelines for an A2 level:

“Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.”

What would the test itself be like?

According to the proposal, the test would be held digitally and would consist of two parts each lasting 50 minutes, with a ten minute break in between. This is quite a long test – a digital driving theory test is only 50 minutes long for comparison – so there will be time to cover a lot of different topics.

The questions asked will be so-called “closed questions”, so you will not be asked to argue or explain, just choose an answer. Tests will be marked automatically, allowing for a quick turnaround.

They will be a simplified version of material on the informationsverige.se website, adapted to A2 level Swedish and less comprehensive.

The proposal states that a glossary of terminology would be included for vocabulary above A2 level.

Although the exact layout of the test has not been confirmed, the proposal recommends that tests are held at the Swedish Transport Administration as they already have a system in place for handling large-scale digital driving theory tests.

Will there be a course or textbook I can use to study for the test?

There will not be a textbook, but there will be a website you’ll be able to access to read up on the topics covered in the test. This is due in part to the fact that websites are more easily updated than textbooks, and also the fact that a website is more accessible than a book you may have to pay for.

It’s worth bearing in mind that by the time you qualify for permanent residency you will have been living in Sweden for around four years, so there’s a good chance you will have picked up most of the information covered in the test just by living your daily life here.

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For members

WORKING IN SWEDEN

How many immigrants are overqualified for their jobs in Sweden?

Sweden is one of many European countries struggling with 'brain waste', a situation where immigrants struggle to find suitable full-time work or are overqualified for their roles due to their education not being recognised.

Published: 23 April 2024 15:57 CEST
How many immigrants are overqualified for their jobs in Sweden?

The findings are part of an investigation by Lighthouse Reports, the Financial Times, El País and Unbias The News which found that most European countries fail to provide good job opportunities to educated foreigners – potentially at the cost of their labour forces and economies.

“While the results differ slightly between labour market outcomes, a consistent pattern emerges: immigrants lag behind natives everywhere, but brain waste is worst in Southern Europe, Norway, and Sweden,” the report read.

One of the metrics used to measure brain waste was the proportion of foreign residents who were overqualified for their role.

In Sweden, 32 percent of university-educated Swedes were overqualified for their roles, according to their report, while 68 percent of immigrants educated abroad were overqualified for their job.

The report didn’t study native Swedes with foreign diplomas, but one thing to note is that immigrants who obtained their qualifications in Sweden were far less likely to be overqualified than those who got their degrees outside of Sweden.

For immigrants with a degree from Sweden, 35 percent were overqualified (the difference to native Swedes was not statistically significant).

The results are not surprising, and the problem of well-educated immigrants not being able to work in their chosen profession has been raised on multiple occasions – for example in connection with Sweden’s new work permit salary threshold squeezing out highly-qualified foreigners.

An OECD report found as early as 2014 that a much bigger proportion of highly-educated foreign-born people in Sweden were overqualified for their roles, compared to the native population.

“Given the large number of Swedish immigrants who obtained their education and work experience abroad, there is a strong need for efficient and credible recognition of their qualifications and validation of informal competences,” urged the OECD report at the time.

But the Lighthouse Reports study pointed out that the figures for Sweden pointed to a systemic problem across the entire labour market, which doesn’t only affect well-educated immigrants.

“Once we look at metrics of brain waste that are not dependent on education, such as under-employment and unemployment, the large gaps in Southern Europe (and Sweden) reappear. This indicates that these countries struggle to integrate migrants into the labour market in general, not just college-educated migrants,” it read.

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