Sweden’s government has called for toughening the country’s citizenship requirements by increasing the necessary time in the country to eight years and introducing a citizenship test.
“Citizenship must be earned, not be handed out unconditionally,” said migration minister Johan Forssell, announcing results of a new government study into naturalisation.
The study suggested “honest living” as a prerequisite for naturalisation and an increase in the required time in the country from the current five years.
It also called for a new test on Swedish society and values, and a language exam.
The government should “always be clear about what values apply in Sweden”, said Forssell. The country united people from different backgrounds under a “common Swedish identity”.
Gender equality, free choice in marriage, and an equal right of girls and boys to play football or go swimming were examples of these values.
“If you don’t accept that, Sweden is not the right country for you,” said the minister.
“It has been far too easy to become a Swedish citizen. Lax policies have made it possible for, for example, criminals to obtain citizenship in Sweden,” he argued.
The expert commission behind the citizenship study proposed the new rules come into force on June 1, 2026.
Kirsi Laakso Utvik, who chaired the commission, said it will be more difficult for people to obtain Swedish citizenship in the future.
New citizenship requirements would also demand people applying for citizenship be able to support themselves, and exclude criminals and individuals posing security threats.
The “honest living” requirement would also increasingly block administrative offenders and people in debt.
However, some immigrants’ rights organisations argued the new proposals were impractical.
“Research indicates that stricter citizenship requirements do not enhance integration incentives; instead, they foster exclusion,” claimed John Stauffer, head of the legal department at the NGO Civil Rights Defenders, in a statement to the AFP news agency.
Sweden has undergone big shifts in its immigration policies over the past decade.
Once known for an open and welcoming stance towards immigrants, the country has adopted a more restrictive approach after experiencing high crime and rising costs of living.
By 2025, approximately 2.1 million residents, or 20 per cent of Sweden’s population, were born abroad. The most common countries of origin for immigrants were Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, and Afghanistan.
In reaction to the results of its previous open border policies, Sweden has shifted to the Right and voted for a new government with the hard-right Sweden Democrats now vowing to restrict migration.
In 2024, Sweden recorded negative immigration for the first time in 50 years, with 44,100 leaving the country, nearly double the previous year.
By the end of September 2024, only around 7,300 active asylum applications were registered, a 25 per cent drop compared to the previous year.
The government also planned to allocate funds for voluntary repatriation, increasing the grant for voluntary return in 2026 to 350,000 SEK (€34,450) per person. This amount is currently only 10,000 SEK (€870).
These policies were popular. Unlike in many other countries, the country’s centre-left Social Democratic Party was now also pushing for tougher laws on migration.
On January 14, the Social Democrats demanded increased deportations of foreigners who had committed rape.
Swedish government tightens naturalisation requirements with focus on ‘honest living’