The rules for obtaining Swedish citizenship are set to become stricter, with the country’s Migration Minister saying that the era of individuals being given citizenship with minimal requirements is “definitively over”.
According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, a new proposal – which will come into effect on June 1st 2026 – would see aspiring citizens forced to maintain an “honest way of life”, among other things.
Government investigator Kirsi Laakso Utvik said that as it stands, applicants are required to demonstrate a “decent life”, by avoiding being in debt with the State, avoiding serious criminal convictions, and not being classified as a potential security threat by the Swedish Security Service.
However, the new plans would see this expanded even further, requiring longer waiting periods before a person convicted of a crime can become a citizen. Individuals will also have to prove themselves to be financially self-sufficient.
“It should be required that individuals have maintained and are expected to maintain a decent and honest way of life,” Laakso Utvik said.
In addition to this, applicants will be required to live in the country for a longer duration of time before they can apply for citizenship.
Currently, individuals generally have to live in Sweden for a minimum of 5 years before they are eligible to submit a citizenship application. The new plan would see this increased to 8 years.
One of the reasons given for this proposed change is to give the authorities more time to gather information about the applicant’s character.
“The era when Swedish citizenship was granted with almost no requirements is definitively over,” Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters at a press conference this week, adding that becoming a Swedish citizen “should mean something.”
“It should be something to strive for, a confirmation that one is working and contributing to society – something one truly earns.”
However, Laakso Utvik said she doesn’t believe that there should be a requirement for declarations of loyalty to the nation, citizenship interviews, or “forced” participation in a formal ceremony.
“A forced ceremony could be perceived as an obligation rather than a celebration,” she said, adding: “This might have the opposite effect.”
Irish citizenship naturalisation typically requires five years of residence in the country (or three if married to an Irish citizen) and “good character”, though what this means is not exhaustively defined.
As previously reported by Gript, 95% of citizenship applications in Ireland are granted.