Sweden’s new citizenship requirements will apply from 6 June 2026 to people who have already submitted an application, after the Swedish parliament approved stricter rules for naturalisation. The change affects many of the roughly 100,000 applicants currently waiting for a decision from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), including people who filed their cases years ago.
Pending citizenship applications face the new Swedish rules
Under the new rules, applicants who have not received a decision before 6 June 2026 will be assessed according to the stricter framework. This means that people already in the queue may need to meet requirements that did not exist when they applied. Opposition attempts to introduce transitional rules for pending cases did not pass, making the timing of each decision central for many applicants.
According to figures cited by Sweden Herald, around 30 percent of pending citizenship applications are older than two years, while 12 percent date from before 2023. Sara Sjudin, head of section at the Swedish Migration Agency, said it is difficult to estimate how many applicants will receive a decision before the deadline, because each case depends on individual checks and documentation.
The decision has drawn attention because Swedish citizenship applications already have long processing times. The current median processing time is about 820 days, and the agency has also introduced stronger security checks, including more detailed examination of identity documents. These measures were introduced before the new citizenship rules and have already contributed to longer waiting times.
Language and civic knowledge become part of Swedish citizenship
One of the main changes is the introduction of Swedish language and civic knowledge requirements. These requirements are new in the citizenship process and are intended to make naturalisation more closely linked to integration criteria, including the ability to participate in Swedish society.
A formal Swedish language test in reading and listening comprehension is scheduled to enter into force on 1 October 2027, unless the government decides on an earlier date. Until then, the Migration Agency may assess language skills through certificates, school grades or other documentation. A separate civic knowledge test is expected to be introduced in August 2026.
For applicants, this creates a transitional period in which the requirements already apply, but the full testing system is not yet in place. In practice, the Migration Agency will have to rely on available evidence until the new exams are operational.
Income, conduct and honesty requirements are tightened
The reform also introduces a new income requirement for Swedish citizenship. Applicants must show an annual income of SEK 241,800 (about €22,300). Certain benefits cannot be counted, and applicants must not have received income support for more than six months during the past three years.
The Migration Agency will be able to request payslips, certificates and information from other authorities. According to Sjudin, this part of the assessment is expected to be relatively manageable from an administrative point of view.
The rules on conduct and honesty will also become stricter. Authorities will assess factors such as criminal convictions, unpaid debts and breaches of contact bans. A notable change is that these requirements will also apply to children aged 15 and over, not only to adults. Waiting periods after criminal convictions will also be extended before a person can become eligible for citizenship, including for offences committed outside Sweden.
Eight years of residence replace the five-year threshold
Another major change concerns the residence requirement. The current main rule requiring applicants to have lived in Sweden for at least five years will be replaced by an eight-year residence requirement.
The Swedish Migration Agency expects many applicants already waiting for a decision to meet this threshold, partly because processing times have been long. However, people who applied more recently may be less likely to receive a decision before 6 June and could therefore be assessed under the new rules.
The change moves Sweden closer to a stricter model of naturalisation, where time spent in the country, economic self-sufficiency, language skills and civic knowledge are all part of the same framework.
Sweden’s citizenship reform fits a wider European debate
The reform reflects a broader European debate over citizenship, integration and migration policy. Several European countries already link naturalisation to language ability, civic knowledge or economic self-sufficiency, and Sweden is now moving further in that direction after years of comparatively limited formal requirements.
In Sweden, the reform also comes after years of political debate over migration, integration and public trust in the asylum and citizenship systems. Supporters argue that citizenship should require stronger evidence of integration. Critics have warned that applying the new rules to pending applications could affect people who applied under a different legal framework and have already waited for years.
For applicants, the most immediate issue is uncertainty. Those who receive a decision before 6 June will be assessed under the current rules. Those still waiting after that date will need to meet the new Swedish citizenship requirements, even if their application was submitted before the reform entered into force.
