Sweden Tightens Citizenship Requirements: New Rules Take Effect

Background

Earlier this year, the Swedish Government presented its proposal to significantly reform the Swedish Citizenship Act, aimed at reinforcing the value and status of Swedish citizenship.

Effective June 6th, 2026, on the Swedish National Day, the amendments to the Swedish Citizenship Act are now in force. Below is an overview of the key changes.

Longer recidency requirement

The duration of the residence requirement has varied over time. As of June 6th 2026, the main rule is that a person must have been resident in Sweden for eight years in order to apply for Swedish citizenship, which represents a significant increase in time compared to the previous requirement of five years. Some groups will be exempt from this requirement, for example Nordic citizens, persons who are married to or live in a marriage-like relationship with a Swedish citizen, previous Swedish citizens as well as certain other selected groups.

A maintenance requirement is introduced

A maintenance requirement for acquiring citizenship has not existed in Swedish law since 1976. This is now being reintroduced, meaning that a person cannot acquire Swedish citizenship unless they can demonstrate that their annual salary or income from business activities amounts to at least three income base amounts before the deduction of preliminary tax. For 2026, one income base amount is 83,400 SEK, meaning that the requirement of three amounts equals an annual income of 250,200 SEK.

In order for the maintenance requirement to be considered fulfilled, the ability to support oneself must not be merely temporary. The applicant must not have received social assistance for a total period exceeding six months during the three years immediately preceding the application.

A requirement for an orderly lifestyle is introduced in addition to the current requirement of an honest lifestyle 

There is already a requirement that you need to lead an honest lifestyle without misconduct to acquire citizenship, e.g. have no criminal background, unpaid debts etc. The requirement is now extended to also include leading an orderly lifestyle, with the aim to extend the evaluation to also include crimes or misconduct carried out abroad, if the individual is deemed to be a safety risk or is active in any organization disturbing the peace etc. Further, longer waiting periods (Swedish: Karenstid) after a crime has been committed are introduced for citizenship. 

Citizenship test - Civics and Language test

In the vast majority of European countries, language proficiency is required for the acquisition of citizenship. All other Nordic countries impose requirements for such proficiency, and as of October 1st 2027, similar requirements are expected to apply in Sweden. Requirements for sufficient knowledge of the Swedish language as well as how Swedish society works will be introduced for the acquisition of Swedish citizenship and the knowledge requirements are proposed to apply to those who have turned 16 but are not yet 67 years old.

Deloitte’s comment

The changes to the Swedish Citizenship Act represent a shift from a relatively liberal system to a stricter one. By reintroducing the maintenance requirement after 50 years and adding language/civics tests, Sweden is moving toward a model where citizenship is a reward for successful integration rather than a natural milestone of residency, which has been the intention of the Government with the introduction of the new requirements.

The most critical aspect of the 2026 reform is that the new, stricter requirements will apply to all pending applications as of June 6th, 2026. Even if you submitted your application in 2023 or 2024 under the old rules (e.g., 5-year residency and no income requirement), your case will be assessed under the new 2026 criteria if a decision has not been reached by the implementation date. This change is controversial because processing times for citizenship have already been very long. While we don't know if these new rules will cause even more delays, it is clear that to attract international talent, Sweden needs predictable rules, a transparent process, and reasonable waiting times.

For a comprehensive assessment of these legislative updates, please reach out to our specialists at Deloitte.

Martina Ogenhammar 
Partner, Head of Immigration - Global Employer Services
mogenhammar@deloitte.se
+46 70 080 21 60

Kaltrina Abazi
Senior manager - Global Employer Services
kabazi@deloitte.se 
+46 70 080 32 62

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