Stricter requirements for citizenship
What will the proposals do?
A government inquiry proposed on January 15th, 2025 that the government should extend the time it takes to qualify for Swedish citizenship from the current limit of five years (three years for spouses or cohabiting partners of Swedish citizens) to eight years "in the normal case", with exceptions for certain groups.
The inquiry also recommended introducing a self-sufficiency requirement, tightening up the requirements that applicants have an "upstanding way of life", and almost doubling the application fee from 1,500 kronor to 2,900 kronor.
On top of this, the government and Sweden Democrats may choose to introduce a new obligatory ceremony, such as an oath of loyalty or a citizenship interview which would act as the final stage in the citizenship process, despite the fact that the inquiry advised against this.
The proposal was sent out for consultation shortly after, and the consultation period closed on April 1st.
The results of the inquiry into tightening up citizenship rules were presented on January 15th. The key points of that inquiry report are available here, and we've also put together a Q&A of reader questions on the new rules.
What's the status of these proposals?
The government on February 9th announced that it had agreed the text of a law which will be sent to the Council of Legislation, the final stage before finalising the text of a bill to be sent to parliament.
Along with the announcement, the government revealed that it was increasing the self-sufficiency requirement proposed in the original inquiry to 20,000 kronor a month and that it would apply the new rules retroactively on applications which have already been made but which have not yet been decided, overruling the recommendation of the inquiry.
The government has moved the implementation date forward from June 1st, which the inquiry proposed, to June 6th, which is Sweden's national day.
We've put together a Q&A explaining what was announced in the press conference.
Language and culture tests for citizenship
What will the proposal do?
It would introduce a language and culture test for citizenship applications, which would apply to those aged between 16 and 66.
An inquiry into bringing in the language requirement concluded in January 2021 that applicants for citizenship should be able to listen to and read Swedish at B1, the second of the six levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), equivalent to having completed level D, the fourth-highest level in the Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) course.
- EXPLAINED: How a new law gets made in Sweden
This is a fairly high level of Swedish. It’s enough to get the gist of what’s in Swedish newspapers, listen to the radio, or to follow a lecture without too much difficulty.
When it comes to speaking or writing Swedish, the inquiry suggested requiring a lower level, A2. This is equivalent to SFI level C.
With regards to the culture test, the law proposes a digital test of "basic knowledge needed to live and function in Swedish society focusing on democracy and the democratic process", which would be based on the contents of a book produced specifically for test purposes.
READ ALSO: What we know about Sweden's citizenship tests so far
What's the status of the proposal?
This proposal went through a consultation stage, which concluded in April 2021. This is the stage where the inquiry report and its proposals are sent for consultation to the relevant government agencies or organisations, municipalities and other stakeholders, who can submit their comments.
The proposal then became included in the umbrella bill bringing in stricter requirements for citizenship, which we covered above. The language tests have, however, been a major obstacle to the bill.
The government in February 2025 ordered Stockholm and Gothenburg Universities to start putting together the language and civics tests, with the aim of having them ready by August 2026.
In an official response to the government's proposal, the vice-chancellors of both universities questioned whether this is a task that the universities should be responsible for, as well as warning that the proposed deadline is too soon.
On September 30th, the Swedish Council for Higher Education, which is coordinating the tests, sent a progress update to the government, saying that Stockholm University judged that the language test could not be ready until 2028, and that Gothenburg University said it could only hold one civics test at the end of 2026.
The government on February 6th announced that the first language tests would be delayed until October 2027.
The government then on February 9th announced that it had agreed the text of a law which will be sent to the Council of Legislation, the final stage before finalising the text of a bill to be sent to parliament.
It is not yet clear how the government will handle citizenship applications in the 17 months between the citizenship coming into the force and the planned launch date for the language tests.
Revoking citizenships
What will the proposal do?
A cross-party committee has proposed changing Sweden's constitution so that dual citizens who commit "crimes which threaten Sweden's security" can lose their citizenship.
In its conclusions the cross-party Committee on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms proposed that under the constitution it should be possible to strip Swedish citizenship from dual citizens who commit "serious crimes which threaten national security or are covered by the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court".
This could include crimes such as espionage, high treason, incitement to war, and rebellion.
The judge Henrik Jermsten, who chaired the cross-party Committee on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, said that international law would have allowed the committee to go further and strip citizenship from dual citizens found guilty of any serious crime.
Sweden's three government parties and the far-right Sweden Democrats, however, added a reservation to the conclusions explaining that they had wanted to go further and extend the possibility of revocation to other serious crimes such as gang crime.
What's the status of the proposal?
The inquiry report on revoking citizenships was out for consultation until the end of April 2025. The government published a draft bill on December 5th.
Making changes to one of Sweden's four constitutional laws requires two separate majority votes in parliament, one on either side of a general election.
This means that for the changes the government wants to see to go through, the bill will need to win a majority vote in parliament before the next election in September 2026, then the government will need to win the election, (or the next government will need to support the bill after the election) and then the bill will need to win a second majority vote.
The bill proposes that the law come into force on January 2027, taking this into account.
Revoking residence permits
What will the proposal do?
An inquiry looking into extending the possibilities of rejecting and revoking residence permits due to bristande vandel, or a "flawed way of life", as well as other possible reasons, presented its conclusions on April 1st, 2025.
The inquiry stopped short of proposing a list of what could constitute bristande vandel, leaving it up to the migration authorities and court to make an overall assessment.
But Robert Schött, the judge who led the inquiry, gave a few examples, such as abusing the welfare system through benefits cheating even in cases when there’s been no court verdict, refusing to pay debts, or not being able to account for one’s income.
The inquiry also proposed making it possible to reject or revoke a permit if the holder has made statements that are punishable by law or threaten public order.
It would also be possible to revoke permits for other reasons, such as if the permit is based on false information knowingly provided by for example an employer or family member. Currently, permits can be revoked if the applicant has personally provided false information.
The inquiry also proposes scrapping rules that limit the possibility of revoking residence permits based on how long the foreigner has lived in Sweden.
What's the status of the proposal?
The proposal was sent out for consultation with the final consultation responses submitted at the end of June 2025. The government then sent an additional proposal out for consultation in October 2025, which will expand the circumstances where residency permits can be denied or recalled.
No draft bill has yet been sent to the Council on Legislation.
Revoking permanent residence permits
What will the proposal do?
In September 2025, a Swedish government inquiry recommended enacting a new law which could lead to close to 120,000 people in Sweden being stripped of their permanent residency permits.
Under the proposal, the law would apply to all foreigners who have been granted permanent residence permits as:
- refugees
- persons in need of subsidiary protection
- quota refugees
- persons with long-term resident status in Sweden
- granted permanent residence due to 'exceptionally distressing circumstances'
- those granted permanent residence due to the gymnasielagen
- those granted permanent residence or equivalent under previous and equivalent versions of the law (this will also only affect refugees and other people needing protection).
- family members of all of the groups mentioned.
The law would not apply to:
- foreigners who received residency on the basis of a work permit, or family members granted residency as their dependents.
- foreigners who received residency as a spouse, sambo or other family member of a Swedish citizen.
The general rule would be that all permanent residency permits held by people in the first group would be revoked and replaced with temporary residency permits "if they meet the conditions for that".
Those who apply for citizenship by December 31st, 2026 would be covered by an exemption, and would not have their permanent residence permit revoked unless their citizenship application was unsuccessful. They would then be automatically assessed for a temporary residence permit on the grounds of long-term residency under EU law (varaktig bosatt).
If they do not qualify for a residence permit on the basis of long-term residency, it would be up to the individual to decide whether to apply for residency on other grounds (for example asylum, work, study, or family links). If they do not qualify for temporary residence on these grounds or choose not to apply, the individual would then, as a general rule, be deported.
What's the status of the proposal?
The inquiry presented its findings in September 2025. It proposed an implementation date of January 1st, 2027. The government put it out for consultation on September 26th, with December 19th the deadline for responses.
The proposal was rejected by most, or perhaps all, the stakeholders asked to comment on it, with the Swedish National Courts Administration warning that the courts would be so overloaded by the number of cases the law would generate that the law risked "public confidence in the legal system as a whole".
The bill was not included in a list of legislation the government intends to send to parliament in the first half of 2026 and the government has not yet committed to pushing forward with the proposal.
In the Tidö Agreement with the far-right Sweden Democrats, the three government parties only committed to holding an inquiry into revoking permanent residency permits, not to sending a bill to parliament.
Plans to tighten rules for family reunification permits
What will the proposal do?
This proposal would introduce a new two-year waiting period for family reunification in certain cases, as well as a self-sufficiency requirement for family members of researchers and holders of long-term EU residence permits.
At first, it was expected to affect all types of family reunification permits where the applicant is applying to join someone with a residence permit in Sweden, including, for example, students, refugees and work permit holders, and even Swedish citizens.
Now, however, the inquiry has proposed different rules for different groups, with only certain groups affected by the two-year wait.
The inquiry also proposed changes to self-sufficiency rules, including allowing the Migration Agency to take the income of all family members into account when assessing self-sufficiency, and introducing a self-sufficiency requirement for varaktig bosatta and researchers.
Finally, it proposed that some applicants should have to take out full coverage health insurance in order to qualify for a permit, and that the Migration Agency should be able to use DNA analysis in more cases to prove that family members are actually related.
What's the status of the proposal?
The inquiry presented its findings in September 2025. It proposed an implementation date of January 1st, 2027.
Language and culture tests for permanent residency
What will the proposal do?
This would, similarly to the law on citizenship above, introduce a language and culture knowledge requirement for permanent residency applications.
The idea is that the language test would consist of two 50 minute listening tests with a ten minute break, at CEFR level A2, and the culture test would be the same length and would test applicants on a range of topics related to living in Sweden.
More information on what we know about the content of the tests and who will have to take them is available here.
What's the status of the proposal?
The consultation stage (remiss) of this proposal concluded in September 2023. The next step is for the government to decide whether or not to push ahead with the law, then draft a bill which would first be sent to Sweden's Council on Legislation.
The suggested date of implementation according to the proposal is July 1st, 2027.
While the government could in theory push ahead with the proposal, it looks as if it may have been shelved.
Raising the salary threshold for work permits
What is this proposal about?
This is a two.stage proposal. The first stage, which came into force on November 1st, 2023, set a new salary threshold at 80 percent of Sweden's median salary, meaning that anyone earning below this figure no longer qualifies for a work permit or work permit extension.
The second stage, which at the time of writing has yet to be submitted to parliament, is expected to set a new salary threshold at 90 percent of the median salary from June 1st, 2026. The second stage will also bring in a system of exempted high-demand professions.
The median salary is calculated each year by Statistics Sweden, which means that the limit will change every year as the median salary changes. Statistics Sweden last updated these figures on June 17th, 2025 – applicants after this date need to earn 29,680 kronor.
Valid work permits issued before the law change to people earning below the new limit were not affected, meaning people on these permits could stay in Sweden until their permits expire, something which, as work permits are valid for two years, will now have happened in all cases.
In addition to this, the government plans to raise the work permit threshold for new permits to 90 percent of the median salary, which at the time of writing would mean a minimum of 33,390 kronor a month, with exemptions for some categories of workers.
For work permit renewals, the current rule (80 percent of the median salary) will continue to apply for any applications for extensions submitted to the Migration Agency by June 1st 2026 at the latest.
What's the status of the proposal?
The first part of the proposal, which raised the work permit threshold to 80 percent of the median salary, came into force on November 1st, 2023.
The government finally agreed in October to bring in a new law with a threshold at 90 percent of the median salary, or 33,390 kronor a month, following a one-and-a-half-year delay since the end of consultations on the inquiry's proposals.
The government then sent a draft law to the Council of Legislation on October 16th, and published the final text of a bill in November. The bill is expected to be passed by parliament in the spring.
Abolishing permanent residency for asylum seekers
What will the policy do?
This was part of a broader inquiry into tightening asylum legislation to the “minimum level” allowed under European Union law or other international treaties to which Sweden is a signatory, which reported in two stages.
As well as abolishing permanent residency for asylum seekers, the first part of the inquiry, which reported in April 2025, also made several other recommendations intended to tighten asylum legislation:
- It recommended limiting asylum to just one hour of free legal advice provided by the state. Those whose asylum claims have been rejected and appealed to the migration court will still have the right to a lawyer.
- It recommended empowering the Swedish Migration Agency to reject asylum applications in more situations than currently permitted, including cases where an international criminal court or tribunal has granted the applicant safe transfer to a Member State or a third country, and under specific conditions when an applicant is subject to a return decision.
- It proposed empowering the Migration Agency to declare an asylum application "manifestly unfounded" in all situations allowed under the Asylum Procedure Regulation.
A law ending the issuance of new permanent residency permits to asylum seekers, people with Long Term Residence under EU law, and their dependents is expected to go before parliament before summer 2026.
Travel visas for foreign researchers
A government inquiry presented in December 2024 promised to make it easier for foreign researchers and doctoral students to travel in and out of Sweden while they are in-between residence permits, along with a list of other reforms to make life easier.
The inquiry proposes that foreign researchers in between permits should be able to apply for a visa to be able to return to Sweden if they have to travel internationally in connection with their research, for example to attend a relevant seminar abroad.
Additionally, it should also be possible for foreign researchers to apply for a visa to visit family abroad. It shouldn’t be possible, argues the inquiry, to grant a visa just for private holidays, but the applicant wouldn’t have to prove that the trip is essential to attend a major family event such as weddings – just visiting family would be reason enough.
Family members of researchers would also be able to receive a similar visa.
What's the status of this proposal?
The government submitted a bill to the Council on Legislation on January 26th, which will allow researchers and PhD students to:
- apply for and obtain a permanent residence permit after three years in Sweden, with applications and grants possible even during the time the applicant has another residence permit.
- spend up to 18 months searching for a job after completing their studies (up from 12 months currently)
apply for D-visas, or Nationell visering, from within Sweden so that they can leave Sweden to attend conferences and then return (this does not require a change in the law) - change from one type of residence permit to another without first having to leave Sweden
- enter into "reception agreements", or mottagningsavtal, with universities and then be granted "residence permits for research", rather than the study permits they currently receive, giving them greater freedom of movement within the EU and greater ability to bring their families to Sweden
WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE (OR NOT)?
Strengthened system for coordination numbers
What is this proposal about?
This law makes the Swedish Tax Agency wholly responsible for awarding coordination numbers, the numbers given to people living in Sweden who are not yet eligible for a personal number, personnummer.
This should make it easier to keep track of which numbers are held by real people and which are dormant. The bill also creates a new category of “supported identity” coordination numbers, where the holder goes to a Tax Agency office in person with a passport or other identity document and has their identity confirmed.
What's the status of the proposal?
It was passed as law on November 30th 2022, and came into force on September 1st 2023 (January 1st 2023 for affected staff at foreign embassies).
New work permit system for high-skilled labour
What is this proposal about?
Sweden's Migration Agency launched a new work permit model in January 2024, aiming to speed up waiting times for international talent.
The new system scrapped the former fast-track for certified companies, with an aim to slash processing times for highly-educated applicants to just 30 days.
Instead, all work permit applications to bring highly qualified labour to Sweden, regardless of whether the company is certified or not, are now being handled by new "international recruitment units", or enheter för internationell rekrytering.
These not only process cases but also include "service teams", who work closely with employers and businesses in the run-up to applications being submitted, so that they are complete.
What's the status of the proposal?
The new model came into effect at the end of January 2024. So far it appears to have been largely successful in terms of meeting the 30-day target.
Did we miss anything? Let us know at news@thelocal.se.
Richard Orange, Nordic Editor, The Local
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