The announcement, made in a debate article published at 8pm on Friday in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, say that the government has agreed with the far-right Sweden Democrats to "act against the issuance of citizenship using already existing legislation".
The plan is to, if possible, delay citizenship awards for people who have already applied or who plan to apply in the near future, so that they are not awarded citizenship under the current, less strict rules before the stricter rules which extend the waiting from five years to eight years come into force. There are currently more than 80,000 citizenship applications waiting to be processed by the Migration Agency.
The leaders of Sweden's three government parties, Ulf Kristersson, Ebba Busch, and Johan Pehrson, made the announcement in a joint debate article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper written together with Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson.
The article was headlined, "It should be harder to be a Swedish citizen".
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"Before the new requirements for citizenship are in place, there is reason to act against citizenship being issued under the current legislation," they wrote. "Citizenship that is granted without the applicant meeting the extended requirements constitutes a vulnerability for Sweden's security. As far as possible, measures must therefore be taken to prevent more Swedish citizenships being issued, until the new legislation comes into force."
They also emphasise the need not to grant citizenship to people who threaten Swedish interests.
The move follows an article Åkesson wrote in Aftonbladet last week in which he proposed a moratorium on new citizenships, and also an interview by Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch, which called for slowing down the granting of new citizenships.
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"If the Migration Agency were to pause processing altogether, we could prevent the issuance of tens of thousands of new citizenships," Åkesson wrote at the time.
The Tidö parties, made up of the Moderates, Liberals, and Christian Democrats, announced that they want to stop citizenship "to any extent possible."
Other points in the policy platform included further measures to fight organised crime and crackdown on criminal gangs, reforms to ensure the rapid and cost-effective expansion of the prison service, as well as steps to accelerate the electrification of vehicles and cut healthcare waiting lists.
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