Partners of Swedish citizens used to have to live in Sweden for three years to be eligible for citizenship. Now it's jumping to seven – and being applied retroactively to pending applications, meaning your application could be rejected after June 6th if you don't meet this requirement.
The new law also specifies that the marriage or cohabitation with the Swedish citizen must have lasted for at least five years at the time of application, and that the Swedish partner must have held Swedish citizenship for at least five years.
Another part of the proposal which will affect both the partners of Swedish citizens and the partners of people on other types of permit, such as work permits, is the new self-sufficiency requirement.
Under this requirement, partners will need to prove an independent income of 20,000 kronor per month (before tax). Household income or personal savings cannot be counted towards this figure.
This makes it functionally impossible for any partner of a Swedish citizen or other permit holder who, for example, takes care of the home instead of working outside of it, to get citizenship – even if they have sufficient savings or household income to cover their expenses. From June 6th, all citizenship applicants (both new and pending cases) must have a salary or income from their own business of at least 20,000 kronor a month in order to qualify.
The only exceptions to the self-sufficiency requirement are full-time students at gymnasium level or higher and those of pension age.
Becky Waterton, Editor, The Local Denmark
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