Swedish minister on citizenship slowdown: ‘We are looking at the possibilities’

Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell has told The Local that the government is deliberating over its options for blocking citizenship until tougher rules come into force.

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News that the government intends to slow down the awarding of new citizenship until tougher rules come into force sparked concern among many of The Local’s readers.
We’ve been trying to get answers from the migration minister’s office on who exactly will be affected and what it means in practice for the more than 80,000 people who have already applied for citizenship but who haven’t yet received a decision.
“We have previously agreed that the requirements for obtaining citizenship should be tightened,” Forssell told The Local in an email on December 4th, referring to the post-election deal between the government and its Sweden Democrats supporters.
“Swedish citizenship must not be given to people who threaten Swedish interests,” he added.

There are a number of new rules for citizenship in the works, including a possible extension to the residency requirement from the standard five to eight years, as well as language tests. It’s not known exactly when they might come into force, but a government-commissioned inquiry looking into these and proposals for how to tighten citizenship rules is set to present its conclusions on January 15th.
“Before the new legal requirements are in place, we will, to the extent that it is possible, implement measures so that Swedish citizenship will not be awarded – that is prevent people who don’t meet the upcoming requirements from becoming citizens,” said Forssell.
OPINION: Foreigners in Sweden deserve fair and transparent citizenship rules

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Joakim Nergelius, professor in jurisprudence at Örebro University, told public radio broadcaster SR that moves to halt the issuing of citizenship could potentially be unconstitutional, as Sweden has strict rules against ministers interfering with decisions made by government agencies such as the Migration Agency. In other words, the sentence “to the extent that it is possible” is a key phrase.
According to broadcaster TV4, one method of slowing citizenship awards could be to instruct the Migration Agency in its annual regulatory letter to carry out more thorough security checks, which would effectively slow down the processing of citizenship applications.
But when asked by The Local, Forssell would not be drawn on the details.
“We are looking at various possibilities to protect Swedish interests in the processing of citizenship. We will return to the question of which options may be relevant,” he said.

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#Swedish citizenship
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Comments (2)

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Jack

2024/12/04 18:43

It’s time to hope the best for Sweden!

Mark C

2024/12/04 16:33

Great you keeping on top of this. it’s incredibly frustrating as Ive been waiting now for 34 months. No idea what the new qualification period/language level/cultural knowledge/income requirements will be to become a citizen. I guess I’ll just have to stay a tax paying resident. (Reading the recently published Preparedness document, this comes with significant expectations of foreign residents in times of crisis/war) ..but no, no, no. You can’t be a citizen! (Yet)

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News that the government intends to slow down the awarding of new citizenship until tougher rules come into force sparked concern among many of The Local’s readers.
We’ve been trying to get answers from the migration minister’s office on who exactly will be affected and what it means in practice for the more than 80,000 people who have already applied for citizenship but who haven’t yet received a decision.
“We have previously agreed that the requirements for obtaining citizenship should be tightened,” Forssell told The Local in an email on December 4th, referring to the post-election deal between the government and its Sweden Democrats supporters.
“Swedish citizenship must not be given to people who threaten Swedish interests,” he added.
There are a number of new rules for citizenship in the works, including a possible extension to the residency requirement from the standard five to eight years, as well as language tests. It’s not known exactly when they might come into force, but a government-commissioned inquiry looking into these and proposals for how to tighten citizenship rules is set to present its conclusions on January 15th.
“Before the new legal requirements are in place, we will, to the extent that it is possible, implement measures so that Swedish citizenship will not be awarded – that is prevent people who don’t meet the upcoming requirements from becoming citizens,” said Forssell.
OPINION: Foreigners in Sweden deserve fair and transparent citizenship rules
Joakim Nergelius, professor in jurisprudence at Örebro University, told public radio broadcaster SR that moves to halt the issuing of citizenship could potentially be unconstitutional, as Sweden has strict rules against ministers interfering with decisions made by government agencies such as the Migration Agency. In other words, the sentence “to the extent that it is possible” is a key phrase.
According to broadcaster TV4, one method of slowing citizenship awards could be to instruct the Migration Agency in its annual regulatory letter to carry out more thorough security checks, which would effectively slow down the processing of citizenship applications.
But when asked by The Local, Forssell would not be drawn on the details.
“We are looking at various possibilities to protect Swedish interests in the processing of citizenship. We will return to the question of which options may be relevant,” he said.