Criminals should not be able to use Swedish passports to travel around the world or to stay in Sweden, says Minister for Migration Johan Forssell (The Moderate Party).
A proposal will now be fast-tracked. The proposal will target criminals with dual citizenship. They must also have engaged in "system-threatening crime" that "seriously damages the state's vital interests. It will be Anita Linder's assignment to further define what kind of crime it involves.
According to Forssell, it will not only be about the leaders of criminal networks.
It's not just individuals at the top of these structures who threaten the state's vital interests, he says.
Is Controversial
The issue is controversial among the Riksdag parties. Last winter, the Constitutional Committee presented its report. Then, the opposition was critical. The Social Democrats pointed out that Sweden's "vital interests" is an all too vague concept.
On the other hand, there was a broad majority, including the Social Democrats, to open up for revoking Swedish citizenship for persons with dual citizenship on certain other grounds. One such ground is if a person has become Swedish on false grounds, for example, by providing false information, bribing or threatening their way to citizenship. Another ground that received broad political support was crimes that seriously threaten national security, such as espionage and high treason or genocide and crimes against humanity.
The investigator Anita Linder will also develop proposals for revoking citizenship on those grounds. She is to complete her work by March 20, 2026.
After the Election
The proposals, however, require that the Constitution is also changed, and for that, two Riksdag decisions with an election in between are required. They can therefore earliest come into force.
Forssell wants, however, before the election in September 2026, to get as far as possible with the controversial proposal on gang criminals so that it is ready to be adopted after the election.
We hope that it will be able to come into force very quickly thereafter, he says.
Ultimately, this will be a question for the Swedish people. This will be an election issue. This legislation must be confirmed by the next Riksdag.
