Around 30 percent of all citizenship applications are older than two years, of which 12 percent are from before 2023, according to Sara Sjudin, head of section at the Swedish Migration Board.
How many people can hope to receive a decision before June 6 is difficult to say, according to Sjudin, because it depends very much on the individual case.
If you submitted your application last fall, you probably won't have time to receive a decision, she says.
The Swedish Migration Board cannot estimate how many people will have difficulty meeting the new requirements.
Tests to be introduced
The requirements for knowledge of Swedish and social studies are completely new. The idea is to introduce a language test from 1 October 2027. Until then, the Swedish Migration Board may assess Swedish skills by requesting certificates or grades, such as high school grades.
A social studies exam is expected to be introduced in August 2026.
The income requirement is also completely new. It corresponds to an annual income of SEK 241,800. Benefits may not be included, and you may not have received income support for more than six months in the last three years.
We will be able to request certificates and salary specifications and coordinate with other authorities. That assessment issue will probably not be that difficult.
The requirements for conduct and honesty are also being tightened. The assessment is made based on, among other things, whether there are criminal convictions, unpaid debts or violations of contact bans. One tightening is that these requirements will not only apply to adults but also to children aged 15 and over. Another is that the waiting period to apply for citizenship after a criminal conviction is being extended.
Longer wait?
The current requirement of having lived in Sweden for at least five years will be raised to eight years. Sjudin believes that many who are currently waiting for a decision will still meet the new limit.
We have had many years of waiting time, so the majority should be able to meet the residency requirement.
Processing times increased in 2025 because the Swedish Migration Board, on behalf of the government, introduced security-enhancing measures. For example, ID documents are now examined more thoroughly.
The question is whether the tightened citizenship requirements will mean that processing times will increase further. The median time is currently 820 days.
However, Sjudin does not believe the new requirements will have as great an effect as the security-enhancing measures.
The majority of the new legal requirements concern additional documentation. The applicant will need to submit various types of certificates and grades.
