Now, there will be stricter controls for those who want to become Swedish citizens.
Those who apply for citizenship will, unlike today, personally need to go to the Migration Agency to verify their identity.
In addition, it will be mandatory for all applicants to provide information about their background, such as what they have worked with, where they come from, and which countries they have traveled to.
For us, it is extremely important that individuals who pose a threat to Sweden cannot obtain citizenship, says Oskar Ekblad, project leader at the Migration Agency and the one who has developed the action package.
Cannot be revoked
The verification of identity on site is intended to ensure that the person is present in Sweden and has their residence here, and to prevent individuals from seeking citizenship with false identity documents.
Background information is considered important for determining whether the person can pose a security risk.
The tightened measures are a response to a government assignment that the Migration Agency received in January. The Agency is also tightening the scrutiny of ID documents, and will also conduct more oral investigations in the future. However, it will take a little while before the latter measure is in place.
Ekblad claims that the Migration Agency already conducts thorough investigations today.
But the changes in the security situation require us to make some tightenings, he says.
It is a process with a very large number of applicants, and the security situation changes so quickly that it is easy to become wise after the event and simply see that new measures are needed.
Remains in the country
More and more people who pose a security threat have been discovered in citizenship cases in recent years. A few years ago, the Security Service recommended rejection of around 100-180 citizenship applications per year for security reasons. In 2023, the number was 756, and in 2024, it was 566 cases.
The Migration Agency cannot say whether more security threats will be found with the new measures.
We see these as necessary measures. Exactly how many it leads to when it comes to individuals who the Security Police are interested in is too early for us to comment on.
Individuals who are classified as security threats can still remain in the country because they have a residence permit. Some cannot be deported either, as they risk, for example, the death penalty or torture.
Last year, 65,591 citizenships were granted in Sweden.
Number of cases where the Security Service has objected to Swedish citizenship.
(Number of referrals from the Migration Agency in parentheses.)
2024: 566 (1051)
2023: 756 (687)
2022: 490 (788)
2021: 182 (598)
2020: 100 (820)
2019: 147 (436)
The Security Service's response/objection may come in a later year than the year the Migration Agency refers the case.
It is the Migration Agency that makes the decision to deny a person citizenship, often in line with the Security Service's recommendation.
Source: Migration Agency
