Sweden | Citizenship rule changes now in effect

The Swedish government provided more details on changes to the Citizenship Act for young people and for Nordic citi­zens.

Key Points:

• For young people who want to be granted Swedish citizenship, requirements for living an orderly life are being introduced.
  • Young people and young adults who apply for Swedish citizenship through the notification process must have reached the age of 15 but be under 21 to obtain Swedish citizenship.
  • The Swedish Migration Agency will now also consider the applicant’s circumstances at the time of the decision as well as events that occur after notification of citizenship has been submitted.
• Personal factors including unpaid debts and convictions will now be considered in the decision-making process.
• In addition, Nordic citizens will need to contact the Swedish Migration Agency for all citizenship cases. To date, Nordic citizens have been able to acquire Swedish citizenship by notification via their local county administrative board.

Additional Information: The government is also implementing changes for appli­cants who apply for release from citi­zenship. Effective Oct. 1, an individual may be denied release from their Swedish citizenship if there is reason to suspect that the applicant does not wish to be released. At the same time as the requirements for obtaining Swedish citizenship are increasing, the protection of citizenship is also being strengthened.

The introduction of these new amendments also includes an increase to the notification of citizenship fee, which will increase to SEK 475 (about USD $46). The “Become a Swedish citizen” section on the government’s website has been updated to reflect these new regulations.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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