"Honorable behavior"

Sweden’s government wants to make naturalization more difficult

Swedish passport (symbol)

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Sweden's government wants to make access to citizenship in its own country more difficult. An expert commission has recommended new hurdles. There have been discussions of this kind in Austria for years. 

According to an expert commission's recommendation on Tuesday, anyone wishing to become a Swedish citizen in future will have to live in the country for eight years and demonstrate "honorable behavior". 

"Citizenship must be earned"
The Swedish Minister of Migration, Johan Forssell, explained on Instagram that "citizenship must be earned and not handed out unconditionally".

Language and value test 
The proposal states that applicants for Swedish citizenship must have lived in the Scandinavian country for eight years instead of five, and must also pass a language test and a test on Swedish society and values. The expert commission proposes that the reform should come into force on June 1, 2026.

"Common Swedish identity"
Swedish citizenship helps to unite people from different backgrounds under a "common Swedish identity", said Forssell. This is particularly important at a time when Sweden is welcoming hundreds of thousands of people from many parts of the world, as has been the case in recent years.

The condition of "honorable behavior", which will in future be linked to obtaining citizenship, refers primarily to people who have committed a misdemeanor or a crime, or who are in debt. Kirsi Laakso Utvik, the head of the expert commission, explained that it would be more difficult for these people to obtain Swedish citizenship in future.

Sweden's strict immigration policy
The move to make the path to Swedish citizenship even more difficult is the latest measure of this kind since the center-right government under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson took office in 2022. The right-wing populist Sweden Democrats in particular, who support Kristersson's government, are seen as advocates of a strict immigration policy.

Austria: SPÖ Vienna wants easing, ÖVP against 
In Austria, the SPÖ in Vienna is known to want to make access to citizenship easier. As far as the waiting period is concerned, the mayor can imagine a reduction to five years. This has been vehemently opposed by the ÖVP to date. "With us, there will be no mass naturalizations. Citizenship is at the end and not the beginning of a successful integration process, which is why any easing of the citizenship process must be clearly rejected," emphasized Christian Stocker in November 2022.