Citizenship delays stop immigrants from voting
Around two thousand people will miss out on the chance to vote in the election because of delays in processing their applications for Swedish citizenship.
According to Sunday's Sydsvenskan, some applications have been in the hands of the Swedish Board of Migration for up to two years.
Indeed, some 4,500 applications for citizenship which were made before the system was updated in April 2005 have still not been handled. Some of the oldest applications were sent in two years ago, while new applications are dealt with in just a few months.
The long delays mean that information is becoming outdated and must be resubmitted. That is leading to even longer delays.
Some people's applications have been prioritised when they have been offered jobs for which Swedish citizenship is required, or because they have decided to participate in the election.
But that won't help you now: in order to vote in the election you need to have become a Swedish citizen before August 18th.
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According to Sunday's Sydsvenskan, some applications have been in the hands of the Swedish Board of Migration for up to two years.
Indeed, some 4,500 applications for citizenship which were made before the system was updated in April 2005 have still not been handled. Some of the oldest applications were sent in two years ago, while new applications are dealt with in just a few months.
The long delays mean that information is becoming outdated and must be resubmitted. That is leading to even longer delays.
Some people's applications have been prioritised when they have been offered jobs for which Swedish citizenship is required, or because they have decided to participate in the election.
But that won't help you now: in order to vote in the election you need to have become a Swedish citizen before August 18th.
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