The government and its far-right Sweden Democrat allies said they had ordered the Migration Agency to take “forceful measures” to “as far as possible” prevent people who pose a threat to security or use a fake identity from being granted citizenship.
“We must never compromise when it comes to Swedish security and hand out citizenship on the wrong grounds,” said Migration Minister Johan Forssell.
Experts had previously guessed that security checks would be tightened as a pretext of slowing down the awarding of new citizenships until stricter rules are in place – a slowdown strongly hinted at by the government in an opinion piece in the DN newspaper in November.
But Forssell denied this was the aim, telling Swedish newswire TT when asked whether the security checks were meant to delay citizenship decisions: “No, the purpose is to prevent that people who pose a threat to security are granted Swedish citizenship.”
Forssell's spokesperson Daniella Roos however told The Local that the new assignment to the Migration Agency comes against the backdrop of the strategies presented in the DN opinion piece, which was titled "it will become harder to become a Swedish citizen".
"The purpose is to strengthen the security perspective in citizenship cases as Sweden faces serious security threats from terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime," she said in an email. "The assignment begins immediately and there is no end date but runs until further notice. The assignment will however be followed up and evaluated regularly by the government."
She said a "large number of cases" could be affected, but said the government didn't have an estimated number.
"It's not possible to say exactly how many will be affected by this. It's the [Migration] agency that determines which specific measures could be required and in which cases these measures may have to be taken. In light of the large increase in security risks which we have seen in recent years, it can't be ruled out that a large number of cases could be affected," she said.
Ludvig Aspling, the migration spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats, confirmed in the government’s press release that waiting times could increase for more people.
“The security situation Sweden is in is serious and the uniquely liberal Swedish Citizenship Act constitutes a clear vulnerability. While new legislation is being prepared, we are now doing everything we can to reduce the vulnerability,” he said, adding that in-person interviews could be used as one measure to tighten security checks.
“This may mean that more people will have to wait longer, but we cannot compromise on Sweden’s security,” said Aspling.
Forssell conceded to TT that some people could face longer waiting times for citizenship. He said he didn’t believe every single applicant would have to show up for an in-person interview but that it could happen “in significantly more cases than today”.
The government said it was up to the Migration Agency to decide how to carry out tougher checks, but added that possible measures could be people having to identify themselves in person at an agency office and be interviewed, and that the agency could create special security files in collaboration with the police and security service.
In the DN opinion piece from November, the government pledged, among other things, to “as much as possible, take measures to stop more Swedish citizenships from being granted until new rules are in place” – a move criticised by top lawyers as either unconstitutional, if those measures were to be far-reaching enough, or ineffectual and unrealistic if they were to use security checks to slow down decisions.
There are a number of new rules for citizenship in the works, including an extension to the residency requirement from five to eight years, as well as a civics test and self-sufficiency requirement. The government launched an inquiry to look into those rules in September 2023, which is due to present its findings by January 15th.
Almost 90,000 people were waiting for Swedish citizenship in November. Sweden awarded almost 60,000 citizenships between January and November 2024.
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