Whether you are applying for citizenship, applying for a work permit, or moving to Sweden as a partner or relative, the laws are significantly stricter now than they were the last time Sweden went to the polls back in 2022.
Indeed, Migration Minister Johan Forssell boasted when The Local interviewed him in June that the Justice Ministry, which handles both migration and criminal justice, had been responsible for implementing fully 60 percent of the Tidö Agreement, the political programme the government agreed in October 2022 with the far-right Sweden Democrats.
That's a lot of new migration laws.
Here are all the most significant changes, most of which have made life tougher for foreigners and a few of which have made it a bit easier.
Stricter rules for citizenship
If you are applying for Swedish citizenship, you now face stricter requirements under the new rules for citizenship which came into force on June 6th.
The new law increases the residency requirement for citizenship from five years to eight years in default cases. It requires you to prove you have reached lower intermediate level (B1 in CEFR) for reading and listening and a basic level A2 for speaking and writing in Swedish, and requires you to meet a maintenance requirement of about 20,000 kronor a month.
You are also required to have an “upstanding way of life”. We answered many of our readers' questions about the new rules in a Q&A.
Minimum income for a work permit
If you are applying for a Swedish work permit, you now need to earn considerably more than you did under the previous rules.
On June 1st, a new work permit salary requirement came into force requiring applicants to earn a monthly salary equal to at least 90 percent of Sweden's median salary and empowering the government to give certain professions a lower requirement set at 75 percent of the median salary. The new system also requires applicants for permits shorter than one year to have comprehensive health insurance.
The government raised the salary threshold in two stages, starting in November 2023 when it raised the requirement for a work permit to 80 percent of the median salary (this was based on a law proposed by the Social Democrats).
New faster system for handling permits for highly skilled workers
If you are highly skilled worker or a researcher applying for a permit, you are now likely to get a much faster decision after the Migration Agency changed the way it processes applications.
In 2024 the Migration Agency brought in a new system that prioritises highly skilled workers on the orders of the Tidö government. The change has cut processing times for permits for high-skilled workers to under 30 days.
Stricter rules for Swedish for Immigrants
If you have just arrived in Sweden, you now have less time to complete your free Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) course. From January 1st, 2026, the right to free tuition in Swedish was limited to only three years from the moment a foreigner starts their studies.
Abolition of track change
If you came to Sweden as an asylum seeker and your application was rejected, you can no longer switch to a work permit from inside Sweden.
From April 1st 2025, people with work permits who have used this "track change", or spårbyte, law in the past have not been able to renew their work permits.
In March 2026, the government said it would allow those facing deportation because they cannot renew their work permits to apply for a new work permit from within Sweden. If it wins a second term, the government intends to submit a proposal to parliament to do this after the election. If not, it will be up the next government.
In an interview with The Local, back in 2025, the Migration Agency criticised the government's decision to push ahead with revoking the law without transitional rules, warning that the consequences had not been properly assessed.
Phasing out permanent residency for some immigrants
If you have a residence permit based on asylum, subsidiary protection, “exceptionally distressing circumstances” or Long Term Residence (LTR), you are no longer eligible to receive permanent residency under new rules that came into force on July 12th. If you have had five years of continual residence in Sweden, you will instead receive Long Term Residence under EU law.
Work permit holders, people with permits to run their own business, with permits because they are self-sufficient, or permits on the basis of doctoral studies or research will still be eligible for permanent residency.
Possibility of revoking or denying residency permits for 'poor conduct'
From July 14th 2026, you can be stripped of a residency permit for "poor conduct" or bristande vandel. The law has been criticised for not proposing a list of what could constitute bristande vandel, leaving it up to the migration authorities and courts.
The new law will also require the Migration Agency to take your conduct into account when you are applying for a residency permit. In addition to criminal offences, 'poor conduct' may include failure to comply with laws or decisions by authorities, posing a security threat, or having unpaid debts.
Tighter rules for family reunion permits
If you want to bring a partner or other family member to Sweden (or want to move to Sweden to be with a partner or relative), you will face stricter rules from October 1st, under a new law passed by parliament on August 14th.
Once the new law comes into force on October 1st of this year, it will: increase the maintenance requirement for foreigners wishing to bring family members to Sweden, impose a new maintenance requirement for some temporary permit extensions, and introduce a two-year waiting period for foreigners bringing family members to Sweden.
In 2023, the age threshold for refusing residence permits to spouses was raised from 18 to 21 years and the possibilities for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection to be exempted from the maintenance requirement were restricted.
Abolition of 'particularly distressing circumstances' clause
On December 1st 2023, the government removed a clause from the Aliens Act allowing you to get a residency permits if you can show you are in "particularly distressing circumstances", or särskilt ömmande omständigheter.
This was replaced by a much more restrictive clause requiring "exceptionally distressing circumstances", or synnerligen ömmande omständigheter. Although it seems like a minor change, this shift has been blamed for the surge in teenage deportations in 2024 and 2025.
Barring people with criminal records or ongoing cases from Swedish citizenship
If you have been sentenced for, or are strongly suspected of, certain crimes, you may no longer be able to obtain Swedish citizenship through notification.
Since October 1st 2024, anyone who has been sentenced or who is strongly suspected of committing certain crimes, or who is deemed to represent a threat to Swedish security or the security of the general public, or who is connected to organisations named by the government is barred from Swedish citizenship via notification.
Revoking the Swedish citizenship of dual citizens who commit "crimes which threaten Sweden's security"'
If you are a dual citizen, you could eventually lose your Swedish citizenship in certain circumstances.
On May 21st, Sweden's parliament voted to change the constitution to allow the authorities to strip dual citizens of their Swedish citizenship in certain situations. The law was criticised by the opposition because it did not list the crimes considered to "seriously damage Sweden's vital interests". According to the government, the terms include, among other things, certain serious "system-threatening" crimes committed within the framework of criminal networks.
For any of Sweden's four constitutional laws to be amended, parliament needs to pass it twice, the second time after an election. If the law is passed on its second vote after September 13th, it will come into force in January 2027.
Massive increase in re-emigration grants
If you want to return back to your home country, you have been eligible to receive a 're-emigration grant' of up to 350,000 kronor since January 1st. The government inquiry into the move, whose chair was chosen by the Sweden Democrats, concluded that the increase was "risky and best avoided", but the government pushed ahead anyway.
Improved rules for researchers and PhD students
If you are a researcher or PhD student, either applying for a first-time permit or a renewable, some of the rules have been relaxed, in a rare example of a reform loosening rather than tightening migration rules.
From June 11th, it will be possible for researchers and PhD students to leave Sweden, either for study or to visit friends and family, as they wait for their permits to be renewed, under changes to the law designed to improve their situation. They will also have a shorter wait of just three years for permanent residency.
On the downside, the new new limits the amount of work students can do outside of the their studies to 15 hours per week, with the exception of the summer months.
Stricter rules for asylum seekers’ accommodation
If you are seeking asylum, where you live and how you move around Sweden will be more restricted.
The new Reception of Asylum Seekers Act, due to enter into force on October 1st, will require asylum seekers to stay in accommodation provided by the Migration Agency and remain within designated areas. Non-compliance may result in reduced financial support or their asylum application being considered withdrawn.
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