Swedish nationality law

Swedish nationality law
Coat of Arms of Sweden Lesser.svg

Swedish nationality law determines entitlement to Swedish citizenship. Citizenship of Sweden is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis. In other words, citizenship is conferred primarily by birth to a Swedish parent, irrespective of place of birth.

In general, children born in Sweden to foreign parents do not acquire Swedish citizenship at birth, although if they remain resident in Sweden they may become Swedish later on.

Swedish law was significantly amended with effect from 1 July 2001 and from that date, dual citizenship is permitted without restriction.

Contents

Birth

A child acquires Swedish citizenship at birth if

  • the child's mother is a Swedish citizen (Swedish mothers have only been able to pass on their citizenship since 1 July 1979);
  • the child's father is a Swedish citizen and is married to the child's mother;
  • the child's father is a Swedish citizen, the child is born out of wedlock, and the child is born in Sweden.

Legitimation

A child who is born abroad and whose father is a Swedish citizen (not married to the child's mother, and the mother is not Swedish) will acquire Swedish citizenship when the parents get married, provided the child is aged under 18.

Adoption

A child who is aged under 12 and who has been adopted by a Swedish citizen automatically receives Swedish citizenship upon adoption if

  • the child has been adopted as the result of a decision taken in Sweden or in another Nordic Council country
  • the child has been adopted as the result of a decision taken abroad and approved in Sweden by the Swedish Intercountry Adoptions Authority
  • the adoption is valid under Swedish law.

The adoption must have been officially decided or approved after 30 June 1992.

A child aged 12 or more at the time of adoption may acquire Swedish citizenship by application.

Naturalisation as a Swedish citizen

Swedish citizenship can be acquired by naturalisation, also known as citizenship by application.

A foreigner may be granted Swedish citizenship upon meeting certain requirements, including:

  • holding a permanent residence permit, unless a citizen of a Nordic Council country. For citizens of European Economic Area nations, limited residence permits for five years equate to a permanent residence permit.

A number of exemptions apply to the residence period:

  • the residence period is reduced to 4 years for recognised refugees and stateless persons.
  • citizens of other Nordic Council countries are only required to have two years' residence in Sweden.
  • former Swedish citizens
  • those employed on Swedish ships
  • persons employed abroad by Swedish corporations
  • a person married to a Swedish citizen for at least 10 years, who does not live in his or her native country, and has 'strong ties' to Sweden
  • a person with previous long residence in Sweden

Citizenship by notification

Notification is a simpler method of acquiring Swedish citizenship (i.e. simplified naturalisation). Those not eligible for notification may still be eligible for naturalisation by application.

Categories of persons eligible for citizenship by notification include:

Stateless persons

A stateless person may acquire Swedish citizenship by notification if that person has a permanent resident permit and falls into one of the following categories:

  • born in Sweden and aged less than five;
  • aged under 18 and in the custody of a Swedish citizen;
  • aged 18 or 19 and resident in Sweden since age 15.

Young persons resident in Sweden

Swedish citizenship may be acquired by notification by young persons who hold a permanent resident permit in the following cases:

  • aged under 18 and resident in Sweden for five years
  • aged 18 or 19, where the person has been resident in Sweden since turning 13.

Former Swedish citizens

Former Swedish citizens who hold permanent resident permits may acquire Swedish citizenship by notification if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • aged 18 or over
  • resident in Sweden for 10 years preceding age 18.
  • resident in Sweden for the 2 years preceding the application

Those former Swedish citizens who are citizens of other Nordic countries may acquire Swedish citizenship by notification immediately upon resuming residence in Sweden.

Citizens of Nordic countries

Citizens of other Nordic Council countries (Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland) may be eligible for Swedish citizenship by notification in the following cases:

  • aged 18 or over
  • the other Nordic citizenship has been acquired other than by naturalisation
  • 2 years' residence in Sweden
  • And a person who has lived in Sweden for 5 years, who can speak and write Swedish, can be qualified to obtain citizenship provided there is no criminal history.

Dual citizenship

With effect from 1 June 2001, a Swedish citizen acquiring a foreign citizenship does not lose Swedish citizenship.

Former Swedish citizens who lost Swedish citizenship prior to this date (upon naturalisation in another country) were given a two year period to re-acquire Swedish citizenship by declaration. Children of former Swedish citizens were also eligible to acquire Swedish citizenship by declaration. The deadline for submission of applications was 30 June 2003.

The changes to the law also mean that foreigners seeking naturalisation as a Swedish citizen do not need to renounce their former citizenship. They may retain it if the law of the other country permits them to do so.

Prior to 1 July 2001, Swedish citizens were still able to legally hold dual citizenship in certain circumstances, for example, if the other citizenship was acquired automatically at birth.

Loss of Swedish citizenship

Although dual citizenship is permitted, a Swedish citizen who was born outside Sweden and is a citizen of another country will lose Swedish citizenship at age 22 unless he or she is granted approval to retain Swedish citizenship.

Approval will normally be granted if:

  • the person has a Swedish-born parent; or
  • the person has lived in Sweden at any time; or
  • the person visits Sweden regularly.

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