How many people were granted Swedish citizenship in June?
Advertisement
Sweden approved a total of 759 citizenship applications through naturalisation in the month of June, according to figures from the Migration Agency.
That will come as welcome news to many applicants currently waiting in the queue, after only 15 such applications were granted over the course of April and May.
Although the figures indicate that the processing of applications is again picking up pace after the 'citizenship freeze' this spring, they are still not back at normal levels – the monthly average of granted citizenships was over 4,200 in January-March.
'Naturalisation cases' are the standard kinds of applications by an adult foreigner who wishes to become a Swedish citizen and they make up by far the majority of cases.
A total of 678 citizenship through notification cases (an easier route available mainly to children and Nordic citizens) were approved in June, as well as 30 applications for retaining one's citizenship (for example Swedes born abroad) and 34 so-called citizenship declarations (for people who don't know whether they are citizens).
The figures include applications granted by the Migration Agency itself and those granted on appeal in court. July data will be publicly available from mid-August.
Advertisement
As The Local reported at the time, the Migration Agency was unable to approve citizenship through naturalisation cases for almost two months in spring, because it hadn't yet fully set up its routines for the in-person identification required of applicants after the government ordered the agency to step up security checks as of April 1st.
All nationalities were affected by the freeze, despite Migration Minister Johan Forssell's pledge to The Local's readers in January that work permit holders and people from countries without security risks would be unaffected by extra security delays.
In the second half of May, the Migration Agency began contacting citizenship applicants to book in-person identify checks, effectively ending the freeze.
Applicants who are at the final stages of their application will receive a letter inviting them to book a time for a 'personal appearance' at any of eight Migration Agency offices: Malmö, Växjö, Gothenburg, Norrköping, Örebro, Sundbyberg, Sundsvall or Boden. Those who haven't been invited to such a visit should not book a time.
READ ALSO:
It was initially reported that certain nationalities with biometric passports would be exempt and would instead be able to confirm their identity digitally via the Freja app, but as The Local has previously reported, the technological solution for that isn't yet in place, so for the time being, all applicants have to turn up for a personal meeting, regardless of their nationality.
The extra stage in the process, which also includes applicants being sent an 11-page questionnaire with additional security questions, is the result of an order from the government and its far-right Sweden Democrat allies in January for 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.
Advertisement
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 in 2026 – a slowdown strongly hinted at by the government in an opinion piece in the DN newspaper in November.
Forssell later denied that the underlying intention was to slow down citizenship applications, telling the TT news agency that the point was only "to prevent people who pose a threat to security from being granted Swedish citizenship".
However, the extra checks are still expected to cause delays.
In October 2024, the agency predicted that it would conclude 87,000 applications each year in 2025 and 2026, thanks to increased staff at the agency – a first step towards reducing the heavily criticised long waiting times for Swedish citizenship.
But the new security checks forced the agency in April to lower its previous estimate by more than a quarter: to 64,000 concluded citizenship cases in 2025 and 65,000 in 2026.
According to the Migration Agency, 75 percent of recently concluded cases involving adults received a decision within 25 months.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Sweden
40 minutes ago
- Local Sweden
Who has been granted Swedish citizenship so far in 2025?
After a freeze on new citizenships earlier this year, Sweden's Migration Agency is again processing cases. So what do the statistics say about which nationalities have received Swedish citizenship in the first half of 2025? Advertisement The top nationalities to be awarded Swedish citizenship between January and June 2025 were Syrians, Afghans, Indians, Eritreans and Polish people, new statistics from the Migration Agency show. In total, 20,974 citizenship applications were approved in the first half of 2025, down from 33,633 in the same period last year. A major reason behind the slowdown is a citizenship freeze earlier this spring, when the Migration Agency was unable to approve any citizenships by naturalisation for almost two months while new security checks ordered by the government were being rolled out. As The Local has already reported, the processing of citizenship cases appears to be picking up pace again, but hasn't yet returned to normal levels. The Migration Agency has also warned that it may not be able to process as many cases as previously estimated due to the security checks. Here's a table of which nationalities have been granted Swedish citizenship so far this year:
Local Sweden
6 hours ago
- Local Sweden
Was Sweden's historic alcohol problem exaggerated for political reasons?
This week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ subscribers features an interview with food historian Richard Tellström. Advertisement In this week's episode you can listen to a conversation our Nordic editor Richard Orange had recently with the high-profile food historian Richard Tellström about the history of Sweden's alcohol retail monopoly. Why did Sweden start rationing how much alcohol that could be bought as far back as the 1850s? How influential was the fledgling temperance movement? And was Sweden's alcohol problem really as bad as they claimed? What role does Systembolaget play in Swedish society today, and why is even the recent mild liberalisation that allows alcohol producers to sell small quantities on their own premises so fraught with controversy? Membership+ subscribers can listen to the interview in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus Extra. READ ALSO: Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers. Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday. Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+ Read more about Membership+ in our help centre. Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription on a podcast platform. If you prefer to listen on the site, you can find all episodes at the bottom of our podcast page.
Local Sweden
6 hours ago
- Local Sweden
Sweden's new gender change law 'one less thing to worry about'
At the beginning of July, Sweden removed some of the restrictions for changing gender legally and how it appears on official documents. How has this affected people in the country wanting to change gender? Advertisement After four years of waiting, Jenny Leonor Werner sees the light at the end of the tunnel, able to legally switch gender following a recent change to Swedish law. "It just feels good ‒ one less thing to worry about," Werner, 22, who was declared male at birth but identifies as female, told AFP. Now all that is needed to change is a medical certificate stating that a person's gender identity does not align with the one indicated on their birth certificate. Healthcare professionals have to evaluate whether the change better reflects the person's gender identity and must ensure that the person can live with their new gender identity for the foreseeable future. The minimum age to make the change has also been lowered from 18 to 16 years, although people under 18 need permission from their legal guardian. A week after the law came into effect, 106 people had submitted applications, according to Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare. Previously, individuals wanting to change their legal gender had to undergo a lengthy evaluation process in order to obtain a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. That is a condition where a person experiences distress as a result of a mismatch between the sex they were assigned at birth and the gender they identify themselves as having. Werner had received this diagnosis in 2024 after a four-year process and could have already requested the legal change. But healthcare staff advised her "to wait for the new law, as the process should be faster". Advertisement Gender dysphoria rise Access to surgical procedures is also simplified under the new law ‒ the requirement to first change one's legal gender has been removed. Before the law was passed in April of last year, it was preceded by intense debates in parliament, with the right-wing ruling coalition government divided. The Moderates and Liberals were in favour of the text but government partner the Christian Democrats opposed it, as did the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which is propping up the government. "This law is a major step forward. The separation of law and medicine in the new law makes things much easier," Frank Berglund, a policy expert at the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU), told AFP. Berglund, 30, legally changed his gender at the age of 19. Like Werner, it took him about four years to obtain the gender dysphoria diagnosis. Advertisement Currently, the waiting time to even begin an evaluation can stretch to several years, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare. The health agency has also noted a sharp increase in cases of gender dysphoria, particularly among 13- to 17-year-olds who were declared female at birth. The agency reported a 1,500-percent jump between 2008 and 2018. Following the rapid increase and citing a need for caution, Swedish authorities decided in 2022 to halt hormone therapy for minors except in very rare cases. They also limited mastectomies for teenagers wanting to transition. Berglund said the new law would help "reduce waiting lists in healthcare to some extent". He also welcomed the possibility of making the legal change before the age of 18, saying it was absurd that he had been able to complete the entire medical procedure before 18 but not the legal process. "I had already changed my name, started hormone treatment and received the diagnosis," he said. Werner recounted being asked: "Is this you?" when showing her identification card. "Now I can get a new ID card that I'm really happy with," she said. "I've never been satisfied with the ID cards and passports I've had before." With the new law, Sweden is amending its gender identity legislation for the first time since it was first adopted in 1972. Back then, the Nordic country became a world pioneer by allowing people to legally change their gender. But campaigners want Sweden to go further and allow people to change their legal gender without requiring a medical certificate, as is the case in all other Nordic countries. By AFP's Agnes Johanna Wästfelt
