'I call Sweden home': How foreigners feel about becoming Swedish citizens

Local Sweden

17-07-2025

Sweden is set to make it significantly harder to become a citizen from next summer, which the government has argued will make citizenship 'mean more' than it does today. So we asked The Local's readers what becoming a Swedish citizen meant to them.
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'Swedish citizenship is something to be proud of and should be granted to people who have made the effort to become part of our society and who have done the right thing during the time they have been here,' said Migration Minister Johan Forssell about the far-reaching reforms to tighten the requirements for Swedish citizenship, including language tests and extending the timeframe for residency.
Becoming a Swedish citizen, he said, should 'mean more'.
But what does becoming a Swedish citizen mean to immigrants, and how do those who became citizens under the more lax rules of today feel about their new nationality?
The Local received more than 100 responses when we asked our readers how becoming a Swedish citizen made them feel.
Out of those who already had citizenship, over half said gaining Swedish citizenship had mainly been a practical decision for them, although more than two fifths described it as both practical and emotional. Only two viewed it as mainly an emotional decision.
Malcolm, whose decision to become Swedish was sparked by Brexit making it more stressful having a British passport when travelling in the EU, said he had already lived in Sweden so long by the time he became a citizen that it made no difference.
'I did not feel more Swedish at all. We are what we are. My life here has not changed at all,' he wrote.
A Turkish reader who mainly became a citizen to avoid visa hassles, argued that citizenship is less important than how you're treated in terms of integration.
'No one cares about the passport that you have when it comes to how they treat you in this country, in a positive or negative way. You might be born here and lived here for your entire life but can still be asked where you are from if your name is not typically Swedish. On the contrary, you might be treated like a Swede at the Midsummer table in your first month. It completely depends on the people who you're interacting with.'
Sulabh, an Indian IT consultant, said becoming a citizen hadn't changed anything on an emotional level for him, and that he still follows Indian news, festivals and cricket.
'The passport doesn't change your face or identity and it seems like even after 20 years of being a Swedish citizen I will be recognised as Indian,' he wrote.
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While most respondents however said citizenship had made them feel more integrated in Sweden, some said that anti-immigration rhetoric and the government's decision to tighten citizenship requirements had instead led to them feeling less at home.
'I am happy I got it in 2024 before all the changes were announced. Eight years' waiting would be demotivating, make one feel unwelcome, sort of,' wrote a finance manager from Slovakia, adding that he had resolved to now learn Swedish.
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Nathan, a Welsh restaurant worker in Malmö and a self-described 'Nordic nerd and Europhile', said becoming an EU citizen again after Brexit had been a relief.
'On how 'Swedish' I feel, it's quite funny, before I became a citizen, being a Nordic nerd, I was way more committed to Sweden and the Swedish way of life,' he wrote, adding that the stricter immigration policies had made him feel less committed.
'Still proud of Malmö, my home city, but less proud of my newly acquired citizenship,' he added. 'Kind of like how the results of the Brexit referendum made me more proud of my Welsh nationality, rather than being British as a whole.'
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Anshuman, from India which doesn't allow dual citizenship, wrote that the constant fear of residency permit changes as well as citizenship of an EU country opening more doors pushed him to give up his Indian citizenship and become a Swedish citizen.
'It is a mixed feeling. I am sad of losing my Indian citizenship but also happy that now I get to travel the world without any restrictions. My kid will have good exposure and access to the world too,' he wrote, just a few days after receiving his citizenship.
He wasn't the only reader who mentioned concern over changing immigration rules upending their lives in Sweden as a big part of their decision to apply for citizenship.
'Who wants to sit on a bomb that can go off at any time? I wanted the stability of being allowed to live where I live,' wrote a Ukrainian software engineer in northern Sweden.
She described it as mainly a practical decision that didn't change her view of Sweden.
'Why would it? It's a piece of paper (well, plastic) that reduces the friction with bureaucracy. It doesn't say anything about me as a person and doesn't affect my view of myself. I'm still me. Sweden's still Sweden,' she said, adding that it did make her feel less anxious and like she finally could dedicate herself more to the culture.
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Interestingly, even out of the people who said it had been a practical decision, several described being taken aback by their emotional reaction to being granted citizenship.
'Elated, honoured and proud to be accepted as a Swede. I did feel sad about renouncing the nationality of my birth country as it does not allow dual citizenship,' wrote an Indian procurement director, adding it had made him restart learning Swedish.
Garun, an Indian banker who has also lived in Australia and the UK, fell in love with Sweden on his first day and had wanted to become a citizen to give his child a better future. He also said gaining citizenship had made him feel elated and proud.
'I earned it because I was not born here,' he wrote. 'After living here for six years, there are certain ways of doing things here and I find myself following them without even thinking. For example I would keep two metres' distance from fellow passengers while waiting at the bus stop and would not say anything if someone breaks the queue.'
Kris, a British photographer in Gothenburg for whom the decision was both emotional and practical, also spoke of citizenship feeling like the reward for him choosing to make Sweden his home, learning the language and buying a house.
'I travel a lot and, on a purely practical level, navigating Landvetter is a lot easier when you can go into the EU passport queue. But I also wanted to become a citizen because I'm committed to my life here. This is my home. And the football team is better so I have more chance at enjoying tournaments now,' he wrote.
KEY POINTS:
Some respondents felt like becoming a Swedish citizen meant giving up part of themselves, but others argued that on the contrary, their identity became richer.
'It could be a difficult choice emotionally, as it might feel like leaving a part of my Indian identity behind. However, I see it more as adding to my identity rather than replacing it. It's a practical decision for my family's future in Sweden while still cherishing my roots in India,' wrote one reader from southern India, who became a citizen in 2024.
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Tom, a nurse from Uganda, wrote that applying for citizenship back in 2002 had felt like a 'breath of fresh air' and had changed how he viewed his contribution to society.
Another reader, also from Uganda, responded yes to a question about whether becoming a citizen had changed how she viewed Sweden and herself.
'I was stateless for five years and having a state belonging was so important as a human being. I call Sweden home and feel an obligation to love my country.'
But feeling conflicted about dual citizenship wasn't uncommon among respondents.
'Before getting my citizenship I didn't think about how it might make me feel and it never occurred to me that I would have any particular feelings. I was just focused on getting the citizenship for the practical purposes (yay for having an EU passport),' wrote Diane, a teacher in Dalarna, originally from Canada, who got citizenship in 2022.
'While I was very excited to use my Swedish passport for the first time and attend the citizenship ceremony, I had a really strong feeling of 'I'm a Swede!' when I came back to work after the summer holiday and my name badge had been updated to include the Swedish flag. Recently, I've been having a mental crisis after someone asked me my nationality and I just answered Canadian. Do I keep saying Canadian because that's where I grew up? Or do I say Swedish-Canadian? I think I need to spend some time really thinking about how I feel being Swedish and where that fits into my identity.'
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Juan, a software developer from Colombia, said he was also looking forward to discovering what gaining citizenship meant to him and his place in Sweden.
'I can truly say I like Sweden. I believe in its societal values (for the most part) and I feel my personality is more suited to Sweden than my own country,' he wrote.
'That being said I'm warming up to all Sweden has to offer, especially culturally. There is still much to experience here. However, I have been working with the goal of citizenship which, I see now, was a narrowly viewed goal, especially now that I am a citizen.'