Leader of the Sweden Democrats Jimmie Åkesson (L) and leader of the Moderate party Ulf Kristersson address a press conference on the formation of a coalition government at the Parliament press office in Stockholm, Sweden on October 14, 2022.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP
The Sweden Democrats say that the law up till now has been “absurdly generous.”
Measures announced on Monday, February 9th, are intended to prevent migrants who can neither speak Swedish nor possess an “understanding how Sweden works” from acquiring Swedish citizenship, and so should help to increase the country’s control of its border.
‘Moderate’ Migration Minister Johan Forssell has talked up the rules in discussions with reporters, saying “it seems reasonable that you should know”—for example—“whether Sweden is a monarchy or a republic, if you want to be a citizen.”
Yet officials would likely not have gone as far as they have were it not for the influence of the nationalist Sweden Democrats, which works with—but is not a part of—the government on migration, among other matters.
Ludvig Aspling, who represents the party in the Riksdag, on Monday morning described the new measures as “historical demands that absolutely would not have been made if it were not for SD.” He added that “the Swedish rules on citizenship have until now been absurdly generous.”
"Tar du emot bidrag en längre period får du inte bli medborgare på tre år" – Ludvig Aspling pic.twitter.com/RPHmURo60z
If the new rules are approved by the Riksdag, they will come into force in early June.
They will also raise the residency requirement from five to eight years, and set financial standards. Officials described this as a “subsistence requirement equivalent to self-sufficiency,” setting the figure at SEK 20,000 (€1,880) per month.
SD said in a post on Monday that “the rules are also being changed so that anyone convicted of a crime or engaging in other misconduct will not be rewarded with citizenship.”
The party has described all this as part of a wider attempt at “cleaning up after the Social Democrats’ failed migration policy and making Sweden great again.”
Sverigedemokraterna och regeringen skärper nu kraven för svenskt medborgarskap rejält.
Den som har levt på försörjningsstöd i minst sex månader kommer inte att kunna bli svensk medborgare under en period på tre år. Vi inför även krav på kunskaper i svenska och grundläggande… pic.twitter.com/OtHa7VjDzv
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
