The Swedish government announced on Thursday, September 7th, a decision to overhaul its current system of obtaining citizenship, officially launching an investigation into how to most efficiently tighten the rules, SVT reported.
“Swedish citizenship marks membership in Swedish society and has a very high value, both legally and symbolically,” Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said, explaining the rationale behind the government’s decision.
Among other things, the officials proposed requiring further knowledge of Swedish culture, advanced language proficiency, proof of self-sufficiency, and no criminal record.
“An investigator will have to look at where exactly the line would be for ‘an honest life,’ but it is clear that it is not about a single speeding ticket,” the minister said. “We also think it is reasonable that you have a good command of the Swedish language and that you are self-supporting.”
Furthermore, the government proposed increasing the required time one must be a permanent resident in the country before being able to apply for citizenship from the current 4-5 years to eight years. “These are reasonable requirements that contribute to better integration and that we should now impose on Swedish citizenship,” Stenergard added.
As soon as the proposed changes are in place, Sweden will go from being one of the easiest countries to become a new citizen to having one of the toughest citizenship requirements in Europe.
“Certainly, we’re not looking for superhumans, but this is about bringing us more in line with the requirements of many other countries,” the minister said, adding that the government hopes the measures will give Swedish citizenship a higher value over time, helping foreigners integrate. She added,
I believe that people who come here and want to become citizens will have stronger incentives to learn the language and become self-sufficient.
The decision is part of a larger trend of recent reform proposals from the conservative government coalition, which is attempting to sort out Sweden’s chaotic immigration situation. Two months ago, Stenergard announced a clampdown on those abusing loopholes in the asylum system and began rolling out stricter rules for family reunifications.
The electoral success of the current coalition—composed of the centrist Moderate Party and the conservative Sweden Democrats—was in large part due to the surge in violent crimes, gang activity, and constant terror threats the country has been struggling with these past years, for which most people blame past administrations’ failed asylum policies.
Regarding the stricter citizenship rules, the government will be ready to present a report on the details of the proposal by the end of September.
