The right-wing coalition government in Sweden has announced plans to significantly increase the threshold to obtain citizenship in the country, including a prohibition on migrants who fail to learn the native language.
The Swedish Ministry of Justice said this week that a series of new citizenship requirements will take effect by June 6th of this year. The ministry said that the measures will seek to “strengthen the importance of citizenship and increase incentives for individuals to become part of Swedish society, which also strengthens the Swedish community.”
According to the MoJ, the government will require migrants to live in the country for at least eight years to become eligible for citizenship, up from the current five-year standard.
It will also become necessary to demonstrate “self-sufficiency”, with a monthly income of around 20,000kr ($2,250).
Finally, prospective citizens will now have to demonstrate the ability to speak Swedish and knowledge of Swedish society.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell said, “Swedish citizenship will mean much more than it does today. It should not only be a travel document, but rather a receipt that one has fully become part of our community.
“It is both reasonable and fair that anyone who wants to become a Swedish citizen is expected to be able to speak Swedish, support themselves, have basic knowledge of our country and live honestly. The proposal we have presented today is an important part of the work to enhance the value of Swedish citizenship.”
Ludvig Aspling, the migration policy spokesman for the populist Sweden Democrats, added: “For a long time, the requirements for becoming a Swedish citizen have been far too weak.
“As a step in the work to strengthen the importance of Swedish citizenship, we are now making sure to tighten these and ensure that the Swedish community is primarily reserved for well-behaved and honest individuals.”
The previous leftist government in Stockholm oversaw a radical transformation of the country following the 2015 European Migrant Crisis, which perhaps transformed Sweden more than any other EU country.
The massive influx of foreigners, who now account for over a fifth of the population of the once homogenous Nordic nation, coincided with a significant increase in crime, notably gang conflict, which saw the once peaceful country become one of the bombing capitals of the world.
However, the current right-wing coalition government of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has made some progress in reversing these trends since coming to power in 2022. Indeed, according to a report this week from London’s Daily Telegraph, the number of shootings in Sweden was cut by 63 per cent last year compared to the high experienced in 2022, falling from 390 to 147 last year.
Police have attributed the success in large part to conservative legislation empowering police to stop and search people, including children, who have often been used by criminal networks, given that they do not face the same length of prison sentences.
The government is also planning to end this loophole, with legislation set to allow children as young as 13 to be tried as adults for serious crimes.
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