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Losing Swedish — retaining Swedish citizenship

If you were born and are resident abroad, there are some circumstances under which you may lose your Swedish citizenship. Here you will find out how you can apply to retain it.
You will lose your Swedish citizenship when you reach the age of 22, if you:
  • were born outside of Sweden
  • have never lived here and
  • have not visited Sweden in circumstances which indicate an attachment to the country.

Note that you will not lose your Swedish citizenship if this would cause you to become stateless.

To avoid losing your Swedish citizenship, you can apply to retain it. You must do this after you have turned 18 but before you reach the age of 22. You do not need to make such an application if, at any time, you have been resident in Sweden or if you have regularly visited Sweden.

Submitting an application


You apply by filling in the form Application to retain Swedish citizenship (Ansökan om att behålla svenskt medborgarskap), no. 3302021. The form is only available in Swedish.
 
Submit the application to your closest Swedish embassy or consulate. If you are visiting Sweden, you can submit your application to one of the Migration Board's permit units or send it to:
 
Migrationsverket
Medborgarskapsenheten
SE-601 70 Norrköping
 

Fee


It costs nothing to apply to retain your Swedish citizenship.
 

After decision


The Migration Board will send the decision to you or to the Swedish embassy or consulate.
Page updated: 2011-06-22