At migrationsverket.se, we use necessary cookies for the website to function as well as possible. We also use cookies for web analytics, so we can improve the website. You can choose to accept all cookies or only necessary cookies.
About cookies and how to change your settings for cookies on the Swedish Migration Agency’s website
You want to apply to become a Swedish citizen.
There are now changes in how the Swedish Migration Agency processes applications for Swedish citizenship. The changes include stricter identity checks and that people who want to become Swedish citizens need to provide more information in their application. The changes also affect those who have already applied but have not yet received a decision.
Read more about the changes related to Swedish citizenship and what you need to do
To become a Swedish citizen, you must meet certain requirements. Before you apply, the following requirements must be met:
You must have reached the age of 18
You must have one of the following:
You must be able to prove your identity
You must be able to prove your identity through identity documents and by visiting the Swedish Migration Agency in person so that we can check your identity.
You must have lived in Sweden for a certain amount of time (period of habitual residence)
You must have lived an orderly life in Sweden
Read more about the requirements for proving your identity, your period of habitual residence, and having lived an orderly life:
You must be able to prove your identity through identity documents and by visiting the Swedish Migration Agency in person so that we can check your identity.
Your identity document must be an original. An identity document could be a national passport or an identity card.
The identity document must be issued by a competent authority in your country of origin. It also must include your photo. You must have applied for the document and/or collected it in person from the competent authority. A passport can be accepted as proof of your identity even if its period of validity has expired.
The Swedish Migration Agency will not request that a person who has received a refugee status declaration contact the authorities in their country of origin. It is clear from the decision whether you have received a refugee status declaration.
If you have previously submitted your passport to the Swedish Migration Agency, you can refer to this when you apply. You do this under the heading “Övrig information” [“Other information”] in the e-service or on the form.
In some cases, the Swedish Migration Agency may consider that you have verified your identity even though your identity documents do not meet all of the requirements. If you have several different documents that do not meet the requirements individually, we will assess whether together they can prove your identity.
You should not submit your identity document when you apply. The Swedish Migration Agency will contact you if we need it.
Identity documents from certain countries are subject to special requirements. These countries are:
The identity documents of stateless Palestinians are also subject to special requirements.
The Swedish Migration Agency’s assessment of identity documents
If you do not have an identity document, in some cases your family member (spouse, parent, adult child, or sibling) can certify your identity. For a family member to prove your identity, the following is required:
The Swedish Migration Agency can make exceptions for people who cannot prove their identity and who are unable to obtain documents that can do so. We can make an exception if we believe your identity is credible.
Your identity can be considered credible if you have lived in Sweden for at least eight years without interruption and have had the same identity throughout that time. There also must be no circumstances that contradict your claimed identity.
If your identity has changed during the time that you have been living in Sweden, this can affect your ability to be exempted from the requirement to prove your identity. For example, it can be problematic if your date of birth was changed during the course of the examination of your residence permit application. Changing the spelling of your name or the order of your names does not generally affect your ability to be exempted from the requirement to prove your identity.
You also cannot count the time that you were in Sweden with an incorrect or a false identity towards your period of habitual residence.
In order to be granted Swedish citizenship, you must visit the Swedish Migration Agency for an identity check. This is called a “personal appearance”.
You will receive a letter from the Swedish Migration Agency with information about when it is time for you to make an appointment to carry out the check. The letter will state how to make an appointment.
You can only make an appointment when you have received your letter.
You can book a visit in the following locations: Malmö, Växjö, Gothenburg, Norrköping, Örebro, Sundbyberg, Sundsvall and Boden.
If you do not make a personal visit, you risk not becoming a Swedish citizen. If you are unable to visit the Swedish Migration Agency, you must contact us. You will find contact details in the letter you receive from us.
Some people may be exempt from the requirement for personal appearance, if there are special reasons for it. For example, you may be unable to move around, even with assistance, or if you have such a serious illness or physical or mental disability that you cannot visit the Swedish Migration Agency in person. You must be able to prove your special reasons with, for example, a medical certificate or a certificate from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.
To become a Swedish citizen, you must have lived in Sweden for a certain period of time; you must have had your habitual residence here. Habitual residence means that you are a resident of Sweden and intend to stay here.
The amount of time you must have lived in Sweden in order to become a Swedish citizen varies.
The main rule is that you must have lived in Sweden continuously for at least five years in order to become a Swedish citizen.
Some people may become Swedish citizens after a short period of time:
If you are a Nordic citizen, you must have lived in Sweden for at least two years in order to become a Swedish citizen.
If you are the spouse, registered partner or cohabiting partner of a Swedish citizen, you must have resided in Sweden for at least three years in order to become a Swedish citizen. You must have lived together for the past two years.
If your partner has previously been a citizen of a country other than Sweden or was stateless, they must have been a Swedish citizen for at least two years. During your time in Sweden, you must also have adjusted well to Swedish society. Among other things, the Swedish Migration Agency may consider how long you have been married, your knowledge of the Swedish language, and your ability to support yourself financially. Keep in mind that you must also meet other requirements for Swedish citizenship, such as the requirement to have a permanent residence permit.
If you have previously been in Sweden under a false identity or if you have made it more difficult to implement an expulsion decision, for example by absconding, you cannot become a Swedish citizen after three years. In that case, you must meet the requirement for a five-year period of habitual residence.
If you have been married to or cohabiting abroad with a Swedish citizen for at least ten years, and are a resident of a country of which you are not a citizen, you do not need to meet any requirements for habitual residence in Sweden. However, you must have some kind of connection to Sweden or need Swedish citizenship.
If you are stateless or have a refugee status declaration, you must have been a resident of Sweden for at least four years in order to be granted citizenship. A refugee status declaration is issued to anyone who has been granted a residence permit as a refugee pursuant to Chapter 4, Section 1 of the Aliens Act (2005:716) or equivalent paragraphs of the old Aliens Act. It is not enough for you to have been selected as part of Sweden’s refugee quota.
Even if you have lived in Sweden for a certain amount of time, it is not certain that you may count all your time in Sweden towards your period of habitual residence. In most cases, it is your time with the residence permit that was the basis for your permanent residence permit that counts, but your period of habitual residence can be calculated differently, depending on the type of permit you have had and why you have settled in Sweden.
If you have had a temporary residence permit in Sweden, such as a visitor’s permit or a residence permit for studies or to work as an au pair, the time during which you had that permit is not included in your period of habitual residence. The same applies if you work at another country’s embassy or consulate-general in Sweden.
However, if you are studying or have studied at the doctoral (third-cycle) level, in some cases you can count the time during which you had a residence permit for studies towards your period of habitual residence. You can count this time if it is apparent that you have had the intention of staying in Sweden after completing your studies.
If you travelled abroad briefly, for example for visits or holidays, this has no impact on your period of habitual residence in Sweden. However, if you were abroad for more than a total of six weeks in a year, the entire time you were outside Sweden must be subtracted from your period of habitual residence.
If you move to a different country and settle there, your period of habitual residence in Sweden ends. You can start over and begin adding up a new period of habitual residence in Sweden from the day you move back here.
In order for their time here to count as a period of habitual residence and be able to apply for Swedish citizenship, EU/EEA citizens and their family members must have met the requirements for right of residence.
If you have had right of residence in Sweden for five years, but have not requested a certificate of permanent right of residence or applied for a permanent residence card, the Swedish Migration Agency assesses whether you meet the conditions for right of residence in connection with your application for Swedish citizenship.
If you have lived in Sweden under an identity other than your true identity, you may not include the time you were in Sweden with a false identity in your period of habitual residence.
In order to become a Swedish citizen, you must have lived an orderly life. For example, this means that you cannot become a Swedish citizen if you are deemed to pose a threat to Sweden’s national security or public safety, or if you are affiliated with certain groups or organisations that have committed extensive abuse of people.
The Swedish Migration Agency requests information from other authorities to check if you have unpaid debts or have committed any crimes in Sweden. The information is retrieved from the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the Swedish Police, and the Swedish Security Service.
The Swedish Migration Agency also uses your personal data to check if you are registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS).
Your application may be denied if you
Debts to private companies or the like the handling of which has been handed over to the Swedish Enforcement Authority may also prevent you from being granted Swedish citizenship. Even if you have paid your debts, some time (usually two years) must have passed before you can become a Swedish citizen. The reason for this is that you must show that you can remain debt-free.
In some cases, the manner in which the debts arose may be important, for example if you have been subjected to financial violence in a close relationship. Learn more about financial violence and the support you can get if you are a victim of violence in a close relationship:
Help for those who are living with domestic violence
If you have committed a crime, you must wait for a period of time before you can become a Swedish citizen. How long you must wait depends on the sentence you received.
The time that must pass after the crime before you can apply for Swedish citizenship is called a “qualifying period”. The qualifying period is usually counted from the date on which the crime was committed, but if you received a long prison sentence, the time is calculated from the date when you have served your sentence.
Before you can become a Swedish citizen
Each application for citizenship is examined individually. The table contains the Swedish Migration Agency’s guidelines for qualifying periods.
Sentence | Qualifying period |
|---|---|
Day fines 30– | At least 1 year after the crime. 50 day fines, the qualifying period can be estimated at 1.5 years. |
Day fines 60– | At least 2 years after the crime. |
Day fines 100– | At least 3 years after the crime. |
Suspended sentence | At least 3 years after the judgement has gained the force of law (begun to apply). |
Probation | At least 4 years from the date of the start of the probation. |
Prison 1 month | At least 4 years after the crime. |
Prison 4 months | At least 5 years after the crime. |
Prison 8 months | At least 6 years after the crime. |
Prison 1 year | At least 7 years after the crime. |
Prison 2 years | At least 8 years after serving the sentence. |
Prison 4 years | At least 9 years after serving the sentence. |
Prison 6 years | At least 10 years after serving the sentence. |
If you have committed a crime multiple times, the qualifying period may be longer than the time specified in the table.
If you have been sentenced to special care after a crime, the Swedish Migration Agency looks at what punishment you would normally receive for the crime.
If you are between the ages of 18 and 21, you can instead choose to file a notification of Swedish citizenship.
If you are a Nordic citizen, in some cases you can choose to file a notification to become a Swedish citizen. Then you must have lived in Sweden for at least five years.
If you have children under the age of 18 who live in Sweden, they can become Swedish citizens together with you, if you state in your application that you want this to occur. In order for your child to become a Swedish citizen together with you, it is required that
If the child has reached the age of 15 and has committed a crime, this may affect our assessment.
Children who have reached the age of 12 must sign with their own e-ID. If the child has reached the age of 12 but does not have an e-ID, you need to apply via a paper form.
If you work or have worked, you must attach
If you are or have been self-employed, you must attach
If you have or have had your own funds, you must attach
If you are studying or have studied, you must attach
If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you need to be able to show that you have and have had right of residence by virtue of the fact that your close relative has it. You must therefore send in the documents described above, to show that your close relative has worked, studied, been self-employed, or lived off their own funds in Sweden for the past five years.
It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.
Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.
Fee: SEK 1,500
If you include your child in your own application, you do not have to pay a fee for the child.
You will not receive a refund if your application is rejected.
The following people pay no fee to apply:
To apply in the e-service, you must
Be aware that if you are an EU/EEA citizen or their family member, you must attach the documents required of you. See which documents you must attach under the Important to know tab.
If you have included your child in your application, both of the child’s parents/legal guardians must give their consent using their e-ID.
Children who have reached the age of 12 must sign with their own e-ID. If the child has reached the age of 12 but does not have an e-ID, you need to apply via a paper form.
If you cannot apply in the e-service, you must fill in the form:
Send the application to:
Migrationsverket
Medborgarskapsenheten
601 70 Norrköping
Once we have received your application, we will contact you via email or letter with information on how to make the payment and how much you must pay.
2025-11-05
You can now visit a National Government Service Centre
The National Government Service Centre is gradually taking over the task of taking photographs and fingerprints and checking documents. They can also answer general questions and help you with your application.
2025-06-30
Payment to bankgiro is no longer possible
The bankgiro account that could previously be used to pay application and processing fees is closed from 30 June.
2025-05-22
People applying for citizenship will receive a letter about visiting the Swedish Migration Agency
If you are applying for Swedish citizenship, you will be called to a personal visit to the Swedish Migration Agency to verify your identity. You will receive a letter from us when it is your turn to book a visit.
2025-05-20
Are you going to visit the National Government Service Centre?
From May onwards, there will be changes to which of the Government Service Centers offer the services of the Swedish Migration Agency.
2025-03-21
Important changes for people applying for Swedish citizenship
New measures are being introduced to improve security in Swedish citizenship cases. The new measures also affect people who have already applied and are waiting for a decision.
A refugee is a person who has applied for asylum and received a residence permit in Sweden because they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin due to their race, nationality, religious or political opinion or because of their gender, sexual orientation or other affiliation with a particular social group.
A stateless person is not a citizen of any country.
Cohabiting partners means a couple who are not married but who live together as if they were.
A refugee quota is the annual number of people (refugees and people in need of protection) that the Government decides that the Swedish Migration Agency may permit to resettle in Sweden.
That a decision has acquired legal force, or gained the force of law, means that the decision has come into effect.
