You have become a Swedish citizen and now you want to apply for citizenship for your child under the age of 18.
It is the parent/legal guardian who is a Swedish citizen who must make the application. If the child has more than one parent/legal guardian, all their parents/legal guardians must approve the application.
Children who have reached the age of 12 must consent to become a Swedish citizen by signing the notification.
The information on this page also applies to you who are a Swedish citizen and adopt a child who has turned 12 years old.
In some situations, a child automatically receives Swedish citizenship when they are born.
In order for the child to become a Swedish citizen, they must meet certain requirements. Before applying for the child, the following requirements must be met:
The child must be less than 18 years old
The child must have one of the following:
The child’s identity must be verified
You must be able to verify the child's identity through an identity document. The child must also visit the Swedish Migration Agency in person so that we can verify their identity.
You must be able to verify the child's identity through an identity document. The child must also visit the Swedish Migration Agency in person so that we can verify their identity.
The child's 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 the child's country of origin, and must include a photo of the child. You must have applied for the document and/or collected it in person from the competent authority. An identity document can be accepted as proof of the child's identity even if its period of validity has expired.
If you have previously submitted the child's 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 child's identity even though the 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 the child's identity.
You should not submit the child's 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:
Identity documents of stateless Palestinians are also subject to special requirements.
Read more about the Swedish Migration Agency’s assessment of identity documents
If the child does not have an identity document, in some cases a family member (parent or sibling) can certify the child's identity. For a family member to prove the child's identity, the following is required:
In order to be granted Swedish citizenship, the child must visit the Swedish Migration Agency for an identity check. This is called a “personal appearance”. You as a parent/legal guardian 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 the child does not make a personal visit, they risk not becoming a Swedish citizen. If the child is 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 the child's special reasons with, for example, a medical certificate or a certificate from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.
If the child has reached the age of 15, the following requirements also must be met in order for the child to become a Swedish citizen:
The child must have lived in Sweden for a period of three years (period of habitual residence)
The child must have lived an orderly life in Sweden
Read more about the requirements for the period of habitual residence, and having lived an orderly life:
If the child has reached the age of 15, they must have lived in Sweden for three years to become a Swedish citizen – they must have had their habitual residence here. Habitual residence means that you are a resident of Sweden and intend to stay here.
How long the child must have lived in Sweden to become a Swedish citizen varies.
Even if the child has lived in Sweden for a certain amount of time, it is not certain that they may count all their time in Sweden towards their period of habitual residence. In most cases, it is the child's time with the residence permit that was the basis for their permanent residence permit that counts, but the period of habitual residence can be calculated differently, depending on the type of permit the child has had and why they have settled in Sweden.
If the child has had a temporary residence permit in Sweden, such as a visitor’s permit, the time during which the child had that permit is not included in the period of habitual residence.
If the child travelled abroad briefly, for example for visits or holidays, this has no impact on their period of habitual residence in Sweden. However, if the child was abroad for more than a total of six weeks in a year, the entire time they were outside Sweden must be subtracted from the period of habitual residence.
If the child moves to a different country and settles there, the 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 the child moves 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 the child has 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 the child meets the conditions for right of residence in connection with the application for Swedish citizenship.
In order to become a Swedish citizen, the child must have lived an orderly life. For example, this means that the child cannot become a Swedish citizen if they are deemed to pose a threat to Sweden’s national security or public safety, or if they 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 the child has committed any crimes in Sweden. The information is retrieved from the Swedish Police and the Swedish Security Service.
The Swedish Migration Agency also uses the child's personal data to check if they are registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS).
If the child has committed a crime, a certain amount of time must pass before the child can become a Swedish citizen. How much time depends on the sentence received.
The time that must pass after the crime before you can apply for Swedish citizenship for the child is called a “qualifying period”. The qualifying period is usually counted from the date on which the crime was committed, but if a long prison sentence is received, the time is calculated from the date when the child has served their sentence.
Before you can apply for Swedish citizenship for the child
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 the child has committed a crime multiple times, the qualifying period may be longer than the time specified in the table.
If the child has been sentenced to special care after a crime, the Swedish Migration Agency looks at what punishment you would normally receive for the crime.
If the child is a Nordic citizen, in some cases you can choose to file a notification for the child to become a Swedish citizen. Then the child must have lived in Sweden for at least three years.
If the child lives in Sweden and has right of residence as a family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you must submit documents showing that you, as the parent/legal guardian, meet the conditions for right of residence or a residence card. If the child is over 15 years old, an assessment is made of whether you have met the conditions for the right of residence for the past three years.
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
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
You will not receive a refund if your application is rejected.
It is the child's parent/legal guardian who is a Swedish citizen who must make the application. Both parents/legal guardians must sign the application 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 submit your application via a paper form.
To use the e-service, the following is necessary:
Be aware that if the child is an EU/EEA citizen or a family member of such a person, you must attach the documents required. See which documents you must attach under the Important to know tab.
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.
2025-05-22
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.
