You want to apply Released from Swedish citizenshipYou want to apply Released from Swedish citizenship

If you are not sure whether you are a Swedish citizen, for example if you do not know if you acquired it at birth or think that you may have lost your citizenship, you can apply for a declaration of citizenship.

Apply for a declaration of citizenship

Some people lose their Swedish citizenship when they turn 22

If you are a Swedish citizen who was born outside Sweden, have never lived here, and have not been in Sweden in a way that shows that you have a connection with the country, you will automatically lose your Swedish citizenship when you turn 22, unless you apply to keep it.

Read more on the page Retaining Swedish citizenship

Automatic citizenship at birth

In certain situations, children automatically become Swedish citizens by birth, adoption, the marriage of their parents, or if a parent becomes a Swedish citizen.

Automatic citizenship for children

In certain cases, the Swedish Migration Agency may reject an application to be released from Swedish citizenship. We can do this, for example, if there is reason to suspect that it is not your own will to stop being a Swedish citizen, and that you are instead applying to be released because someone else is influencing or threatening you, or if we suspect that someone else has signed your application.

If you are already a citizen of another country, you will be released from your Swedish citizenship as soon as the Swedish Migration Agency has decided to release you.

If you have no citizenship other than your Swedish one, you will receive a conditional decision regarding your release. This means that you will be released from your Swedish citizenship only from the day that you are granted another citizenship, if this happens within one year. If you have not been granted another citizenship within one year, you will retain your Swedish citizenship, as it is not possible to be released from Swedish citizenship only to become a stateless person.

No, your child does not automatically lose their Swedish citizenship just because you do. If you want your child to be released from their Swedish citizenship, you must submit a separate application for the child.

The Swedish Migration Agency will send the decision to your home address or to your preferred Swedish embassy or consulate-general, if you live abroad.

If you have been released from your Swedish citizenship, in some cases you can get it back by filing a notification.

Regaining Swedish citizenship

A decision releasing someone from Swedish citizenship can be reversed if

• the decision was made on or after 1 October 2024
• at the time of the decision, there were impediments to the release from citizenship (for example, if the application was made under threat or if someone else signed it).

A release decision cannot be reversed if there are special grounds not to do so – for example, if you have committed a crime,
been assessed to be a threat to Sweden’s national security, or if you are affiliated with groups or organisations that have committed abuse against other people. In such cases, you cannot get your Swedish citizenship back.

If you want to reverse the decision

If you want to apply for your decision to be released from Swedish citizenship to be reversed, you must contact the Swedish Migration Agency in writing. You must attach the documents to which you wish to refer, which must prove that there were impediments to the decision to release you from Swedish citizenship.

The Swedish Migration Agency can reverse a decision

The Swedish Migration Agency may reverse its release decision if it emerges that there have been impediments to releasing you from your Swedish citizenship. For example, it may be that we receive information from someone other than yourself indicating that the application has been made under threat, that it is contrary to a child's best interests, or that someone else has signed the application.

If the Swedish Migration Agency initiates a case to investigate the possibility of reversing a release decision, we will contact you.