Swedish citizenship

Swedish citizenship is a legal status defining your relationship to the Swedish state. Citizenship gives you access to a number of rights, including the right to vote and the protection of the Swedish legal system. At the same time, citizenship brings obligations, such as possible military service. 

Citizenship can be acquired through birth, adoption, application, or notification. It is an important milestone for many, as it opens up new opportunities and enables a deeper involvement in Swedish society.

Swedish citizenship through birth

Children of Swedish citizens get Swedish citizenship automatically, regardless of whether they were born in Sweden or abroad. This means that, if a child is born to one or two Swedish citizens, the child is entitled to be registered as a Swedish citizen.

If your child has a Swedish parent and was born after 1 April 2015, the child automatically becomes a Swedish citizen, regardless of whether they were born in Sweden or abroad.

However, if your child was born before 1 April 2015 in another country than Sweden, and has a Swedish father and a foreign mother, but the parents are not married to each other, the child does not automatically become a Swedish citizen. If the child is to become a Swedish citizen, the father must submit a notification of Swedish citizenship.

Your child can also become a Swedish citizen if the parents later get married to each other and the child is under 18 and unmarried.

Registration of a child’s citizenship

Registration of citizenship is an important process that ensures your child is officially recognised as a citizen. It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that registration is correct, which means that relevant documents are submitted to the authorities.

Register Swedish citizenship for a child born abroad

When a child is born abroad to Swedish parents who are living permanently abroad, the parents must register the child’s citizenship to ensure the child gets the status of Swedish citizenship. 

The child is not registered in the Swedish population register, so is not given a Swedish personal identity number. However, you must register your child’s first and second name by submitting Form SKV 7750 to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket). You can find forms and useful information for new parents on the Swedish Tax Agency website. 

You can contact the Swedish embassy in the country in which the child was born for precise information about requirements and procedures.

Register another Nordic citizenship for a child born in Sweden

If you or your child’s other parent are citizens of another Nordic country, and live in Sweden, contact the embassy of the applicable country in Sweden to register your child’s citizenship of that country and to get help with a passport. 

If the child gets citizenship in both Sweden and the other country, they have dual citizenship, which can bring both advantages and obligations that you as parents should be aware of. 

It is important to register the child correctly in both Sweden and the other country by submitting documents such as a birth certificate, proof of the parents’ citizenship, and any necessary notifications.

If you are a Swedish citizen and you adopt a child that is under the age of 12, the child automatically becomes a Swedish citizen by adoption, if the child is adopted through a decision in Sweden or in another Nordic country. This also applies if the adoption is approved in Sweden by the Family Law and Parental Support Authority (MFoF, Myndigheten för familjerätt och föräldraskapsstöd) or if the adoption is legally valid in Sweden.

For children aged 12 or older at the time of adoption, the process is a little different. In this case, an application for Swedish citizenship must be submitted. The adoption must also be approved by the relevant authorities, and the child must give their consent to being adopted if they are 12 or older.

How you become a Swedish citizen.

Swedish citizenship regulations for Nordic citizens differ from those applying to citizens from other countries. Citizens of another Nordic country, such as Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway, can become Swedish citizens through somewhat different rules to those that apply for non-Nordic citizens. 

Irrespective of citizenship, it is important to follow the relevant procedures and ensure that all documents are correctly completed and submitted.

Application for Swedish citizenship

As an adult, you can apply for Swedish citizenship if you satisfy the requirements below. Please note that all requirements must be satisfied before you apply, otherwise there is a risk that your application will be rejected. You must also pay a fee to apply for Swedish citizenship.

Requirements for becoming a Swedish citizen

To be able to apply for Swedish citizenship, you must satisfy the following:

Age and identity:

• You must have reached the age of 18.
• You must be able to verify your identity.

An orderly life:

• You must have lived an orderly life in Sweden. The Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) will obtain information from other agencies to check whether you have debts or have engaged in criminality in Sweden.

Residence requirements:

• If you are a Nordic citizen, you must have lived in Sweden for at least two consecutive years.
• If you are a citizen of a non-Nordic country, you must have lived in Sweden for at least five consecutive years. These time periods only apply if you have had a valid residence permit. The reason for your move to Sweden is also significant.
• If you are married to, are a registered partner of, or co-habit with a Swedish citizen, you can apply for citizenship after three years if you have have lived together for at least two years.

Permit or status:

• You must have a permanent residence permit (a fixed-period permit is not valid).
• Alternatively, you must have a) the right of residence or a residence card (for EU citizens or their close relatives), or b) residence status (for British citizens or their close relatives).

Notification of Swedish citizenship

If you are a citizen of Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway, you must pay a fee and complete the form "Anmälan om svenskt medborgarskap" (form 306031), and send it to the Swedish Migration Agency, Citizenship Unit, 601 70 Norrköping, if you want to file a notification of Swedish citizenship.

To become a Swedish citizen by notification, you must satisfy the following requirements when you submit your notification:

• you must be a citizen of Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway
• you must have reached the age of 18
• you must have lived in Sweden for five years
• you must not have been given a prison sentence or other custodial sentence within the past five years

Regaining Swedish citizenship

If you are currently a citizen of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, or Norway you can regain your Swedish citizenship. This applies if you have been a citizen in one of these countries since you lost your Swedish citizenship, and you currently live and are registered in Sweden.

You must complete the form "Anmälan om att återfå svenskt medborgarskap – För medborgare i Danmark, Finland, Island eller Norge" (form 307031) and send it to the Swedish Migration Agency.

As a Swedish citizen you may lose your Swedish citizenship when you turn 22. This applies if you:

• were born outside of Sweden,
• have never lived in Sweden, and
• have not visited Sweden in circumstances that indicate an attachment to the country.

You must apply to keep your Swedish citizenship after your 18th birthday but before you turn 22. 

You do not need to apply to retain your Swedish citizenship if you have lived in Sweden for a period or have visited the country regularly. 

If you have lived in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, or Norway for at least seven years, you cannot lose your Swedish citizenship, nor can you lose your Swedish citizenship if that would make you stateless.

Only Swedish citizens have the right to vote and stand as candidates in elections to the Swedish Parliament (Riksdagen). You are entitled to a Swedish passport, you may be conscripted to National Service, and you are entitled to consular assistance when you are abroad. 

In general, you must be a Swedish citizen to represent Sweden in international sporting events. Some jobs in the public sector, including in the police and defence, require Swedish citizenship.

However, for most other rights and obligations, e.g. social insurance, entitlement to compulsory education, and tax matters, citizenship is of no or very little significance. Here, it often depends on where you live or work.

The website of the Swedish Migration Agency has more information about rights and obligations regarding Swedish citizenship.

All the Nordic countries permit dual citizenship. Sweden introduced dual citizenship in 2001, Finland and Iceland in 2003, Denmark in 2015, and Norway in 2020. This gives you the opportunity to be a citizen of more than one Nordic country simultaneously.

As holder of several citizenships, you have the same rights and obligations as the other citizens in the individual countries. It is your responsibility to find out about your rights and obligations.

• Entering a country: You can always enter a country of which you are citizen. Remember to use the same passport when entering and leaving a country. 
• Passport: You are entitled to get a passport in the countries in which you have citizenship. Find information about requirements and prices on the websites of the relevant passport agencies.
• Society: You can transfer citizenship to your children, and vote and stand as a candidate in elections. NB: Danish citizens can generally not vote in national elections if they are not resident in Denmark.
• The age-22 regulation: If your child has several citizenships at birth, note that the child can lose citizenship if they have not lived in the country before their 22nd birthday. Regulations differ in the Nordic countries. Check the regulations for the countries where your child is a citizen.
• Property: You can own property in the country without needing to apply. In Denmark and Åland, foreigners must apply to buy property. In the other Nordic countries, both the country’s citizens and foreigners can buy property without needing special permission.
• National service: Citizens are normally obliged to undergo national service in their home countries. An international agreement (44/1968) stipulates that Nordic citizens with dual citizenship do national service in the country in which they live.
• Diplomatic protection: There can be limitations in diplomatic protection if you are staying in a country but you are also a citizen in another. In principle, you are entitled to consular assistance and help from the authorities in both countries where you are a citizen. However, it can be difficult for a country's authorities to help you if you are staying in the other country where you also have citizenship.