On 6 June 2026, Swedish citizenship rules changed sharply. The residency requirement rose from 5 years to 8, per Regeringen. Income and language thresholds applied for the first time. A citizenship test on Swedish society began piloting in August 2026. This guide sets out the requirements for permanent residence and citizenship in Sweden, in the order they apply. It covers both the automatic path for EU and EEA citizens and the permit-first path most non-EU applicants still follow.
The June 2026 changes apply to pending applications too, not only new ones. If your case is not decided by 6 June 2026, Migrationsverket assesses it under the new rules regardless of when you applied. The sections below walk through which pathway applies to you, the six requirements now in force, and how to apply. They also cover what processing takes, and what happens after Migrationsverket approves your case.
Which Pathway Applies to You: EU/EEA Citizens Versus Non-EU Applicants
Your nationality decides which requirements apply to you. EU and EEA citizens gain permanent residence automatically and can apply for citizenship after 8 years of habitual residence. Non-EU citizens generally need a permanent residence permit first, a step that itself changed on 12 July 2026, per Migrationsverket.
If you are an EU or EEA citizen, you do not apply for permanent residence. It becomes yours automatically after 5 years of legal residence. If you are not, you generally need a permanent residence permit first, a step that itself changed on 12 July 2026. Known as permanent uppehållstillstånd, that permit unlocks the citizenship clock, with the exception covering certain temporary-permit holders, detailed in the next section.
Nordic citizens, meaning citizens of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, or Norway, face a shorter residency requirement of 2 years instead of 8, per Migrationsverket. The application fee is 2,900 SEK for adults, regardless of which pathway applies to you. That fee is not refunded if Migrationsverket rejects your application.
Migrationsverket granted 38,800 citizenships in 2025, down from 65,600 in 2024, per its own statistics. Through July 2026, it had granted 18,332 citizenships for the year, including 1,646 in June and 98 in July, per its live statistics page. The permits that lead toward permanent residence, including work and family routes, are covered in Permits.
Permanent Residence for EU/EEA Citizens: Automatic After 5 Years
You do not need to apply for permanent residence as an EU or EEA citizen. Migrationsverket states: "After five years with right of residence, you gain permanent right of residence". That right becomes yours automatically, as long as you maintain it throughout the 5 years, per Migrationsverket.
You have right of residence if you work, study, run your own business, or have sufficient funds to support yourself, per Migrationsverket. You can apply for a certificate of permanent residence if you want proof for other Swedish authorities, though the certificate itself is optional.
Once you have already acquired permanent residence, you lose it after more than 2 consecutive years abroad, per Migrationsverket. That 2-year rule is separate from the initial 5-year period during which you build up permanent residence in the first place.
If you do not meet the conditions for right of residence, you may not stay in Sweden longer than 3 months. EU and EEA citizens may stay in Sweden for up to 3 months without meeting any conditions, per Migrationsverket. That applies as long as you hold a valid passport or national identity card showing your citizenship.
Non-EU Citizens: The Permanent Residence Permit Requirement
Non-EU citizenship has generally required holding a permanent residence permit first, a step that itself changed on 12 July 2026. Migrationsverket states: "Det har hittills varit ett krav att ha permanent uppehållstillstånd för att kunna bli svensk medborgare". In translation: until now, holding a permanent residence permit has been a requirement for becoming a Swedish citizen.
Since 12 July 2026, a narrow exception applies to certain temporary-permit holders, per Migrationsverket. It covers people with long-term resident status in Sweden, refugee status, alternative-protection status, or subsidiary-protection status. It also covers permits granted for particularly distressing circumstances, known as synnerligen ömmande omständigheter, and permits granted because of certain lasting enforcement obstacles. Family members of someone holding one of those permits qualify too.
Non-EU work permit applicants face their own threshold. Since 1 June 2026, they must show a salary of at least 90% of Sweden's median salary at the time of application, per Migrationsverket. Qualifying for that permit is covered in Finding Work.
The Six Citizenship Requirements Effective June 6, 2026
Beginning 6 June 2026, every citizenship application is assessed against six thresholds. They cover residence, income, language, knowledge of Swedish society, conduct, and the application-date rule itself, per Migrationsverket.
Residence, by Category
The general residency requirement is 8 years, up from 5. Migrationsverket states: "Från och med 6 juni måste du som huvudregel ha bott i Sverige i minst 8 år (tidigare 5 år)". Translated: from 6 June, the general rule requires at least 8 years of residence in Sweden, up from 5.
Shorter periods apply to specific groups, per Migrationsverket:
- 2 years, if you are a Nordic citizen (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, or Norway) or a former Swedish citizen.
- 5 years, if you are stateless; 2 years, if you were born in Sweden and have been stateless since birth.
- 7 years, if you are a refugee or under 21 when you apply.
- 7 years, if you are married to, in a registered partnership with, or cohabiting with a Swedish citizen. That period includes 5 years of cohabitation, with the partner having held Swedish citizenship for at least 5 years.
- 10 years of unbroken residence, if Migrationsverket cannot establish your identity.
Income
The income requirement is SEK 250,200 a year, from employment or self-employment. That figure is three times the 2026 income base amount, or inkomstbasbelopp, of SEK 83,400, per Skatteverket and Migrationsverket. Before tax, that works out to about SEK 20,850 a month.
Subsidized work, social benefits, partner income, and savings do not count toward that figure. You may also not have received subsistence assistance, known as försörjningsstöd, for more than 6 months in the 3 years before you apply. Per Riksdagen: "under de senaste tre åren före ansökan inte ska ha mottagit försörjningsstöd... under en tid som sammanlagt överstiger sex månader". Translated, that means no more than 6 months of subsistence assistance in the 3 years before applying.
Old-age pensioners, people with permanent disabilities, and full-time students are exempt from the income requirement entirely.
Swedish Language
Language proficiency is required at two levels. Reading and listening skills must reach CEFR level B1, per Migrationsverket. Speaking and writing skills must reach CEFR level A2.
You can prove that level through several routes. A passing grade in Swedish, or Swedish as a second language, works if it comes from Year 9 of compulsory school. Upper secondary school, known as gymnasieskolan, and municipal adult education also qualify. The highest course of SFI, Swedish for immigrants, known as course D, qualifies too. So does a passing result on the Tisus test, the Swedish exam required for university entrance.
Knowledge of Swedish Society
A test on Swedish society, called the medborgarskapsprovet, began as a pilot sitting on 15 August 2026, per UHR, the Swedish Council for Higher Education. That was the first time the test questions were used in a real test situation. UHR states: "Att det var ett utprövningsprov betyder att det var första gången provfrågorna användes i en verklig provsituation."
The format, timing, and fee for future sittings have not been published. Registration was closed at the time of writing, per UHR: "Anmälan till medborgarskapsprovet är stängd och det går inte att anmäla sig till provet". Translated: registration for the citizenship test is closed, and it is not possible to register for the test.
Conduct
You must have lived an orderly and honourable life, known in Swedish as skötsamt och hederligt levnadssätt, per Migrationsverket. Riksdagen's own committee report states that the specific circumstances weighed, and the waiting periods applied, are not set out in law. Instead, per Riksdagen, they follow from preparatory works, known as förarbeten, and case practice, known as praxis. Riksdagen states: "De omständigheter som ska beaktas och de karenstider som ska tillämpas... är inte reglerade i lag utan följer av förarbeten och praxis."
The Application-Date Rule
Applications submitted before 6 June 2026 are re-assessed under the new rules, if Migrationsverket has not decided them by that date. Migrationsverket states: "Det gäller även om du har ansökt innan dess och ditt ärende inte är avgjort innan 6 juni". Translated: this applies even if you applied earlier, as long as your case was not decided before 6 June. Your application date does not protect you from the new thresholds.
Step-by-Step: How to Apply for Citizenship
Citizenship applications are filed electronically, through Migrationsverket's e-service. Logging in requires an electronic ID, known as e-legitimation. You fill in the application, pay the fee, and wait for a decision.
- Create an account and log in to Migrationsverket's e-service, using your e-legitimation. Migrationsverket's own guidance refers only to an electronic ID, or e-legitimation, not to a specific provider, per Migrationsverket. Personnummer, ID, and BankID questions are covered separately, in Personnummer, ID & BankID.
- Fill in the application form. If you are an EU or EEA citizen, or a family member of one, attach the documents Migrationsverket requires for your category.
- Pay the application fee. Adults pay 2,900 SEK, non-refundable if Migrationsverket rejects the application. Children pay 475 SEK. Stateless applicants with a refugee status declaration, or a Migrationsverket-issued travel document, pay no fee.
- Wait for a decision. If more than 6 months pass with no decision, you can submit a written request asking Migrationsverket to decide your case.
Migrationsverket decides 75% of recently decided adult citizenship cases within 54 months, per Migrationsverket.
Processing Times and the Citizenship Queue
Processing times remain long. Migrationsverket decides 75% of recently decided adult citizenship cases within 54 months. In cases requiring investigation, the median queue time alone is 290 days, per Riksrevisionen, the Swedish National Audit Office. Queue time makes up 82% of total processing time in a median case, per the same report.
Wait times depend on many things, per Migrationsverket's own guidance to applicants. Chiefly, they depend on whether your application is complete from the start, or whether Migrationsverket needs to request more information.
You can see current wait-time statistics for your permit type by logging in to "Min sida" on Migrationsverket's site.
If more than 6 months have passed since you applied, with no decision, you can submit a written request asking Migrationsverket to decide your case. The applicants who have waited longest have been waiting more than 4 years, per Riksrevisionen.
After Citizenship is Granted: Applying for Your Swedish Passport
Once Migrationsverket approves your application, you apply for a Swedish passport through the Police, known as Polisen. The passport fee is 500 SEK, raised from 400 SEK on 1 May 2024, per Polisen. Processing takes about 1 week after your passport application is approved, per the same source.
As a citizen, voting and civic participation are covered in Elections, Politics & Rights.
The Citizenship Society Test (Medborgarskapsprovet): What to Expect
The medborgarskapsprovet began on 15 August 2026, as a pilot sitting, called an utprövningsprov. It tests basic knowledge of Swedish society, known in Swedish as grundläggande kunskaper om det svenska samhället, per UHR.
UHR's own guidance states that information on test time and the number of questions for the next sitting is still to come. A detailed subject breakdown has also not been published. UHR describes the test only in general terms, as basic knowledge of Swedish society.
The study material for the test is called Sverige i fokus, developed by UHR, the Swedish Council for Higher Education. Registration for the test is currently closed, per UHR.
The language test that will eventually accompany the society test has no set date. Migrationsverket states it "kommer att införas vid senare tillfälle," meaning it will be introduced at a later time. No date has been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you applied for citizenship before 6 June 2026, do the new rules apply to you?
Yes. Migrationsverket applies the new rules even if you applied earlier, as long as your case was not decided by 6 June 2026.
As an EU citizen, do you need to apply for anything to stay in Sweden permanently?
No. Permanent residence becomes yours automatically after 5 years with right of residence. You do not need a document to hold it. You can apply for a certificate of permanent residence if another Swedish authority asks for proof.
What counts as earned income for the income requirement?
Employment income, such as salary or wages, and self-employment income both count, as long as they total at least SEK 250,200 a year. Subsidized work, social benefits, partner income, and savings do not count.
Conclusion
The single most important fact is the date. Every rule above took effect on 6 June 2026, and it reaches pending applications too. Your nationality decides your pathway. EU and EEA citizens gain permanent residence automatically. Non-EU citizens generally need a permanent residence permit first, subject to the exception introduced on 12 July 2026. Six thresholds now apply to every application: residence, income, language, knowledge of Swedish society, conduct, and the application-date rule itself.
Processing remains slow. Most adult cases are decided within 54 months, and queue time makes up most of that wait, per Riksrevisionen. If your case runs long, you can ask Migrationsverket in writing to decide it once 6 months have passed. If Migrationsverket rejects your application, appeal routes are covered in Appeals, Rejections & Disputes.
Check which residency period applies to you, confirm your income and language proof, and file through Migrationsverket's e-service when you are ready.
