https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The Swedish parliament has passed a bill affecting the lives of more than 100,000 prospective citizens. The Local is reporting live from parliament. Join the conversation here. https://www.thelocal.com/20260429/live-blog-swedish-mps-debate-and-vote-on-citizenship-bill Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:01:59 +0200 live-blog-swedish-mps-debate-and-vote-on-citizenship-bill With a majority of just one vote, parliament rejected adding transitional rules to Sweden's June 6th citizenship reforms. But there's still reason to be hopeful, writes The Local's Richard Orange. https://www.thelocal.com/20260429/opinion-the-campaign-for-transitional-citizenship-rules-failed-but-it-wasnt-in-vain Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:52:15 +0200 opinion-the-campaign-for-transitional-citizenship-rules-failed-but-it-wasnt-in-vain Sweden’s opposition parties failed to add transitional rules to the new stricter citizenship bill when it was voted through by parliament, meaning the tougher rules will apply even to pending applications when they come into force on June 6th. https://www.thelocal.com/20260429/swedens-parliament-rejects-transitional-rules-for-citizenship-bill Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:21:48 +0200 swedens-parliament-rejects-transitional-rules-for-citizenship-bill On April 29th, parliament will vote on a bill that makes getting Swedish citizenship a lot harder. What's in it? https://www.thelocal.com/20260429/key-points-whats-in-swedens-june-6th-citizenship-laws Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:17:37 +0200 key-points-whats-in-swedens-june-6th-citizenship-laws On April 29th, the Swedish parliament will vote on a bill on tighter citizenship rules – and whether or not transitional rules should be included for the 100,000 applicants already in the queue. We asked The Local's readers what they think MPs need to know ahead of the vote. https://www.thelocal.com/20260427/we-trusted-you-sweden-foreigners-pleas-to-mps-ahead-of-citizenship-vote Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:55:53 +0200 we-trusted-you-sweden-foreigners-pleas-to-mps-ahead-of-citizenship-vote Sweden's four opposition parties have included a joint counter-motion in the citizenship bill which goes before parliament on Wednesday, calling for transitional rules to be brought in for existing applications and ongoing appeals. https://www.thelocal.com/20260428/swedens-opposition-submit-joint-text-on-transitional-rules-for-citizenship Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:07:50 +0200 swedens-opposition-submit-joint-text-on-transitional-rules-for-citizenship It's the start of a crucial week for a lot of foreigners in Sweden, especially those 100,000 people waiting for a decision on their citizenship application. https://www.thelocal.com/20260427/crunch-time-for-swedish-citizenship-campaigners-as-crucial-vote-draws-near Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:52:54 +0200 crunch-time-for-swedish-citizenship-campaigners-as-crucial-vote-draws-near These are the key dates to be aware of as the Swedish parliament prepares to vote on the question of citizenship reforms. https://www.thelocal.com/20260413/key-dates-what-are-the-next-steps-for-swedens-citizenship-bill Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:27:53 +0200 key-dates-what-are-the-next-steps-for-swedens-citizenship-bill With less than a month until parliament is set to vote on Sweden's biggest citizenship overhaul in years, Spotify Workers Unionen and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO) have thrown their support behind a campaign to include transitional rules for those already in the Migration Agency's queue. https://www.thelocal.com/20260402/swedish-union-leaders-warn-haphazard-citizenship-reforms-could-harm-international-reputation Thu, 02 Apr 2026 08:31:41 +0200 swedish-union-leaders-warn-haphazard-citizenship-reforms-could-harm-international-reputation Fair Transition has succeeded in pushing the campaign to add transitional rules to Sweden's upcoming citizenship bill up the political agenda. But what chance does it have of actually changing the law? https://www.thelocal.com/20260407/does-the-campaign-for-transitional-rules-for-swedish-citizenship-stand-a-chance Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:12:39 +0200 does-the-campaign-for-transitional-rules-for-swedish-citizenship-stand-a-chance The oldest application in Sweden's queue for citizenship has been waiting for a decision for nine years, possibly ten. Here are the numbers on Sweden's citizenship backlog. https://www.thelocal.com/20260330/in-data-which-are-the-oldest-cases-in-swedens-citizenship-backlog Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:46:59 +0200 in-data-which-are-the-oldest-cases-in-swedens-citizenship-backlog Three months after the Swedish Migration Agency aimed to clear its backlog of four-year-old cases, thousands of applicants from the period are still waiting to be assigned case officers. https://www.thelocal.com/20260324/swedish-migration-agency-struggles-to-clear-backlog-as-waiting-time-passes-1000-days Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:48:00 +0100 swedish-migration-agency-struggles-to-clear-backlog-as-waiting-time-passes-1000-days Chandra and Vibha are one of many highly educated – and high-earning – working families reevaluating their commitment to Sweden in light of the government's plan to apply big citizenship rule changes even to those who applied years ago. https://www.thelocal.com/20260402/we-can-go-elsewhere-skilled-workers-question-future-in-sweden-over-citizenship-reforms Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:27:43 +0200 we-can-go-elsewhere-skilled-workers-question-future-in-sweden-over-citizenship-reforms Sweden's Migration Agency has stopped automatically requesting passports at the start of citizenship applications to lessen the inconvenience to applicants who want to travel. https://www.thelocal.com/20260323/swedish-migration-agency-stops-automatically-taking-passports-in-citizenship-cases Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:47:56 +0100 swedish-migration-agency-stops-automatically-taking-passports-in-citizenship-cases Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell didn't fully commit to meeting campaigners who are urging the government to change its mind on including transitional citizenship rules – but he didn't rule it out either. https://www.thelocal.com/20260326/swedish-migration-minister-doesnt-rule-out-meeting-citizenship-campaigners Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:46:58 +0100 swedish-migration-minister-doesnt-rule-out-meeting-citizenship-campaigners Sweden's Säpo security police has justified its opposition to adding transitional rules to an upcoming bill bringing in stricter citizenship rules, saying that the process of identifying possible threats "often takes a long time". https://www.thelocal.com/20260323/swedish-security-police-justify-stance-on-citizenship-transitional-rules Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:14:33 +0100 swedish-security-police-justify-stance-on-citizenship-transitional-rules A government inquiry has proposed stripping dual nationals of their Swedish citizenship if they are found guilty of weapons and explosives crimes, money-laundering, or benefits fraud committed "as part of a criminal network". https://www.thelocal.com/20260318/inquiry-proposes-stripping-swedish-citizenship-for-certain-gang-crimes Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:45:15 +0100 inquiry-proposes-stripping-swedish-citizenship-for-certain-gang-crimes Pushing through citizenship reforms without transitional rules will make Sweden less attractive to international talent, the acting head of the Swedish Games Industry Association has warned. https://www.thelocal.com/20260304/swedish-games-boss-warns-retroactive-citizenship-reforms-not-good-for-industry Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:24:42 +0100 swedish-games-boss-warns-retroactive-citizenship-reforms-not-good-for-industry Sweden's government recently announced plans to tighten up citizenship rules for all applications from June 6th – even those already in the queue. The Local spoke to Patrick Gallen, spokesperson for Fair Transition, a campaign group calling for transitional rules in the new law. https://www.thelocal.com/20260302/can-this-campaign-group-change-swedish-governments-mind-on-citizenship Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:26:16 +0100 can-this-campaign-group-change-swedish-governments-mind-on-citizenship The European Commission has contacted Swedish authorities after citizens from Ireland were told that their EU passports were not sufficient proof of identity in citizenship applications. https://www.thelocal.com/20251218/eu-in-touch-with-sweden-over-citizenship-passport-issue Thu, 18 Dec 2025 14:54:04 +0100 eu-in-touch-with-sweden-over-citizenship-passport-issue