https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Sweden in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The last step before a citizenship application can be approved is the personal appearance at a Migration Agency office. The Local's Becky Waterton had her appointment last week – here's what happened. https://www.thelocal.se/20260518/the-final-hurdle-what-happened-at-my-personal-appearance-for-swedish-citizenship Mon, 18 May 2026 13:23:13 +0200 the-final-hurdle-what-happened-at-my-personal-appearance-for-swedish-citizenship In the first of two votes, the Swedish parliament voted to enable authorities to strip dual citizens of their Swedish citizenship in certain situations. https://www.thelocal.se/20260521/swedish-mps-vote-to-revoke-citizenship-over-crimes-that-harm-vital-interests Thu, 21 May 2026 09:35:56 +0200 swedish-mps-vote-to-revoke-citizenship-over-crimes-that-harm-vital-interests Swedish opposition politicians welcomed an opinion piece from a Sweden Democrat MP in which he apologised for his party's decision to send in two extra MPs to block a motion on transitional citizenship rules. https://www.thelocal.se/20260521/swedish-opposition-welcomes-sweden-democrat-mps-apology-over-citizenship-vote Thu, 21 May 2026 09:50:15 +0200 swedish-opposition-welcomes-sweden-democrat-mps-apology-over-citizenship-vote A Sweden Democrat MP has apologised for his party's decision to send in two extra MPs to block a motion on transitional rules, saying that the party's action had been "wrong" and that principles should never be sacrificed for "short-term parliamentary gains". https://www.thelocal.se/20260520/sweden-democrat-mp-apologises-for-party-manipulating-citizenship-vote Wed, 20 May 2026 12:34:20 +0200 sweden-democrat-mp-apologises-for-party-manipulating-citizenship-vote An initiative filed by the Green Party calling for a new bill adding transitional rules to the upcoming stricter citizenship law has been voted down by a parliamentary committee in what the Green Party have called "a serious problem for democracy". https://www.thelocal.se/20260519/move-for-new-bill-on-transitional-rules-for-swedish-citizenship-voted-down Tue, 19 May 2026 12:18:26 +0200 move-for-new-bill-on-transitional-rules-for-swedish-citizenship-voted-down A former Moderate Party defence minister has told The Local that opposition parties are "quite correct" to accuse the Sweden Democrats of cheating in the vote on transitional rules for citizenship at the end of April. https://www.thelocal.se/20260515/sweden-democrats-cheated-on-citizenship-vote-says-moderate-party-heavyweight Fri, 15 May 2026 15:22:52 +0200 sweden-democrats-cheated-on-citizenship-vote-says-moderate-party-heavyweight If American politics has you thinking of leaving the US – or indeed if you want to move to Sweden for love, work, adventure or any other reason – there are some hurdles to overcome first. Here's a look at the various routes available to US citizens. https://www.thelocal.se/20201103/how-americans-can-move-to-sweden-usa-permit Tue, 03 Nov 2020 17:08:44 +0100 how-americans-can-move-to-sweden-usa-permit On April 29th Swedish parliament voted through stricter citizenship laws. Because transitional measures were not included, the new laws will apply to all applications that are assessed from June 6th onwards – even applications submitted long before the new rules were even proposed. How will this work? https://www.thelocal.se/20260506/how-will-the-swedish-migration-agency-handle-queue-citizenship-cases-after-june-6th Wed, 06 May 2026 18:19:56 +0200 how-will-the-swedish-migration-agency-handle-queue-citizenship-cases-after-june-6th Proof of knowledge of basic Swedish civics, history, geography, and culture will now be required to obtain Swedish citizenship. An official study booklet for the new test is now out. How well do you know the material? https://www.thelocal.se/20260512/quiz-can-you-pass-the-locals-mock-swedish-citizenship-test Tue, 12 May 2026 09:31:50 +0200 quiz-can-you-pass-the-locals-mock-swedish-citizenship-test The first civics test for Swedish citizenship will be offered to 1,000 people on August 15th in Stockholm. What will it cover? https://www.thelocal.se/20260508/whats-in-the-study-guide-for-the-swedish-civics-citizenship-test Fri, 08 May 2026 15:43:33 +0200 whats-in-the-study-guide-for-the-swedish-civics-citizenship-test Sweden is rolling out tougher citizenship laws, including increasing the time you have to live in Sweden before you're eligible for citizenship. But the exact time depends on your residency permit. Here's a rundown of what it means for everyone, from work permit holders to children. https://www.thelocal.se/20260415/how-long-will-you-have-to-live-in-sweden-to-be-eligible-for-citizenship-after-june-6th Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:23:44 +0200 how-long-will-you-have-to-live-in-sweden-to-be-eligible-for-citizenship-after-june-6th Sweden's opposition parties are united on introducing transitional rules for citizenship if they win next September's election. https://www.thelocal.se/20260512/swedish-opposition-promises-citizenship-transition-rules-if-it-wins-election Tue, 12 May 2026 14:35:35 +0200 swedish-opposition-promises-citizenship-transition-rules-if-it-wins-election A conflict broke out in Sweden's parliament on Thursday, with an MP from the far-right Sweden Democrats accused of threatening an MP who said his party could not be trusted after last week's controversial vote on transitional rules. https://www.thelocal.se/20260508/conflict-erupts-between-mps-in-swedish-parliament-corridor Fri, 08 May 2026 10:02:07 +0200 conflict-erupts-between-mps-in-swedish-parliament-corridor No decision was made when the committee in charge of processing Swedish immigration legislation met to discuss, among other things, an opposition bid for a new vote on adding transitional provisions to the recently passed citizenship law. https://www.thelocal.se/20260507/no-decision-made-about-transitional-rules-at-committee-meeting Thu, 07 May 2026 16:52:18 +0200 no-decision-made-about-transitional-rules-at-committee-meeting Another meeting of parliamentary group leaders to discuss the broken-down 'pairing' agreement ended without any solution in place. https://www.thelocal.se/20260507/no-end-in-sight-to-swedens-parliamentary-pairing-chaos-total-deadlock Thu, 07 May 2026 11:47:49 +0200 no-end-in-sight-to-swedens-parliamentary-pairing-chaos-total-deadlock Swedish MPs on the committee in charge of processing immigration laws were set to meet at 10am to discuss the opposition's bid for a new vote on adding transitional provisions to the recently passed citizenship law. https://www.thelocal.se/20260507/swedish-mps-to-discuss-bid-for-revote-on-transitional-citizenship-rules Thu, 07 May 2026 09:06:15 +0200 swedish-mps-to-discuss-bid-for-revote-on-transitional-citizenship-rules The first civics test for Swedish citizenship will be offered to up to 1,000 people on August 15th at an undisclosed location in Stockholm, the Swedish Council of Higher Education has said on its website. https://www.thelocal.se/20260506/swedens-first-citizenship-tests-to-be-held-on-august-15th Wed, 06 May 2026 16:22:57 +0200 swedens-first-citizenship-tests-to-be-held-on-august-15th Four Liberal MPs who sat out the April 29th Swedish citizenship vote are again being scrutinised for potential opposition to upcoming Tidö government policies. https://www.thelocal.se/20260506/will-disaffected-mps-from-swedens-liberal-party-now-vote-against-the-government Wed, 06 May 2026 16:01:04 +0200 will-disaffected-mps-from-swedens-liberal-party-now-vote-against-the-government Sweden's political parties have failed to reach a deal to solve the crisis of confidence in the parliament's pairing system caused by the Sweden Democrat party's decision to win a vote last week by sending in two MPs that it had agreed to withhold. https://www.thelocal.se/20260506/swedish-parliamentary-leaders-meet-with-house-speaker-to-resolve-pairing-scandal Wed, 06 May 2026 10:31:39 +0200 swedish-parliamentary-leaders-meet-with-house-speaker-to-resolve-pairing-scandal Sweden's Green Party has submitted a committee initiative to the parliament, calling for a new vote on adding transitional provisions to the recently passed citizenship law. The populist Sweden Democrats defeated the opposition last week by sending two MPs to vote that they had promised to withhold. https://www.thelocal.se/20260505/swedish-greens-launch-formal-bid-for-new-vote-on-transitional-rules Tue, 05 May 2026 13:26:57 +0200 swedish-greens-launch-formal-bid-for-new-vote-on-transitional-rules