Swedish plan to strip citizenship of people deemed a threat to the state

Swedish political parties have agreed that dual nationals who commit crimes that threaten national security will lose their citizenship.

A cross-party commission recommended the change apply to anyone who used bribes or false information to obtain their citizenship; and also if they have committed crimes that pose a threat to the state or fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

But it failed to accept the minority government’s proposals to revoke gangsters’ citizenship.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strömer said Sweden was dealing with “violent extremism, state actors acting in a hostile manner towards Sweden, as well as systemic organized crime”.

Under Sweden’s constitution, revocation of citizenship is currently not allowed, and a vote will be held in parliament next year to change the laws.

Center-left opposition parties say stripping gang criminals of citizenship would go too far, as deciding how to define the law would be difficult.

However, Sweden’s centre-right ruling parties, backed by the more radical anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, want the changes to deal with a dramatic rise in gang crime and a high rate of gun homicides.

“The proposals I received today will not enable us to take back Swedish citizenship from gang leaders in criminal networks who are located abroad, directing shootings, bombings and murders on the streets of Sweden,” Stromer told Swedish Radio.

The government points to neighboring Denmark, where citizenship can already be revoked for an act that “seriously prejudices the vital interests of the state”. The law has recently been expanded to include some forms of serious gang crime.

Sweden’s minority government has also taken measures to tighten the rules on applying for citizenship.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell said last year police reported 600 cases of people who applied who were considered a threat to national security.

From June 2026 anyone applying for a Swedish passport will generally have to have lived in the country for eight years instead of the current five. Swedish language and society tests will also be included.

Forsel said it was “too easy” to become Swedish and that it should be something to be proud of: “We will build a Sweden that sticks together, where Swedish citizenship is more important.”

“Girls and boys have the right to swim and play football. If you don’t accept that, Sweden is not the country for you.”

The leader of the Sweden Democrats, Jimmy Akesson, wants the government to go further by requiring new citizens to swear a declaration of loyalty to Sweden.

However, this did not appear in the recommendations of a government inquiry.

The author of the inquiry, Kirsti Laakso Utvik, said the changes would bring Sweden closer to other European countries.