Sweden seeks to remove citizenship from people who threaten the state

Sweden is planning to change its constitution to remove citizenship from dual citizens who obtain their passports fraudulently or commit crimes that threaten national security.

The move would mean people convicted of crimes such as espionage or treason could be stripped of their Swedish passports, as could individuals with dual nationality who obtained citizenship through bribery or with false information, the government said on Wednesday.

The proposals were put forward by a cross-party committee, and will be voted on in parliament next year with a view to the changes coming into force in June 2026.

The Swedish constitution does not currently allow for citizenship to be revoked.

“Sweden is dealing with three parallel and very serious threats to our internal security,” Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer told a press conference. “Violent extremism, state actors acting in a hostile manner towards Sweden, and systemic and organised crime.”

About 600 people who were considered security threats by authorities applied for Swedish citizenship last year, Migration Minister Johan Forssell told local media.

The Nordic nation is governed by a minority, centre-right government that heavily relies on backing from Sweden Democrats, a far-right and anti-immigration party that came second in the 2022 elections.

Sweden was once considered one of the most migrant-friendly nations in the EU, and the number of its citizens who were born overseas has doubled over the past two decades, accounting for about a fifth of its population of 10.5 million.

However, the country has cracked down hard on immigration in recent years. While more than 86,000 residence permits were granted to asylum seekers and their relatives in 2016 following the European migration crisis, that number dropped to a record low of 6,250 last year.

The government had also pushed for criminal gang members with dual citizenship to have their citizenship removed, but the parliamentary committee rejected that proposal.

Earlier this week, the government announced that immigrants seeking citizenship would be required to live in the country for eight years instead of five before they could apply.

“We are going to build a Sweden that sticks together, where Swedish citizenship matters more,” Forssell said.