Inside Sweden: Why next week is important for Sweden's citizenship reforms

Local Sweden

29-03-2025

The Local's editor Emma Löfgren rounds up the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter.
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Hej,
The consultation period for Sweden's citizenship reform ends on April 1st, so we've been looking into that, including a guide to how to comment on government bills.
This will end one stage of the legislative process and start the next, when the government will process the consultation responses and begin to write up a final bill.
We know from speaking with our readers in the past that people are divided on whether the reforms themselves are good or bad. But one thing nearly everyone finds strange is the fact that they look set to affect even those who have already applied for citizenship. Their futures are now essentially in the hands of the Migration Agency's unpredictable waiting times, which were criticised again as recently as this week.
It's not the first time new Swedish migration laws has this peculiar kind of retroactive effect – we've seen it with both the work permit salary threshold and spårbyte.
So it's perhaps no surprise that the Spotify software engineer who is leading a new campaign of tech workers protesting against the citizenship reforms called the retroactivity a 'trust breaker' which could scare away highly skilled foreigners.
We also speak with Eric Peterson, who's behind the campaign, on the latest episode of The Local's Sweden in Focus podcast, which should now be available to listen to.
On a somewhat related note, I looked into this week whether submitting a request to conclude to the Migration Agency could speed up applications for citizenship, and the answer appears to be yes – with some exceptions, so it's not a hard guarantee.
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The centre-left Social Democrats, and not the conservative Moderates, are the long-term 'natural partners' for the far-right Sweden Democrats, a senior member of the populist party's ruling committee has claimed. Why is the party making overtures to its historic arch enemy?
The Swedish historian Lars Trägårdh has long courted controversy, so it's little surprise that he has generated tumult in his new job leading the committee developing Sweden's new cultural canon. I really recommend reading Richar Orange's interview with him if you haven't already – it's thought-provoking and fascinating, regardless of whether you agree with him or not.
On Tuesday next week we'll know more about the Swedish government's plans to reject and revoke residence permits for foreigners with a 'flawed way of life'.
Thanks for reading,
Emma Löfgren
Editor, The Local Sweden
Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It's published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.