The government is now taking the next step to be able to revoke Swedish citizenship. On Wednesday, government investigator Anita Linder will present her proposal, which deals with how and when this can happen.
People with dual citizenship should be able to have their Swedish citizenship revoked if they have obtained it by lying, bribing or threatening to do so - or if they have committed particularly serious crimes.
Gang-related crime
Anita Linder points out a number of crimes that could lead to revocation.
This covers crimes that seriously threaten Sweden's security, such as espionage, treason, sabotage, terrorist crimes, genocide and war crimes, as well as sabotage against emergency services. It also covers crimes that seriously harm Sweden's "vital interests", such as murder, kidnapping, extortion and weapons offences.
"Here we are talking about serious, systemic crime that is committed within the framework of criminal networks," Anita Linder says about the latter category of crime.
Even people under the age of 18 should be able to have their citizenship revoked. In order for a revocation to take place, the person must have been convicted of the crime. The maximum sentence must also be at least four years in prison.
"This means that certain minor crimes in these criminal chapters are not covered by the possibility of revocation," Linder says.
The investigator emphasizes that the decision should be proportionate, taking into account how intrusive it is and how long the person has held citizenship.
Today, it is not possible to revoke Swedish citizenship. However, Johan Forssell points out that the possibility already exists in other Nordic countries.
According to the police, there are 1,400 active gang criminals in Sweden today with dual citizenship, and Forssell says revoking citizenship would create new opportunities to expel them from the country.
Requires constitutional amendment
In order for the bill to come into force, the constitution must also be amended. Such a proposal already exists and is proposed to come into force on 1 January 2027, but it requires the Riksdag to vote yes both before and after the election.
The current legal amendments, the investigator proposes, should come into force one year later, on 1 January 2028. She also suggests that the Swedish Migration Agency should be the authority that decides to revoke citizenship.
According to the investigator, revocation should only apply to those who committed crimes after the law came into force.
The investigator makes two different proposals for revoking citizenship in the event of a crime.
1. Crimes that seriously threaten Sweden's security
For example, espionage, treason, sabotage, hijacking, sabotage against emergency services, terrorist crimes, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
2. Crimes that seriously harm Sweden's "vital interests"
All of the above crimes, plus crimes such as murder, kidnapping, bombings, perjury, extortion, weapons offences, threats against officials, money laundering, bribery offences, and breach of confidentiality. The crime must have been committed within a criminal network.
All crimes must have a maximum penalty of at least four years in prison for revocation to occur.
Citizenship may also be revoked if the person has provided false information (for example, lied about their identity or family circumstances), bribed or threatened to obtain citizenship.
Proposed transitional provisions: Revocation in the event of a crime shall only apply to crimes committed after the law enters into force. Revocation for false information shall only apply to citizenship acquired after the law enters into force.
Source: Inquiry into revocation of Swedish citizenship
