Sweden Follows Germany and Denmark in Proposing Citizenship Revocation for Threats to National Security

In Sweden, political parties have agreed that dual nationals who have committed crimes that threaten national security should lose their Swedish citizenship.

According to the Swedish constitution, deprivation of citizenship is not currently permitted, and a vote on changing the law will be held in parliament next year.

The cross-party committee recommended that this change should apply to anyone who used bribes or false information to obtain citizenship, as well as to those who have committed crimes that pose a threat to the state or fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said that Sweden was dealing with ‘violent extremism, state actors acting in a hostile manner towards Sweden, and systemic organised crime’.

The two opposition parties, the Left and the Greens, have said they cannot support revocation of citizenship at all. At the same time, Sweden's centre-right ruling parties, backed by the more radical anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, want the changes to be aimed at combating the sharp rise in gang crime and high rates of homicide by firearms.

‘The proposals I have received today will not allow us to return Swedish citizenship to leaders of criminal groups who are abroad and who are in charge of shootings, bombings and murders on the streets of Sweden,’ Strommer said in an interview with Swedish Radio.

Swedish Minister of Migration Johan Forssell said that last year the police reported 600 cases where people who applied for citizenship were considered a threat to national security. Starting in June 2026, anyone seeking a Swedish passport will have to live in the country for eight years instead of five, as it is now. Tests on Swedish language and Swedish society will also be included. Forssell said that becoming Swedish was ‘too easy’ and that it should be a source of pride: ‘We are going to build a Sweden that sticks together, where Swedish citizenship has more meaning.’

The Swedish government refers to neighbouring Denmark, where citizenship can already be revoked for actions that ‘seriously harm the vital interests of the state’. The law was recently expanded to include some forms of serious gang-related crime.

The Swedish minority government has also decided to tighten the rules for applying for citizenship.