The short answer
If your citizenship application was filed before 6 June 2026 and has not been decided, Migrationsverket applies the new requirements to it. The government's bill says in plain words that no transitional provisions should be introduced and that the amendments apply directly from the day they come into force, including in the courts on appeals against earlier decisions. It also accepts that this imposes on people requirements that did not exist when they applied, and points them at a later fresh application or at an exemption. This is not an error in the drafting. It is the policy.
The sentence that decides it
Section 14 of prop. 2025/26:175 is short and it is not ambiguous. The government writes that on balance no transitional provisions should be introduced, and that the amendments should therefore apply directly from the day they come into force.
Migrationsverket says the same thing in the language of somebody who has to answer a phone. The new rules apply even if you applied before, as long as your case was not decided before 6 June 2026.
That is the whole answer. The rest of this page is what follows from it, and what you can do about it.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| övergångsbestämmelser | transitional provisions | The word to search if you want to check this yourself in the bill. |
| ditt ärende är inte avgjort | your case has not been decided | The status that determines which set of rules applies to you. |
| Är mitt ärende avgjort? | Has my case been decided? | Ask this, not whether it has been 'processed', which has no legal meaning here. |
The Lagrådet asked for transitional rules and did not get them
This part matters because it tells you the omission is not a bug somebody will patch. The Lagrådet, the Swedish Bar Association and Asylrättscentrum all argued for transitional provisions. The government went the other way, following Säkerhetspolisen's line instead.
The bill then spells out the consequences without softening them. Migrationsverket applies the new knowledge requirements to files submitted before 6 June 2026. The courts apply them too, including when reviewing an appeal against a decision taken before the law came into force.
And the government states that it accepts this imposes on some people requirements higher than those that existed when they applied, directing those who fail to apply again later, or to seek an exemption.
What that means if you are in the queue
First, the knowledge requirements now attach to you. Civics is live, and the Swedish language requirement is law with no test behind it yet, which means it is proven with a grade or an accepted exam in the meantime.
Second, age is calculated when your file is examined, not when it was submitted. In a queue measured in hundreds of days, somebody who applied at 15 can be examined at 16 and acquire the requirement, and somebody who applied at 66 can be examined at 67 and lose it.
Third, you cannot register for the civics test on your own initiative. Only a letter from Migrationsverket opens registration, and who gets that letter is a question worth understanding before you buy anything.
On the size of the backlog, two figures circulate. Swedish press reporting in 2026 relaying Migrationsverket describes roughly 86 000 pending files and a queue of around 600 days; the francophone outlet Le Petit Journal Stockholm writes of about 100 000 files left in limbo. They are not from the same date and no primary source we read settles it, so treat both as orders of magnitude rather than as the number.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| handläggningstid | processing time | The word on Migrationsverket's page that gives the current queue. |
| komplettering | additional documents requested in a case | What arrives when the agency needs something more from you. |
| Jag vill komplettera mitt ärende. | I want to add documents to my case. | The sentence for adding evidence to a file already in the queue. |
What is actually worth doing now
Get your proof of Swedish in order, because that is the one thing you can move without anybody's permission. A passing grade in svenska or svenska som andraspråk from several parts of the Swedish system counts, and so do certain external exams. We laid out each accepted route and where it comes from.
If a disability or another lasting personal circumstance makes it unreasonable to expect you to show these skills, the law provides for an exemption, which can be total or partial. The burden of proof is yours, a medical certificate being the usual example, and Migrationsverket decides at first instance.
Do not buy a test preparation course on the strength of a page that states a pass mark. There is none. UHR called the sitting of 15 August 2026 a calibration sitting and said the threshold would be set afterwards, with results due in October 2026.
What we cannot tell you
We cannot tell you whether your years count as hemvist, whether your grade will be accepted, or whether your circumstances justify an exemption. Migrationsverket decides that, alone, and a court on appeal. Nothing on this site is an assessment of your file.
We are also not affiliated with Migrationsverket, UHR or Skolverket, and nobody should promise you a citizenship outcome. What we can do honestly is point at the paragraph of the bill and at the agency page, both dated, and say what they contain. Part of that is knowing which authority owns which decision: UHR marks a paper, Migrationsverket decides a file.
If your Swedish is the part that is behind, that is a problem with a known shape and a known amount of work. The realistic number of hours to reach B1 is the least comfortable and most useful thing to read next.
Sources
- Prop. 2025/26:175, Skärpta krav för svenskt medborgarskap, section 142026-03-12
- Migrationsverket: Nya regler för svenskt medborgarskap gäller från 6 juni2026-06-05
- Migrationsverket: Nya regler för svenskt medborgarskap från och med 6 juni 20262026-05-06
- UHR: Frågor och svar om medborgarskapsprovet2026-08-26
Rules and processing times change. Check the official page for your own case before acting on anything here.
Questions people ask
- Do the new citizenship rules apply to an application filed before 6 June 2026?
- Yes, if it had not been decided before that date. The government chose not to introduce transitional provisions, so the amendments apply directly from the day they came into force, and Migrationsverket states that the new rules apply even to applications submitted earlier.
- Do the courts apply the new rules to an appeal against an older decision?
- The bill says they do. It states that the amendments are applied by the courts when they examine appeals against decisions taken before the law came into force. Your own case is for the court to assess, not for a website.
- Can I withdraw and reapply to avoid the new rules?
- Reapplying does not put you back under the old rules, because the old rules no longer exist for anybody. The bill explicitly points people who fail the requirements towards a fresh application at a later date, once they can meet them, or towards an exemption.
- What if I cannot meet the knowledge requirements for a medical reason?
- The law provides an exemption where, because of a disability or other personal circumstances, it cannot reasonably be required of you to show those skills. The circumstance has to be lasting rather than temporary, the exemption can be partial, the evidence is yours to supply, and Migrationsverket decides.
- How long is the queue for a Swedish citizenship decision?
- Swedish reporting in 2026 relaying Migrationsverket described roughly 86 000 pending files and a wait of around 600 days, while one francophone outlet wrote of about 100 000 files. The two figures are from different moments and no primary source we read reconciles them. Migrationsverket publishes the current processing time itself.
- Do I have to sit the civics test while my application is pending?
- Only if Migrationsverket sends you the letter that opens registration, and only if you cannot show the civics knowledge another way. UHR does not decide who sits, and you cannot register on your own initiative.
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