The short answer
Until the Swedish language test starts, section 13 a of the citizenship act lets you show your Swedish with a passing grade in svenska or svenska som andraspråk from the final year of grundskola, from anpassade grundskola, from the last two years of specialskola, from gymnasieskola, anpassade gymnasieskola or folkhögskola studies at upper secondary level, from komvux including sfi, or from the final year of an equivalent course in another Nordic country. The bill also allows another language exam that shows B1 with a high degree of reliability, naming Tisus and Swedex, and asks for a restrictive assessment. Migrationsverket decides. The government intends to remove this route once the full test exists.
Why this window exists at all
The language requirement became law on 6 June 2026. The exam that will prove it does not exist. Rather than freeze every file for a year, the legislator wrote a provision that lives only in the gap: section 13 a, in force from 6 June 2026 until the Swedish test starts, which the bill puts at 1 October 2027 or an earlier date the government decides.
The government is explicit that the arrangement is temporary. When the full Swedish test comes into force, the bill says this possibility should be removed.
So this is a window, and the practical reading is simple: if a grade or an exam can put your Swedish beyond argument, the cheapest time to do it is now.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| godkänt betyg | a passing grade | The exact thing the provision asks for. A course certificate of attendance is not this. |
| svenska som andraspråk | Swedish as a second language | The subject name on the grade, abbreviated SVA on many documents. |
| betygsdokument | grade document, transcript | What you ask your school for when you need paper. |
| Kan jag få ett betygsdokument? | Can I get a transcript? | Said at the school office, or written in an email to komvux. |
The grades that count
A passing grade in svenska or in svenska som andraspråk, from any of these: the final year of grundskola or an equivalent course, anpassade grundskola, the last two years of specialskola, gymnasieskola, anpassade gymnasieskola, folkhögskola studies at upper secondary level, komvux with sfi included, and the final year of an equivalent course in another Nordic country.
That last one surprises people. Somebody who finished school in Denmark, Norway, Finland or Iceland with the equivalent subject is inside the list, which is a genuinely different situation from arriving with no Nordic schooling at all.
The civics requirement has its own, narrower list of grades: civics or basic social orientation subjects from the final year of grundskola, anpassade grundskola, the last two years of specialskola, gymnasieskola or komvux. It is a separate question with a separate answer, which is one reason the two requirements should not be read as one.
The exams: Tisus, Swedex, and the word restrictive
Beyond grades, the bill allows another language exam where it demonstrates with a high degree of reliability a level corresponding to B1, and it names two: Tisus, the university entrance test in Swedish, and Swedex from Folkuniversitetet. Migrationsverket cites both on its page for adults.
The word that goes with them in the bill is restrictive. The government asks Migrationsverket and the courts to be restrictive in accepting other exams. An exam not on that page is not an obvious yes, and paying for one on the strength of a forum post is a bad trade.
If Swedex is what you are weighing, we wrote out what that exam is, what it costs and what a level on it actually means. And if you are already inside the sfi system, the national test at the end of kurs D is the one worth understanding first, because for many people it is the shortest route to a grade on paper.
| In Swedish | What it means | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Tisus | Test i svenska för universitets- och högskolestudier | The university entrance test in Swedish, named in the bill. |
| Swedex | a Swedish language certificate from Folkuniversitetet | The other exam the bill names by name. |
| intyg | a certificate | Careful: an intyg of attendance is not a betyg with a grade, and only the grade counts here. |
What this route does not do
It does not touch the civics requirement. You can have impeccable Swedish and still be inside the group who must show civics knowledge, because they are two separate conditions with separate proofs.
It does not decide your case. Migrationsverket assesses whether your document meets the requirement, and a court on appeal. A school telling you your grade will be accepted is telling you what it hopes, not what the agency will hold.
And it does not last. When the Swedish test starts, this provision goes. Anyone planning to sort their proof out in 2028 is planning around a rule that is scheduled to disappear.
If you have no grade and no exam yet
Then the work is the language itself, and the requirement points you in a clear direction: heavy on reading and listening, lighter on production, because the bill sets comprehension at B1 and production at A2. We laid that split out in the article on the language requirement.
The unexpectedly efficient move is to read the civics material in Swedish. It is written at the same level the language requirement measures, it is free, and it comes with audio, which makes it one of the few free B1 listening resources with a transcript. How to read it when your Swedish is around A2 is a separate skill and it is trainable.
We are not affiliated with Folkuniversitetet, UHR, Skolverket or Migrationsverket, and no course can promise that a level will be accepted in a file. The part we can promise is the Swedish.
Sources
- Prop. 2025/26:175, Skärpta krav för svenskt medborgarskap2026-03-12
- Migrationsverket: Medborgarskap för vuxna2026-06-06
Rules and processing times change. Check the official page for your own case before acting on anything here.
Questions people ask
- How do I prove my Swedish for citizenship if there is no test?
- With a passing grade in svenska or svenska som andraspråk from the Swedish school system, from folkhögskola at upper secondary level, from komvux including sfi, or from the final year of an equivalent course in another Nordic country. The bill also allows another language exam that shows B1 reliably, naming Tisus and Swedex.
- Does sfi count as proof of Swedish for citizenship?
- Komvux, sfi included, is in the list of places a passing grade in svenska or svenska som andraspråk can come from. Whether your specific grade satisfies the requirement in your case is for Migrationsverket to assess.
- Is Swedex accepted for Swedish citizenship?
- The bill names Swedex and Tisus as examples of exams that can show B1 with a high degree of reliability, and Migrationsverket cites both on its page for adults. The bill also asks for the assessment to be restrictive, so acceptance is an agency decision rather than an automatic rule.
- How long will this alternative route last?
- Until the full Swedish test comes into force. The bill says the possibility should be removed at that point, and it assesses that the reading and listening test can start on 1 October 2027 or earlier if the government decides.
- Does a Swedish grade also cover the civics requirement?
- No. Civics has its own list: a passing grade in civics or in basic social orientation subjects from grundskola, anpassade grundskola, specialskola, gymnasieskola or komvux. The two requirements are proven separately.
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