How citizenship rules affect voting rights in the Nordic countries
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Loading... - Francesco Ricci
- 19 Oct 2022
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The three Scandinavian countries each have different rules on citizenship. As such, foreign residents in comparable situations in each of the three countries are likely to wait for different amounts of time before qualifying for citizenship.
All three countries only allow citizens to vote in parliamentary elections, although they do have rules allowing foreigners to take part in local elections in some cases.
Because citizenship rules affect the number of foreign-born (and in some cases, also domestic-born) residents who have the right to vote, they also affect the overall proportion of the population which can vote.
Sweden
Citizenship
EU and non EU citizens can apply for Swedish citizenship after living in Sweden for five continuous years with right of residence. In some cases, this period can be shortened.
In addition to length of stay, EU and non EU citizens must have “conducted themselves well in Sweden”, and the Swedish Migration Agency requests information on debts and criminal records in the country. An application can be rejected if a person has unpaid taxes, fines, or other charges.
While Swedish language skills and knowledge of Swedish society are not currently a requirement for citizenship, this could change in the future.
The application costs 1,500 Swedish kronor, around 150 euros. Read More...
