The Riksdag has abolished the absolute protection against losing Swedish citizenship. Fraudsters, terrorists and spies with dual citizenship may lose their Swedish citizenship.
By 292 votes to 51, passed on Wednesday the second and final resolution to amend the Instrument of Government, Sweden’s most important constitutional document. Only the Left Party and the Green Party voted against it. The Social Democrats, the Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Centre Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals voted in favour.
The first resolution was passed on 20 May, before the parliamentary election in September. A constitutional amendment requires two identical resolutions with an election in between, as is the case in Norway.
The amendment comes into force on 1 January 2027. It allows for citizenship to be revoked by law in two cases: when it has been obtained through false or misleading information or other improper conduct, and when the holder has been convicted of crimes that seriously harm Sweden’s vital interests. Both provisions apply only to persons who are also citizens of another country. No one may be rendered stateless.
Currently, the Constitution stipulates that no Swedish citizen who lives or has lived in Sweden may be deprived of their citizenship.
The Government has cited terrorism, espionage and international crimes such as genocide and war crimes. According to the bill, gang leaders with decisive influence over criminal networks may also be targeted if shootings and bombings reach a scale that threatens society’s ability to maintain order in an area. Ordinary gang-related crime is not in itself sufficient, according to the government’s reasoning.
The ‘fraud track’ includes, amongst other things, applicants who have concealed a criminal conviction, or who have bribed or threatened a case officer. The report SOU 2026:21 proposes that false information regarding debt, financial support, family circumstances and previous criminal offences should also constitute grounds for refusal, provided that the information was provided deliberately and was decisive for the decision.
“Neither threats, fraud, lies nor extremely serious crimes that threaten the system should pay off,” said Jessica Stegrud (SD) from the Riksdag’s podium.
The Left Party and the Green Party believe the term ‘vital interests’ is too vague. Caroline Täljeblad of the Left Party pointed out that the Committee on Civil Liberties and Rights had proposed, with effect from 2023, to limit the scope of the provision to serious threats to national security and crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, and that the government had gone further. She also pointed out that only citizens with dual nationality would be affected.
‘Are we then equal before the law?’ asked Täljeblad.
The Centre Party also criticised the wording from the floor, but voted in favour.
The Social Democrats reject the notion that citizenship is being weakened for everyone.
– The proposal does not mean that citizenship is to be made conditional in general, said Amalia Rud Stenlöf (S).
Sweden has so far stood out in the Nordic region. Denmark, Finland and Norway already have legal provisions for revoking citizenship in cases of serious crime. In Norway, the then Minister for Immigration and Inclusion, Sylvi Listhaug (Frp), proposed this in 2016. In 2018, a unanimous Storting passed a law stating that individuals with dual citizenship may lose their Norwegian citizenship if convicted of acts that seriously harm Norway’s vital interests.
However, no Swedish citizen will lose their passport at the start of the new year. The constitutional amendment merely paves the way. Who will be affected, how cases are to be handled and whether the rules will apply to those who are already citizens must be decided in a separate Act.
“Following today’s decision, it will be up to the next government to table a bill for ordinary legislation,” said Rud Stenlöf.
That government does not yet exist. Sweden still has no new government following the election on 13 September. Both Magdalena Andersson (S) and Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist of the Centre Party have been voted down as candidates for Prime Minister, and Ulf Kristersson (M) has had his exploratory mandate extended.
