FLASH NEWS
Sweden plans to strip citizenship of people seen as a threat to the state
2025-01-15 20:35:03 / BOTA
Sweden's political parties have agreed that dual citizens who commit crimes that threaten national security should lose their citizenship.
A cross-party committee recommended that the change could apply to anyone who had used bribery or false information to obtain their citizenship; and also if they have committed crimes that are a threat to the state or are under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
But he stopped short of the minority government's proposals to strip gangsters of their citizenship.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said Sweden was dealing with "violent extremism, state actors acting in a hostile manner towards Sweden, as well as systemic organized crime."
Under Sweden's constitution, the revocation of citizenship is currently not permitted, and a vote will be held next year in parliament to change the laws.
Center-left opposition parties say stripping gang criminals of their citizenship would be a step too far, as deciding how to define the law would be difficult.
Two opposition parties, the Left and the Greens, said they could not support the removal of citizenship at all.
However, Sweden's center-right governing parties, backed by the more radical anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, want the changes to address the dramatic rise in gang crime and the high rate of gun murders.
"The proposals I received today will not give us the opportunity to take Swedish citizenship from gang leaders in criminal networks who sit abroad, directing shootings, bombings and murders on the streets of Sweden," Strommer told Swedish Radio.
The government points to neighboring Denmark, where citizenship can now be revoked for an act that is “seriously detrimental to the vital interests of the state.” The law was recently expanded to include some forms of serious group crime.
The Swedish minority government has also moved to tighten rules for applying for citizenship.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell said that last year police reported 600 cases of people applying who were considered a threat to national security.
From June 2026, anyone applying for a Swedish passport will generally need to have lived in the country for eight years, five at the moment.
Tests on Swedish language and society will also be included.
Forssell said it has been "very easy" to become Swedish and that it should be something to be proud of: "We will build a Sweden that stands together, where Swedish citizenship matters most."
"Girls and boys have the right to swim and play football. If you don't accept that, Sweden is not the place for you."
The leader of the Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson, wants the government to go further, requiring young citizens to swear a declaration of loyalty to Sweden.
However, this did not appear in the recommendations of a government inquiry.
The author of the investigation, Kirsti Laakso Utvik, said the changes would bring Sweden closer to other European countries.
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