News · Citizenship · Published 13 July 2026
Some temporary-permit holders can now apply for Swedish citizenship
DailySweden Editorial Desk
Updated 11:27 · 3 min read
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Some people with temporary residence permits can now apply for Swedish citizenship without first obtaining a permanent permit, after a new exception took effect on Sunday alongside Sweden’s removal of permanent status for several protection-based groups.
The Swedish Migration Agency says the exception covers people who are long-term residents in Sweden, refugees, people recognised as alternatively or subsidiarily in need of protection, and people granted permits because of exceptionally distressing circumstances or certain lasting barriers to enforcement. It can also cover relatives whose permits are tied to someone in one of those groups.
Eligibility is not automatic. An applicant must normally have what the law calls well-founded prospects of receiving a long-term residence permit. The agency describes that as a forward-looking judgment about whether the person is likely to keep qualifying for an extension and remain in Sweden. Officials will make that assessment in each case.
People who have lived in Sweden for at least ten years do not have to pass that prospects test, provided they meet the other citizenship conditions. Applicants must still hold a valid residence permit when they apply. A person waiting for a decision on an extension cannot submit a citizenship application under the exception, and the ordinary requirements on matters such as identity, residence and self-support continue to apply.
Parliament approved the change on 9 June as part of proposition 2025/26:262. The wider package ended the general route to permanent residence for several groups, including people in need of protection, long-term residents and some of their relatives. Most of those amendments entered into force on 12 July.
Without a citizenship exception, people whom the same reform made ineligible for permanent residence could have been locked out by the citizenship law’s permanent-permit requirement. The new route addresses that conflict, but it does not open citizenship to every temporary-permit holder. The specified permit ground, the expected durability of the person’s stay and all other citizenship rules still matter.
For affected residents, timing is practical as well as legal: they need a current permit before applying, not merely a pending request to stay. The Migration Agency’s individual forecast will now decide whether the removal of permanent status still leaves them a workable route to citizenship.
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