Sweden Grants Fewer Than 100 Citizenships Under New Rules

Sweden approved fewer than 100 citizenship applications in July.

This sharp drop follows new, stricter citizenship rules that began on June 6th.

Data from the Migration Agency shows only 99 people gained citizenship in July.

In June, 1,646 people became Swedish citizens.

In May, the number was 3,970.

Only 20 approvals were standard naturalisation cases.

Most successful applicants were Nordic citizens.

This included 26 Finns, 19 Danes, and 19 Norwegians.

Five citizens of Syria received citizenship.

Three people from Eritrea and three from the UK were approved.

Two people from Afghanistan, Iraq, and DRC each gained citizenship.

One person each from Australia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sri Lanka was approved.

Ten applicants had unknown citizenship, and two were stateless.

No other nationalities received Swedish citizenship in July.

New rules require longer residency, language tests, and income proofs.

Applications submitted before June 6th had no transitional rules.

Many pending applications were judged under the strict new standards.

This story was originally reported by The Local.