Sweden in Focus

Sweden is introducing a stricter new citizenship law from June 6th. But there will be no transitional provisions for the 100,000 people waiting in the citizenship queue.That’s unless opposition politicians manage to force lawmakers to vote again on transitional rules after the previous vote was marred by cheating accusations at the end of last month, as The Local was first to report.Last week our reporter Mandy Pipher caught up with Åsa Holmes, the head of the Swedish Migration Agency’s citizenship unit in Gothenburg to find out how the agency is planning to assess cases after the June changes come into force. And will applicants be able to get a refund now that Sweden has moved the goal posts?READ ALSO:How will the Swedish Migration Agency handle citizenship cases after June 6th?

Sweden is introducing a stricter new citizenship law from June 6th. But there will be no transitional provisions for the 100,000 people waiting in the citizenship queue.That’s unless opposition politicians manage to force lawmakers to vote again on transitional rules after the previous vote was marred by cheating accusations at the end of last month, as The Local was first to report.Last week our reporter Mandy Pipher caught up with Åsa Holmes, the head of the Swedish Migration Agency’s citizenship unit in Gothenburg to find out how the agency is planning to assess cases after the June changes come into force. And will applicants be able to get a refund now that Sweden has moved the goal posts?READ ALSO:How will the Swedish Migration Agency handle citizenship cases after June 6th?Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+  Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

This week we discuss the aftershock from last week’s parliamentary vote on stricter citizenship rules.We’ve got an interview with Åsa Holmes from the Migration Agency on how the new rules will be applied — and what it means for people already in the system.We also look at the new civics test for citizenship.For Membership+ subscribers, we look at the TISUS exam — which now counts towards the language requirement for citizenship.And finally we look a why – if you notice a Swedish person staring at you and then looking away – they’re not necessarily being rude.Host Richard Orange is joined this week by panelists Becky Waterton and Mandy Pipher. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Swedish citizenship'Total deadlock': No end in sight to Sweden's parliamentary pairing chaosNo decision made about transitional rules at committee meetingHow will the Swedish Migration Agency handle citizenship cases after June 6th?Sweden's first citizenship test to be held on August 15thHow likely is a revote on transitional rules for Swedish citizenship?Swedish habitsWhy that Swede glaring at you on the street might be trying to be polite__Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in SwedenMay 12th sessionJune 16th session__Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

This week we discuss the aftershock from last week’s parliamentary vote on stricter citizenship rules.We’ve got an interview with Åsa Holmes from the Migration Agency on how the new rules will be applied — and what it means for people already in the system.We also look at the new civics test for citizenship.For Membership+ subscribers, we look at the TISUS exam — which now counts towards the language requirement for citizenship.And finally we look a why – if you notice a Swedish person staring at you and then looking away – they’re not necessarily being rude.Host Richard Orange is joined this week by panelists Becky Waterton and Mandy Pipher. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Swedish citizenship'Total deadlock': No end in sight to Sweden's parliamentary pairing chaosNo decision made about transitional rules at committee meetingHow will the Swedish Migration Agency handle citizenship cases after June 6th?Sweden's first citizenship test to be held on August 15thHow likely is a revote on transitional rules for Swedish citizenship?Swedish habitsWhy that Swede glaring at you on the street might be trying to be polite__Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in SwedenMay 12th sessionJune 16th session

Public opinion in Sweden is increasingly at odds with the government's restrictive immigration policies, a new survey has found.The study, commissioned by non-profit organisation Globeknot and carried out by Novus, found that 81 per cent of respondents thought that foreigners who follow the law and support themselves should be allowed to stay in Sweden.The Local's Richard Orange caught up with Globeknot's Andreas Bergh, who is also Associate Professor of Economics at Lund University, to find out more about the survey.READ ALSO:Sweden's migration crackdown 'goes beyond what most voters want'__Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in SwedenMay 12th sessionJune 16th session__Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ 

Public opinion in Sweden is increasingly at odds with the government's restrictive immigration policies, a new survey has found.The study, commissioned by non-profit organisation Globeknot and carried out by Novus, found that 81 per cent of respondents thought that foreigners who follow the law and support themselves should be allowed to stay in Sweden.The Local's Richard Orange caught up with Globeknot's Andreas Bergh, who is also Associate Professor of Economics at Lund University, to find out more about the survey.READ ALSO:Sweden's migration crackdown 'goes beyond what most voters want'__Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in SwedenMay 12th sessionJune 16th session

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+ This week we spend most of the episode looking at Wednesday’s controversial vote in parliament to pass stricter citizenship laws.We also talk about King Carl Gustaf’s 80th birthday celebrations, Sweden’s bonfire night and May Day celebrations.Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Swedish citizenship voteAs it happened: Swedish MPs vote through citizenship reforms without transitional rulesSweden's parliament rejects transitional rules for citizenship billSweden Democrats accused of cheating to block transitional rules for citizenshipSwedish opposition demand revote on transitional citizenship rules'I feel scammed': Foreigners in Sweden react to controversial citizenship voteSwedish traditionsWalpurgis Night: Why are Swedes dancing around bonfires?Where are the best places to celebrate Valborg in Sweden in 2026?Why is May 1st a public holiday in Sweden?

This week we spend most of the episode looking at Wednesday’s controversial vote in parliament to pass stricter citizenship laws.We also talk about King Carl Gustaf’s 80th birthday celebrations, Sweden’s bonfire night and May Day celebrations.Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange. Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:Swedish citizenship voteAs it happened: Swedish MPs vote through citizenship reforms without transitional rulesSweden's parliament rejects transitional rules for citizenship billSweden Democrats accused of cheating to block transitional rules for citizenshipSwedish opposition demand revote on transitional citizenship rules'I feel scammed': Foreigners in Sweden react to controversial citizenship voteSwedish traditionsWalpurgis Night: Why are Swedes dancing around bonfires?Where are the best places to celebrate Valborg in Sweden in 2026?Why is May 1st a public holiday in Sweden?

Sweden is heading to an election in less than five months and the left of centre parties are leading consistently in the polls. But the question everyone's asking i:, could this disparate group of parties form a government? Will the Centre Party or the Left Party drop some of their red lines to make this happen? And what could the alternatives be? Richard Orange caught up with Nicholas Aylott, Associate Professor of Political Science at Södertörn University in the south of Stockholm, to ask him what might happen.