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You want to apply Citizenship for children with a parent who has become a Swedish citizen

You have become a Swedish citizen and now you want to apply for citizenship for your child under the age of 18.

It is the parent/legal guardian who is a Swedish citizen who must make the application. If the child has more than one parent/legal guardian, all their parents/legal guardians must approve the application.

Children who have reached the age of 12 must consent to become a Swedish citizen by signing the notification.

The information on this page also applies to you who are a Swedish citizen and adopt a child who has turned 12 years old.

In some situations, a child automatically receives Swedish citizenship when they are born.

Read more about automatic citizenship for children

In order for the child to become a Swedish citizen, they must meet certain requirements. Before applying for the child, the following requirements must be met:

  • The child must be less than 18 years old

  • The child must have one of the following:

    • a permanent residence permit
    • residence status
    • right of residence or a residence card.

  • The child’s identity must be verified

    You can prove the child's identity through an original identity document. This could be a national passport or an identity card.

    The identity document must be issued by a competent authority in the child's country of origin, and must include a photo of the child. You must have applied for the document and/or collected it in person from the competent authority. An identity document can be accepted as proof of the child's identity even if its period of validity has expired.

    If you have previously submitted the child's passport to the Swedish Migration Agency, you can refer to this when you apply. You do this under the heading “Övrig information” [“Other information”] in the e-service or on the form.

    In some cases, the Swedish Migration Agency may consider that you have verified your child's identity even though the identity documents do not meet all of the requirements. If you have several different documents that do not meet the requirements individually, we will assess whether together they can prove the child's identity.

    You should not submit the child's identity document when you apply. The Swedish Migration Agency will contact you if we need it.

    Special requirements for identity documents from certain countries

    Identity documents from certain countries are subject to special requirements. These countries are:

    • Afghanistan
    • Iraq
    • Somalia
    • Eritrea.

    Identity documents of stateless Palestinians are also subject to special requirements.

    Read more about the Swedish Migration Agency’s assessment of identity documents

    In some cases, a family member can prove the child's identity

    If the child does not have an identity document, in some cases a family member (parent or sibling) can certify the child's identity. For a family member to prove the child's identity, the following is required:

    • the family member must be a Swedish citizen and have proven their own identity in a way that is acceptable today
    • during previous residence permit investigations, the child and their family member must have provided consistent information about, for example, the child's identity, background, and family situation
    • prior to coming to Sweden, the child and their family member must have lived together for long enough for the family member to have knowledge of the child's background and life story, so that their identity can be reliably and certainly proven.

If the child has reached the age of 15, additional requirements apply

If the child has reached the age of 15, the following requirements also must be met in order for the child to become a Swedish citizen:

  • The child must have lived in Sweden for a period of three years (period of habitual residence)

  • The child must have lived an orderly life in Sweden

Read more about the requirements for the period of habitual residence, and having lived an orderly life:

If the child has reached the age of 15, they must have lived in Sweden for three years to become a Swedish citizen – they must have had their habitual residence here. Habitual residence means that you are a resident of Sweden and intend to stay here.

How long the child must have lived in Sweden to become a Swedish citizen varies.

How is the period of habitual residence calculated?

Even if the child has lived in Sweden for a certain amount of time, it is not certain that they may count all their time in Sweden towards their period of habitual residence. In most cases, it is the child's time with the residence permit that was the basis for their permanent residence permit that counts, but the period of habitual residence can be calculated differently, depending on the type of permit the child has had and why they have settled in Sweden.

  • If the child had a permanent residence permit or another residence permit that provided a basis for settlement when they entered Sweden, you can count the time from the day the child arrived in Sweden. It states in the decision whether the permit the child received provided a basis for settlement in the country.
  • If the child did not have a permanent residence permit or residence permit that provided a basis for settlement when they entered Sweden, the time is counted from the date the child's application for a residence permit to settle in Sweden was submitted.

Some types of residence permits are not included

If the child has had a temporary residence permit in Sweden, such as a visitor’s permit, the time during which the child had that permit is not included in the period of habitual residence.

If the child has travelled abroad

If the child travelled abroad briefly, for example for visits or holidays, this has no impact on their period of habitual residence in Sweden. However, if the child was abroad for more than a total of six weeks in a year, the entire time they were outside Sweden must be subtracted from the period of habitual residence.

If the child moves to a different country and settles there, the period of habitual residence in Sweden ends. You can start over and begin adding up a new period of habitual residence in Sweden from the day the child moves back here.

EU/EEA citizens must have had right of residence

In order for their time here to count as a period of habitual residence and be able to apply for Swedish citizenship, EU/EEA citizens and their family members must have met the requirements for right of residence.

If the child has had right of residence in Sweden for five years, but have not requested a certificate of permanent right of residence or applied for a permanent residence card, the Swedish Migration Agency assesses whether the child meets the conditions for right of residence in connection with the application for Swedish citizenship.

In order to become a Swedish citizen, the child must have lived an orderly life. For example, this means that the child cannot become a Swedish citizen if they are deemed to pose a threat to Sweden’s national security or public safety, or if they are affiliated with certain groups or organisations that have committed extensive abuse of people.

The Swedish Migration Agency requests information from other authorities to check if the child has committed any crimes in Sweden. The information is retrieved from the Swedish Police and the Swedish Security Service.

The Swedish Migration Agency also uses the child's personal data to check if they are registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS).

Waiting time after a crime

If the child has committed a crime, a certain amount of time must pass before the child can become a Swedish citizen. How much time depends on the sentence received.

The time that must pass after the crime before you can apply for Swedish citizenship for the child is called a “qualifying period”. The qualifying period is usually counted from the date on which the crime was committed, but if a long prison sentence is received, the time is calculated from the date when the child has served their sentence.

Before you can apply for Swedish citizenship for the child

  • the child must have served their prison sentence (if any)
  • the probationary period following the child's conditional release (if any) must have expired
  • fines that the child were ordered to pay must have been paid.

Qualifying periods

Each application for citizenship is examined individually. The table contains the Swedish Migration Agency’s guidelines for qualifying periods.


Sentence

Qualifying period

Day fines 30–

At least 1 year after the crime.
For example, if the child is sentenced to

50 day fines, the qualifying period can be estimated at 1.5 years.

Day fines 60–

At least 2 years after the crime.

Day fines 100–

At least 3 years after the crime.

Suspended sentence

At least 3 years after the judgement has gained the force of law (begun to apply).
If the child has been simultaneously sentenced to prison or day fines, the qualifying period will be longer.

Probation

At least 4 years from the date of the start of the probation.
If the child has been simultaneously sentenced to prison or day fines, the qualifying period will be longer.

Prison 1 month

At least 4 years after the crime.

Prison 4 months

At least 5 years after the crime.

Prison 8 months

At least 6 years after the crime.

Prison 1 year

At least 7 years after the crime.

Prison 2 years

At least 8 years after serving the sentence.

Prison 4 years

At least 9 years after serving the sentence.

Prison 6 years

At least 10 years after serving the sentence.

 

If the child has committed a crime multiple times, the qualifying period may be longer than the time specified in the table.

Special care

If the child has been sentenced to special care after a crime, the Swedish Migration Agency looks at what punishment you would normally receive for the crime.

If the child is a Nordic citizen, in some cases you can choose to file a notification for the child to become a Swedish citizen. Then the child must have lived in Sweden for at least three years.

Citizenship for Nordic citizens

If the child lives in Sweden and has right of residence as a family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you must submit documents showing that you, as the parent/legal guardian, meet the conditions for right of residence or a residence card. If the child is over 15 years old, an assessment is made of whether you have met the conditions for the right of residence for the past three years.

If you work or have worked, you must attach

  • a certificate of employment or employer’s certificate with information about the period of employment and terms of employment
  • a certificate from the Swedish Public Employment Service verifying that you were registered as a jobseeker, if you have been unemployed for six months or more
  • a certificate from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency verifying that you lacked the ability to work for six months or more due to illness or accident, if applicable.

If you are or have been self-employed, you must attach

  • the registration certificate and F-tax card for the company
  • tax returns or other documentation showing that the company is or has been active.

If you have or have had your own funds, you must attach

  • documents showing that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family, such as pension payments, wages/salary from abroad, or money in a bank (if you have your own funds for support, these must also be reported)
  • housing costs
  • a certificate attesting that no one in the family is receiving income support under the Social Services Act.

If you are studying or have studied, you must attach

  • transcripts for the periods during which you studied
  • a certificate verifying that you were able to support yourself financially during your time as a student.

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you.

Fee: SEK 1,500

You will not receive a refund if your application is rejected.

News

2025-03-05

The Swedish Migration Agency's new website has now been launched

On 5 March, the Swedish Migration Agency launched a completely new version of migrationsverket.se, with a new structure and a more user-friendly navigation. The purpose of the new website is primarily to make it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.