Sweden to tighten citizenship rules to reduce immigration: “The requirements are much tougher than the current situation”

Sweden will tighten citizenship rules, with applicants facing a longer waiting period of eight years before they can apply. Other criteria will be related to a minimum income threshold and a test on the level of understanding of Swedish society, the center-right government announced on Monday, quoted by Reuters.

Successive governments have tightened immigration policies since 2015, when around 160,000 asylum seekers sought refuge in Sweden. But the current government led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is betting that an even more restrictive line on immigration will prove popular with voters in September's parliamentary elections.

“These requirements are much tougher than the current situation, because currently there are practically no requirements (to become a citizen),” Johan Forssell, Sweden's minister for migration and asylum policy, told reporters on Monday.

The government in Stockholm has said that people applying for Swedish citizenship will have to live in the country for eight years, up from the current five, have a monthly income of more than 20,000 Swedish kroner ($2,225), and be able to pass a language and culture test.

“It seems reasonable to know whether Sweden is a monarchy or a republic if you want to be a citizen,” Forssell said.

The rules will be even tougher for those who apply for Swedish citizenship but have a criminal record

Anyone with a criminal record, either in Sweden or abroad, will have to wait longer before they can apply. For example, a person who has served a four-year prison sentence would have to wait 15 years before they can apply for citizenship.

The Sweden Democrats, the anti-immigration party that supports Kristersson's minority coalition government without being part of the executive, say even tougher measures are needed to reduce the number of people coming to Sweden.

Uncontrolled immigration is blamed for the rise in violent crime in Sweden, a problem that has rocked the Nordic country in recent years.

The new rules for granting Swedish citizenship will come into force on June 6, according to the government's timetable.

Sweden will also tighten the rules for asylum seekers

Forssell's new announcement comes after he also revealed last week that the Swedish government would tighten rules for asylum seekers. One of the measures aims to require all asylum seekers to live in migrant reception centers while their cases are being processed.

Forssell explained that asylum seekers will have to prove they have moved to these centers or risk losing their social benefits, and also accept travel restrictions.

“People who are in the system will have to live under the coordination of the Migration Agency … I want to emphasize that these are not prisons,” Forssell said.

He said the current legislation, which allows asylum seekers to choose their own housing, has led to problems of overcrowding, social exclusion and made it easier to stay illegally in Sweden.

Under the new government proposal, which the executive hopes to implement in October this year, asylum seekers who do not comply could have their applications rejected automatically.

Also, the people whose applications were rejected would be obliged to periodically register their whereabouts, in order to prevent them from going underground.

The number of asylum applications fell last year in Sweden to the lowest level in 40 years.