Swedish Migration Agency Overhauls Citizenship Application Processing
Swedish Migration Authority targets resolution of majority of 4-year-old instances by year 2025 endpoint
In response to criticism from Sweden's National Audit Office, the Swedish Migration Agency has announced a radical overhaul of its citizenship application handling process. The new system, aimed at reducing unreasonably long processing times, will ensure fair and transparent processing for all applicants.
The new guidelines will do away with the previous system that gave an advantage to 'complete' cases, particularly following the 2015 refugee wave. From October 2021, case handlers will begin handling cases in order of application date, with two parallel streams of cases: standard ones and those with a request to conclude. This change aims to address the issue of applications 'lying dormant' for extended periods.
The Migration Agency will maintain case handlers for those who already have a caseworker, but new cases will be distributed strictly in order of application date. This reform is expected to help resolve the backlog of cases, with the aim of deciding on approximately 11,390 cases where applicants have been waiting for more than four years by the end of 2025.
Exceptions will be made for cases deemed "obviously unsupported" or cases where a "request to conclude" has been upheld by a court. However, anyone who applies for citizenship today, or who has applied more recently, and has not already been assigned a case officer, may have to wait until the entire backlog of older cases is cleared before their case is handled.
The long waits in citizenship processing have caused frustration internally and among applicants, with over 5,200 people having waited more than five years, and 1,130 having waited more than six years. The Migration Agency's overhaul is a significant step towards addressing this issue and ensuring that those who applied first receive decisions first.
To obtain Swedish citizenship, applicants typically need to reside in Sweden for five continuous years before applying, with some exceptions. A language and citizenship exam is planned to be mandatory by 2025. However, potential changes to these requirements, such as extending the habitual residence period, are currently under discussion.
For the latest information on Swedish citizenship processing, it would be best to consult official government sources or contact the Swedish Migration Agency directly.
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