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Swedish citizenship by descent after the 2026 reform
Enter your year of birth, which parent is Swedish and your time in Sweden: the tool says whether you are Swedish and what to file before 22.
Swedish at birth? The 22nd birthday check
Under the Act as amended on June 6, 2026
Likely eligible
| Route | Swedish from birth |
| Migration Agency fee | Free (retention or declaration) |
| Published time | Not published |
| Keep US citizenship | Yes, since July 1, 2001 |
Citizen from birth. Born abroad, you must ask to keep it before your 22nd birthday.
Swedish citizenship by descent passes from a parent only: you are Swedish if a parent was Swedish when you were born, and a grandparent who emigrated does not count on their own. Since April 1, 2015 a Swedish father or mother passes it on wherever the child is born; for births abroad before that date, an unmarried Swedish father had to file a notification before the child turned 18. A second rule matters for Americans: under section 14 of the Citizenship Act, a Swede born abroad who never lived in Sweden and has no ties through visits loses citizenship at 22, unless they apply to keep it between 18 and 22, for free. The reform in force since June 6, 2026 closed the notification that let former Swedes in the US take citizenship back; they now need 2 years of residence in Sweden. It also opened a free, narrow way to regain citizenship lost at 22.
What will the file cost?
US side of the file
$251
| 5 certified records (2 births, 2 marriages, 1 deaths) | $126 |
| Apostilles (5, ask the consulate) | $100 |
| Naturalization proof | $25 |
| Translations (6, ask the consulate) | $0 |
| Sweden fee | free |
Records from the old country are not counted: they are ordered there.
Rules read and verdicts built by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How verdicts are built
Were you Swedish at birth?
| Born abroad | Swedish mother | Swedish father |
|---|---|---|
| On or after April 1, 2015 | Yes | Yes, married or not |
| July 1, 2001 to March 31, 2015 | Yes | If married to the mother; otherwise notification before 18 |
| Before July 1, 2001 | Older rules: ask for a declaration | Older rules: ask for a declaration |
The Migration Agency describes the current rule simply: a child born on or after April 1, 2015 is Swedish if a parent is Swedish at the time of birth, or was Swedish at death. Between July 1, 2001 and March 31, 2015, the mother always passed it on, and the father did so if the child was born in Sweden or if he was married to the mother. A child of an unmarried Swedish father became Swedish if the parents later married while the child was under 18 and unmarried.
For births before July 1, 2001, the older act applies, and a parent who became a US citizen before that date generally stopped being Swedish. The free declaration of citizenship exists for exactly these doubts: born abroad, never lived in Sweden, a parent who naturalized. It costs nothing and is filed through a Swedish embassy or consulate.
The father's notification before 18
When a child was born outside Sweden before April 1, 2015 to a Swedish father not married to the mother, the father files a notification while the child is under 18. He must have been Swedish when the child was born, paternity must be legally established, every guardian must agree, a child aged 12 or more must consent, and from 15 extra identity and criminal record conditions apply. The fee is SEK 475, and the Migration Agency reports that 75% of recent cases were decided within 7 months. This route survived the 2026 reform, but it closes on the child's 18th birthday.
Swedish at birth? The 22nd birthday check
Under the Act as amended on June 6, 2026
Likely eligible
| Route | Swedish from birth |
| Migration Agency fee | Free (retention or declaration) |
| Published time | Not published |
| Keep US citizenship | Yes, since July 1, 2001 |
Citizen from birth. Born abroad, you must ask to keep it before your 22nd birthday.
Keeping it after 22
Section 14 of the Act is the rule that catches most Swedish-American families. A Swede born abroad who has never had residence in Sweden, and has not stayed there in a way that shows ties, such as a long stay or regular shorter visits, loses citizenship automatically on the 22nd birthday. Children who got their citizenship from that person lose it at the same time, unless the other parent is still Swedish. Nobody loses it if that would leave them stateless, or after seven years in total in Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway.
The answer is an application to retain citizenship, filed after the 18th and before the 22nd birthday at an embassy or consulate. It is free. The Migration Agency adds that no application is needed by someone who has lived in Sweden or visited it regularly, but it does not publish a processing time, so filing early leaves room for questions. Keep evidence of time spent in Sweden: school terms, summer jobs and travel records all help show ties.
What changed on June 6, 2026
The reform brought in by Lag 2026:447, in force on June 6, 2026 without transitional rules, rewrote naturalization: eight years of residence for most applicants, requirements on self-support and on knowledge of Swedish and Swedish society, and a citizenship test from August 2026, as the Migration Agency announced. For American families, two changes stand out.
First, the notification routes for former Swedish citizens and for young adults were repealed. A former Swede who lost citizenship by becoming a US citizen before 2001 can no longer simply notify the authorities from abroad. They must apply, with at least 2 years of residence in Sweden, and the fee is SEK 2,900; the agency reports 75% of adult applications decided within 52 months. In practice there is no remote route left for a former citizen living in the United States.
Second, a new application to regain citizenship lost at 22 was created. It is free and takes effect from the 22nd birthday if granted, but the test is narrow: the loss of Swedish, and therefore EU, citizenship must have had disproportionate consequences for the person or their family in Sweden or another EU country, judged only on facts before age 22, and only for losses after January 1, 1995.
Documents and fees in one place
A retention application needs correctly made copies of your passports and, if your citizenship came by application or notification, proof of it. A declaration needs an identity document, your birth certificate and, where relevant, your parents' marriage certificate. A father's notification needs proof of paternity, the father's passport showing his citizenship at the birth and the child's birth certificate. Copies must be certified. The Migration Agency pages read for this guide do not set a general apostille rule for US records, so follow the checklist of the form you use. The document checklist and the cost calculator cover the US side.
Dual citizenship
Sweden has allowed dual citizenship since July 1, 2001, as the Migration Agency confirms. A Swede who becomes a US citizen today keeps Swedish citizenship, and Sweden does not ask Americans to give up US citizenship. The United States does not object either, as the dual citizenship page explains. Norway applies a similar parent-only rule with its own age-22 test, set out on the Norwegian citizenship page; the country table compares the rest, and the family tree checker runs every country in your tree.