UNHCR observations to report on requirements for Swedish citizenship

UNHCR’s Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries has submitted its observations on the “Final report of the inquiry on language and social studies requirements for Swedish citizenship and other citizenship issues”

UNHCR welcomes that the starting point in Swedish law is to avoid statelessness, in particular in the period between the birth of a (stateless) child and the time of acquisition of citizenship through notification.

UNHCR, however, regrets the conclusion of the Proposal that a system of automatic acquisition should not be introduced in Sweden. In UNHCR’s view, automatic acquisition would be the best and safest way of avoiding childhood statelessness in Sweden.

UNHCR has further provided specific observations on the acquisition of nationality through notification, specifically on the requirements of permanent residence, “honest lifestyle” and the moment of meeting those requirements

UNHCR’s observations are available here.