Refugee Denied Citizenship for a Specific Reason

According to a news report by Swedish news website Kopitsi, a refugee’s application for Swedish citizenship was rejected after nearly two years of waiting.

Nadim and Yusuf, who arrived in Sweden in 2015 and applied for citizenship in October 2024, have faced two different problems.

Nadim, aged 36, had his application rejected after waiting for nearly two years because he could not provide the required evidence to prove his proficiency in the Swedish language. He says that, because he was working to meet the requirements for permanent residency and bring his family to Sweden, he was unable to complete his language studies.

Meanwhile, Yusuf Mohammed, who works as an assistant nurse in Malmö, says he has fulfilled all the other requirements but is waiting for an opportunity to take Sweden’s civic knowledge test. A date for the next test has not yet been announced for him.

The Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) has proposed postponing Swedish reading and speaking proficiency tests until autumn 2029.

According to the Swedish Migration Agency, postponing the tests does not mean that the language requirement has been abolished. Citizenship applications will continue to be processed according to the laws currently in force, and one of the requirements is knowledge of the Swedish language.

Sweden also conducted a pilot test of its civic knowledge examination in August 2026. However, the date of the next session has not yet been announced.