Nina Carlsson (Stockholm School of Economics and Migration Institute of Finland)

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Sweden’s first citizenship test was held on August 15^th, 2026, at the Stockholm Exhibition & Congress Centre in the South of Stockholm. Gothenburg University designed the trial test (utprövningsprov) at the government’s request, and the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UHR) administered it. Under government pressure, the test was implemented less than a month before the upcoming Parliamentary elections on September 13^th, 2026. The Swedish Migration Agency invited eligible people to participate, and UHR will report the results directly to the Agency. 1,000 eligible persons signed up, and according to media reports, almost 900 persons from across Sweden participated. Thousands of people could not secure a spot and will have to take it at a later date, with their citizenship applications pending.

Trial test with unclear rules

The test was a trial run, but it still counts toward the citizenship application. Test participants had little information about the rules. The day before the first test, the Swedish Migration Agency told the media that those who fail the trial test would have the chance to retake it, but in the future, a failed test would lead to rejection of the entire citizenship application. On test day, Migration Minister Johan Forssell instead said that the consequences of failing the future non-trial test had not yet been decided. Another major uncertainty is the number of correct answers required to pass; it will be determined when the tests are assessed. The Vice Chancellor of Stockholm University, who reluctantly has taken on the task of designing the upcoming language test for citizenship, criticised the test for not complying with the rule of law, given the lack of information on what is required to pass.

No timeline has been given for the next testing opportunity. Since the test was a trial test, participation was free of charge (later, it will cost 2,000 SEK), and the timeline was more generous (90 minutes to answer 60 multiple-choice questions). Participants could complete a feedback survey during the test.

Exam day at the largest convention hall in the Nordics

The test was held at the Stockholm Exhibition & Congress Centre in Älvsjö (South of Stockholm), the biggest convention centre in the Nordic countries. It regularly hosts large conventions and was in 1975 the venue of the Eurovision Song Contest. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was converted into a field hospital on standby with assistance from the Swedish Armed Forces. On the day of the citizenship test, held on an unusually warm and sunny August day, a long line formed in front of the entrance when the doors opened at 8.15 AM. Several security guards controlled the ID cards and test invitations of almost 900 persons under a big digital screen that rotated the slogans We make it happen; Välkommen! Welcome! and Hej! Bonjour! Hallo! ¡Hola! Ciao! Hello! above a smaller screen saying Välkommen till medborgarskapsprovet [Welcome to the citizenship test]. Test participants were let in quickly, and the media’s requests to enter the convention centre were denied. Instead, the large crowds of media looked for people to interview outside the centre. At one point, the journalists gathered to take photos through the windows when the Minister for Migration Johan Forssell and Minister for Higher Education and Research Lotta Edholm made an appearance inside the convention centre. When the test participants finally exited the building after 12 PM, they were greeted by a large crowd of cameras and journalists.

Many participants had travelled far for the test and spent the night in Stockholm. Doors opened at 8.15 AM and closed at 9.30. The test was scheduled to begin at 10.00, but did not start until 10.30. Test participants had to remain in the room until after 12, regardless of when they finished answering, and were not allowed to use the washrooms, drink, or eat when in the room.

Accommodations were available for the test itself and for the physical exam situation. Test takers with dyslexia, ADHD, visual impairment, or other disabilities had the opportunity to apply for a prolonged exam time or a larger font size. Other accommodations that could be applied for were height-adjustable desks, a hearing loop, a smaller exam room, or permission to bring medical equipment to the exam.

The citizenship test

The test had 60 multiple-choice questions with four answer options, was administered in Swedish, and was paper-based rather than digital. Ahead of the test, UHR released five example questions:

1. What is the primary role of the public sector?
   1. To run businesses for profit
   1. To provide welfare services such as healthcare and education
   1. To draft and enact new laws
   1. To represent Sweden internationally

• What is the title of Sweden’s head of state?
  • Speaker of the Parliament
  • King
  • County Governor
  • Prime Minister

• Which Swedish natural resource has long been of great importance to Sweden’s economy?
  • Natural gas
  • Oil
  • Forests
  • Uranium

• Which country was part of Sweden for almost 700 years, until 1809?
  • Norway
  • Finland
  • Denmark
  • Estonia

• A person writes a post on social media criticising a political proposal. Which of the following best describes how freedom of expression works?
  • The person is only allowed to express positive views on political proposals;
  • The person is allowed to express their opinion as long as what they write does not break the law;
  • The person must first ask for permission to post the message;
  • The person is not allowed to name the politicians who put forward the proposal.

UHR published a 48-page study guide, Sverige i fokus: Utbildningsmaterial till medborgarskapsprov [Sweden in focus: Study material for citizenship test], online alongside an audio version. Themes covered were, among others, Sweden’s geography, democratic system, governance, elections, parties, the judicial system, media, human rights, the welfare state, employment, history and traditions. Some corrections were made to the material after it was published, including the UN’s foundation date, which initially was listed as 1946 instead of 1945.

UHR has not released the exam questions. According to the media reports, one question asked when Sweden’s national day is. The correct answer is the 6^th of June, which is also the date when most restrictions on naturalisation came into force, in a symbolic move by the right-wing minority government, with the far-right Sweden Democrats as a supporting coalition partner.

Political context: Retroactive changes

As mentioned, the Migration Agency sent the invitations for the test. The test is intended to be the final step in the citizenship process, with its results directly reported to the Migration Agency. If a failed test will indeed lead to rejection of the entire citizenship application, it will likely qualify as the strictest citizenship testing system. This unexpected announcement is in line with the unprecedented decision to implement the new citizenship requirements (higher residency requirements, language requirement, citizenship test, income requirement, etc.) without transition rules, leaving around 100,000 citizenship applications made under the old rules ineligible for citizenship. Hence, many who sat the citizenship test on August 15^th had already waited several years for their citizenship applications to be processed, only to be made retroactively ineligible.

It has become clear that Sweden’s race toward increasingly strict migration and membership policies keeps raising serious questions about the rule of law and about who can afford to trust the state.