Swedish citizenship

Children may in certain cases automatically become Swedish citizens through birth, adoption, if the parents marry, or if one parent becomes a Swedish citizen. A prerequisite for a child to automatically become a Swedish citizen is that one or both parents are, or become, Swedish citizens.

A child’s possibility of automatically acquiring Swedish citizenship also depends on several other circumstances. Read more on the Swedish Migration Agency’s website: When does a child automatically become a Swedish citizen? – Swedish Migration Agency

Loss of Swedish Citizenship at the Age of 22

Persons who are born and reside abroad may in certain cases lose their Swedish citizenship at the age of 22. Citizenship is lost if:

• the person was born outside Sweden,
• the person has never been resident in Sweden, and
• the person has not visited Sweden under circumstances that demonstrate a connection to the country.

Citizenship is not lost if this would result in statelessness.

Retention of Swedish Citizenship After the Age of 22

In order to avoid losing citizenship, a person who is born and resides abroad may apply to retain Swedish citizenship.

The application must be submitted after the person has reached the age of 18 but before the age of 22. The application is submitted to the Embassy in Tel Aviv, which forwards it to the Swedish Migration Agency for a decision. An application is not required if the person has at any point been resident in Sweden or has regularly visited the country.

Read more about the application on the Embassy’s website: Retention of Swedish citizenship after the age of 22 – Sweden Abroad

Declaration of Citizenship

A person who is unsure whether Swedish citizenship has been acquired, retained, or lost may apply for a declaration of citizenship. This may be relevant in situations where there is uncertainty, for example, regarding:

• whether Swedish citizenship was acquired at birth,
• whether a person who was born and resides abroad has lost Swedish citizenship at the age of 22,
• whether a foreign citizenship acquired later has affected Swedish citizenship.

A declaration of citizenship shows whether or not the person is a Swedish citizen.

The application is submitted to the Embassy in Tel Aviv, which then forwards it to the Swedish Migration Agency for a decision.

Forms and further information are available on the Swedish Migration Agency’s website: Declaration of citizenship – if you are unsure whether you are a Swedish citizen – Swedish Migration Agency

Retaining Swedish citizenship after the age of 22

To avoid losing your citizenship, you can apply to retain it. You must do this after you are 18 years old, but before you turn 22. You do not need to make such an application if you have lived in Sweden or if you have regularly visited Sweden.

You must provide the following documents:

• Pre-filled form Application to retain Swedish citizenship (only in Swedish)
• Passport of the applicant
• Passport of the Swedish parent
• If the Swedish parent is born in Sweden and has moved to Israel,  you have to bring either "Certificate Attesting Israeli Citizenship" or "Confirmation of non-acquisition of Israeli citizenship" from the Israeli Ministry of Interior. An alternative is to show a residence permit/visa in Israel. 

Please note that all documents must be in Swedish or English, or translated by a certified translator into one of these languages.

Book an appointment

You can only book an appointment through our website – not by phone or e‑mail. Select Application for coordination number as the reason for your visit.

If the top of the booking page says “there are no more available appointments at the moment,” it means that no bookable appointments are currently available. We publish new appointments on the 15th of November, February, May, and August. If the 15th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the appointments will be published on the next business day. Due to staffing changes, we are publishing available appointments one month at a time during the spring.

Find more information about Retaining Swedish citizenship at the Migration Agencys webbsite: Apply to retain your Swedish citizenship – Swedish Migration Agency