Published December 18, 2024 at 07.54
Law & Justice. Several legal experts warn that the government's plan to delay citizenship investigations is illegal ministerial rule – and urge the Migration Board and other authorities to boycott it.
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Despite heavy pressure, the Tidö parties have refused to introduce a moratorium on new naturalized citizenships while waiting for new, stricter rules.
Instead, they have a complicated plan that involves trying to delay citizenship investigations during the bureaucratic process itself so that fewer Swedish passports have time to be distributed.
“Citizenship that is granted without the applicant meeting the expanded requirements constitutes a vulnerability for Sweden's security. To the extent possible, measures should therefore be taken to prevent more Swedish citizenships from being issued until the new legislation comes into force,” the government wrote in a recent debate article.
The plans are now facing harsh criticism. In a debate article in Dagens Nyheter, signed by, among others, former Chancellor of Justice Anna Skarhed and professor of constitutional law Joakim Nergelius, the government is accused of violating the constitution and engaging in ministerial rule.
The debaters emphasize that authorities such as the Migration Board and Säpo have an obligation to follow the law.
“If the instructions are contrary to the law, or if the authority cannot follow the instructions without breaking the law, the authority must follow the law and not the government's instructions,” they write.
According to experts, the government's proposal is also problematic because there is no legal way to delay applications, as the authorities are obliged to make decisions as quickly as possible under the Administrative Procedure Act.
One of the possible strategies highlighted is to introduce more extensive security checks in connection with citizenship tests, but this would only delay the process indirectly and must not affect individual cases.
The government has launched an investigation into stricter rules for citizenship, which includes longer residence requirements, a civics test and self-sufficiency requirements. The results are expected to be presented on January 15. It is while waiting for this long investigation to be completed, and for the proposals to become legislation, that the government has chosen not to introduce a moratorium on new citizenships.