Sweden votes to allow dual-national citizenship revocation

Sweden's parliament approved a constitutional change on Wednesday that would allow future laws to revoke citizenship from dual nationals who obtained it fraudulently or were convicted of crimes threatening national interests.

The amendment passed by 292 votes to 51. It enables laws under which Swedish nationality could be revoked from dual nationals who received it on a “false basis” or were convicted of crimes that seriously harm Sweden's “vital interests”.

The change still requires implementing legislation. After inconclusive elections, the next government will decide whether and how to proceed, including which crimes could lead to citizenship being revoked.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is leading a caretaker centre-right government after the September 13 election. His outgoing government had said last year that it was considering ways to revoke citizenship from dual nationals convicted in organised crime and gang cases.

Civil Rights Defenders criticised the proposal before the vote. Aida Samani, a senior legal adviser at the group, said it would create “two types of Swedish citizenship” and raised serious questions about equality before the law.