Who needs to take the Swedish citizenship test?

The 16-to-66 rule

The amended Citizenship Act, in force since 6 June 2026, adds knowledge of Swedish and of Swedish society to the requirements for citizenship by application. Migrationsverket states the age range plainly: the requirement applies to applicants between 16 and 66. Children under 16 are outside it, and so is anyone who has turned 67. It arrived with three other new requirements from the same law, eight years of residence, an honest and orderly way of life, and self-sufficiency, and the requirements guide sets them all out.

The knowledge requirement has two halves, language and society, and the citizenship test has two parts to match. The civics part, medborgarskapsprovet i samhällskunskap, ran for the first time on 15 August 2026. The language part, a test of reading and listening at a functional level, must be in place by 1 October 2027 at the latest; until then the language half is shown with documents or with tests Migrationsverket accepts.

How most applicants show the knowledge without a test

Migrationsverket lists the documents that satisfy the requirement: a passing grade in Swedish or Swedish as a second language from compulsory or upper secondary school, completed studies at komvux or a folk high school, and a pass in SFI course D. For the language half on its own, a Tisus result also counts, and during the transition Migrationsverket accepts other tests that show Swedish at a functional level with high certainty, such as Folkuniversitetet's Swedex. The society half is typically shown with a grade in social studies (samhällskunskap) from Swedish schooling or komvux. Anyone whose documents cover both halves does not sit the test.

The letter from Migrationsverket

The test is not something you sign up for on your own. Migrationsverket assesses your application; if the knowledge requirement is not met by documents, it offers you the test and sends a letter. UHR states that only people who have received that letter can register, and for the first sitting registration was online with BankID, Freja eID or a personal number and a code from the letter, as reported from the August test. If your application is complete in every other respect, that letter is the trigger to book.

Exemptions

Migrationsverket can grant an exemption from the knowledge requirement for a person who has a disability or other reasons that make it impossible to meet, and its examples on the new rules include people receiving an old-age pension and people with permanent disabilities. The self-sufficiency requirement has exemptions of its own, for pensioners, students and long-term disability, and the age ranges differ: knowledge is 16 to 66, self-sufficiency 18 to 67. Ask for an exemption in the application, with documentation, rather than assuming one.

No transition, so timing does not help

The new rules apply without transitional provisions. Migrationsverket has said it assesses every case not decided before 6 June 2026 under the new law, so an application filed in May 2026 and still in the queue is judged on the knowledge requirement too. The only ways past the test are a document that satisfies the requirement, an exemption, or a pass.