Sweden is preparing to change the constitution to allow it to revoke the passports of people who have obtained citizenship fraudulently or who pose a threat to the state, the government said, Reuters reported.
Dual nationals who have obtained citizenship by providing false information, bribery or threats, as well as people convicted of crimes such as espionage or treason, could be stripped of their Swedish passports if the law is passed.
"The background is that Sweden faces three parallel and very serious threats to our internal security," Justice Minister Gunnar Strömer told a news conference. “Violent extremism, state actors acting in a hostile manner towards Sweden, and systematic and organised crime.“
Sweden's minority government and its backers - the far-right and anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats - won the 2022 election on a promise to continue reducing immigration and organised crime, which they say are linked. In 2024, Stockholm granted the fewest number of residence permits to asylum seekers and their relatives in history, Reuters noted.
The proposals to revoke citizenship were submitted by a cross-party parliamentary committee. To change Sweden's constitution, proposals must pass a simple majority vote in parliament, followed by a general election and then a second vote in the Riksdag.
The right-wing parties in the government and their supporters wanted to go further - to be able to strip dual-citizen gang members of their citizenship - but this proposal was not included in the commission's proposal.
About 20% of Sweden's population of 10.5 million people were born abroad.