Citizenship language test: deadline 2027, estimate 2028

The medborgarskapsprov (the knowledge test you take to become a Swedish citizen) is being built in steps. The test in August 2026 was about Swedish society, not about your Swedish. There is no Swedish language test yet.

On 5 February 2026 the government decided the test is to be built in three steps. That is set out in a government decision to Universitets- och högskolerådet (UHR), the Swedish Council for Higher Education. Nobody sits a Swedish language test for citizenship during 2026.

The three steps

• Step 1, the test about Swedish society: held for the first time on 15 August 2026. This is the test that exists now.
• Step 2, reading and listening in Swedish: to be held no later than 1 October 2027.
• Step 3, writing and speaking Swedish: has no date at all. The decision says only that it is to happen as promptly, appropriately and cost-effectively as possible.

So 1 October 2027 covers step 2 only. It is a deadline, not a set test day. Step 3 has neither a date nor a deadline.

The law allows the test to come earlier. Lag (2001:82) om svenskt medborgarskap says the change to the Citizenship Act takes effect on 1 October 2027, or on the earlier day the government decides.

What the decision says about autumn 2028

UHR is responsible for the test. Two universities help: the University of Gothenburg with the test about Swedish society, and Stockholm University with the Swedish language test.

In the same government decision, the government writes that Stockholm University has judged the reading and listening test can be produced at the earliest in autumn 2028. The judgement comes from an annex to UHR's report of 30 September 2025.

So the government's deadline is 1 October 2027. The judgement in the decision points to about a year later. The government has not changed the deadline, and what happens then is not settled.

The report of 30 September 2026

One date lies before 2027. UHR is to report to the government no later than 30 September 2026. The report is to contain an updated timetable and cost estimate for both step 2 and step 3.

The report can move the dates, forwards or backwards. We will update this article when it comes.

Which level you have to show

The law says functional level for reading and listening, and basic level for speaking and writing. In proposition 2025/26:175 the government translates those words into levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR.

• Reading and listening: level B1, that is functional level. This is the test due no later than 1 October 2027.
• Speaking and writing: level A2, that is basic level. That test has no date.

So there is not one single level for the whole language requirement. B1 applies to reading and listening, not to speaking and writing.

How to show your Swedish for now

The knowledge requirement applies to you if you have turned 16. It does not apply to you if you have turned 67. It covers both the Swedish language and Swedish society.

Until the Swedish test exists, you can show your Swedish in other ways. Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) lists the qualifications it accepts and writes that the Swedish test will be offered at the earliest during the autumn of 2027.

Migrationsverket names Tisus, the Swedish test for higher education, among others. During the transition period, other tests that reliably show Swedish at functional level also count, for example Swedex. Only Migrationsverket can say what counts in your case.

The autumn 2027 statement and the autumn 2028 judgement are about different things. Migrationsverket describes when the test can first be offered. The autumn 2028 judgement is about how long the test takes to produce.

What this means for you

If you sat the test on 15 August 2026, that was the test about Swedish society. There is still no Swedish language test to book, and no confirmed test day for one.

There is no test date from the government, from UHR or from Migrationsverket.

Read more about what the current test covers.

The rules decide who has to show Swedish and how. For your own application, it is Migrationsverket, or a lawyer, who can say what applies to you.