Becoming a Swedish citizen used to mean, as a rule, that you first held a permanent residence permit (permanent uppehållstillstånd, PUT). From 12 July 2026 that is no longer strictly necessary. A new exception lets people with a time-limited (temporary) permit apply.
This matters because permanent residence itself became harder to reach. Since 12 July 2026, people with protection permits are no longer granted PUT as the main rule. Without this exception, that group could have lost their path to citizenship altogether.
The new exception
You can be granted citizenship without PUT if you have välgrundade utsikter (well-founded prospects) of getting permanent residence. Whether your situation meets that is for Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) to judge.
Migrationsverket sets out the exception in its announcement of 12 July 2026.
If you have lived in Sweden for at least ten years and meet the other citizenship requirements, you do not even need to show those prospects.
You still need a valid residence permit when you apply. If you are waiting for a decision on an extension of your permit, you cannot apply for citizenship in the meantime.
Who this helps
The exception is aimed at people who hold a time-limited permit and would previously have needed a permanent one first.
- People with a temporary permit as a refugee or as a person with subsidiary protection (alternativt skyddsbehövande).
- People with a temporary permit through a family tie (anknytning).
- Others who hold a time-limited permit, meet the citizenship requirements, but no longer receive permanent residence.
What has not changed
The other citizenship requirements are the same. You still need the required years of hemvist (the time you have lived in Sweden), which is 8 years as the general rule. You must be able to prove your identity, and you must meet the försörjningskrav (the requirement to support yourself), with the same exemptions as before.
The knowledge requirements, about Swedish society and later about the Swedish language, also still apply in the same way.
What to do now
If permanent residence was the only thing standing between you and a citizenship application, check whether the new exception fits your case before you apply. Whether you have well-founded prospects of permanent residence is a judgement Migrationsverket makes on your own situation.
This article describes the rules. For your own application, and for anything the rules leave open, only Migrationsverket or a qualified lawyer can tell you what applies to you.
Sources
Official details can change. Always confirm what applies to your own case directly with the responsible authority.
