What happens if you fail the citizenship test

If you fail the medborgarskapsprov (the written test about Swedish society on the way to citizenship), you cannot appeal an ordinary failing result. Only one kind of decision can be appealed: when your result is held back because you broke the test rules.

Universitets- och högskolerådet (UHR) writes the test and decides the result. This article explains what a fail means and what your options are.

Can you appeal the result?

UHR decides whether you passed. Under förordning (2026:451) om medborgarskapsprov (the ordinance that sets the rules for the test), most of these decisions cannot be appealed.

There is one exception. If UHR decides to hold back your result because you broke the test rules, you can överklaga (ask a court to change a decision) that decision. It goes to an allmän förvaltningsdomstol (a general administrative court that handles cases against authorities).

• A result held back because UHR found you broke the test rules: this decision can be appealed to an administrative court.
• An ordinary failing result, because you did not answer enough questions correctly: this cannot be appealed.

So a normal fail is final. There is no higher body that will look at your answers again and change the score.

Can you take the test again?

The ordinance does not set any rules for retaking the test. It does not say how often the test is held, or how long you must wait between attempts.

A retake would happen at a future sitting. UHR has not announced any test date after 15 August 2026. The date for a next sitting is not yet published.

The test on 15 August 2026 is an utprövningsprov (a trial run of the test). UHR has also not published the pass mark. So the number of correct answers you need to pass is not yet known either.

What to do now

There is not much to plan around yet, because the retake dates and the pass mark are both missing. The sensible step is to watch UHR for the next sitting and for the pass mark.

This is general information, not advice about your own case. If you have questions about your citizenship application, or whether you need the test at all, ask Migrationsverket or a qualified lawyer.