Sweden Amends Constitution to Allow Stripping Dual Citizens of Nationality for Serious Crimes

In brief

• Sweden's parliament approved a constitutional amendment allowing citizenship to be revoked from dual nationals who obtained it fraudulently or were convicted of serious crimes.
• The vote was 292 in favour and 51 against, according to AFP.
• The implementing law must be drafted by the next government, as the election did not produce a clear result.

Parliament Approves Constitutional Change

Sweden's parliament on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that would allow the removal of citizenship from dual nationals who acquired it through false information or who were convicted of offences that seriously damage the country's vital interests (Švédsky parlament schválil zmenu ústavy. Kriminálnikom s dvojakým občianstvom hrozí jeho strata – HNonline.sk) (Švédsko schválilo zásadnú zmenu. Niektorí ľudia môžu prísť o občianstvo – Aktuality.sk). According to AFP, the vote was 292 in favour and 51 against.

Why the Change Matters

The amendment covers two groups: people who obtained Swedish citizenship on the basis of untrue details, and dual nationals convicted of serious crimes. The election did not produce a clear result, and parties are still negotiating a government. The concrete law needed to apply the change has not yet been drafted. That task falls to the next cabinet (Švédsko mění ústavu, aby se zbavilo cizích zločinců. Ztráta občanství je na dosah – iDNES.cz).

Background

The outgoing centre-right government led by Ulf Kristersson announced last year that it was considering stripping citizenship from dual nationals convicted in organised crime and gang-related cases (Švédsko změnilo ústavu. Cizince usvědčené ze zločinů zbaví občanství – Novinky.cz). A constitutional change was required. Under Swedish procedure, parliament must approve such a change twice, with an election held in between. Wednesday's vote was the second approval. Kristersson currently leads a caretaker government, and the outgoing administration had begun preparing the implementing legislation without finishing it.

Criticism

Rights organisations have criticised the change. They warn it could create two categories of citizens with different levels of legal protection. Decisions on which offences would trigger the loss of citizenship will be made by the incoming cabinet.