Sweden holds first citizenship test under stricter naturalization rules in Stockholm

Sweden held its first citizenship test on Saturday as part of new, stricter requirements for naturalization introduced on June 6. Around 1,000 applicants took the exam at Stockholmsmässan in Älvsjö, a suburb of Stockholm, with the multiple-choice test assessing knowledge of Swedish society through approximately 60 questions .

The test, which focuses on civic knowledge, includes questions such as the role of the public sector, the title of Sweden’s head of state, and historical facts like which country was part of Sweden for nearly 700 years until 1809. Officials have not yet determined the passing score, which will be set after evaluating the first round of exams .

Duaa Sindian, one of the test-takers, emerged from the exam hall and embraced her partner, Niklas Heinilä. “It went really well. If you’ve studied, it’s easy,” she said .

Handy Kronberg, 58, who moved to Sweden from Guatemala over a decade ago, described the test as important. “I feel very happy now that I know many new things about Sweden,” she said after completing the exam. Kronberg, who lives in Örebro with her husband, Magnus Kronberg, 58, and their 13-year-old daughter, Isabella, was greeted by her family outside the testing center. “It’s nice that she’s back,” Isabella Kronberg said. The family planned to celebrate with ice cream .

Rashid Imirov also waited outside for his wife, who moved to Sweden from Kazakhstan about eight years ago and applied for citizenship three years ago .

The citizenship test is one of the new requirements for naturalization, alongside demonstrated proficiency in the Swedish language .