Country guide · Sweden

Does Sweden allow dual citizenship with the USA?

Citizenship-by-Descent.com·Last reviewed November 2026

Educational information only — not legal advice. Always verify with the relevant authority, consulate or registry office.

Yes. Sweden has allowed dual citizenship since 1 July 2001, so you can be Swedish and American at the same time. Taking another citizenship no longer costs a Swede their citizenship, and a child of a Swedish parent keeps Swedish citizenship alongside any other held from birth. For people born abroad the risk is a different one. Under section 14 of the Citizenship Act, if you were born outside Sweden, have never lived there and have no ties shown by time spent there, your Swedish citizenship ends when you turn 22 unless you apply to keep it. Applying is free, and since 6 June 2026 there’s a new, narrow way back for people who missed it.

The short answer

  • Swede who becomes American today: stays Swedish.
  • Swede who became American by application before 1 July 2001: lost Swedish citizenship, and the notification route back closed on 6 June 2026.
  • Swedish and American from birth, 18 to 21, never lived in Sweden: apply to retain citizenship before your 22nd birthday, unless you have regularly visited.
  • Already past 22 and lost it: you can apply to regain it, but you must show the loss was disproportionate, using your situation before 22.
  • Grandchild of a Swede: no claim of your own. Citizenship passes only from a parent.

How the law changed in 2001

Under section 7 of the 1950 Citizenship Act, a Swede lost citizenship by acquiring a foreign one on application or by express consent, or by entering public service in another state. An unmarried child under 18 could lose it with the parents. That was the cost of becoming American for generations of Swedes.

The current Act took effect on 1 July 2001 and dropped that rule. One transitional detail: until 1 July 2002 the old section 7 still applied to Swedes taking the citizenship of a state bound by chapter 1 of the 1963 European convention on multiple nationality. Check that only if another European citizenship is in your family’s history.

Sweden Abroad says people who lost citizenship this way could regain it by notification before 1 July 2003. A change on 1 April 2015 opened that route again, and it stayed open until 6 June 2026, when it was repealed. The government’s reason was that it carried no residence requirement. What’s left is set out further down this page.

Who loses Swedish citizenship at 22

Section 14 says a Swedish citizen loses citizenship on turning 22 if they:

  • were born abroad;
  • have never lived in Sweden; and
  • haven’t been in Sweden in circumstances that suggest a connection with the country.

The Migration Agency explains the third point as a connection to Sweden, for example having stayed for a lengthy period, or regularly for several shorter periods, before turning 22. It gives no fixed number of days, so a short holiday or two is a weak thing to rely on. Sweden Abroad’s US page describes the visits as frequent and over longer periods.

You don’t lose it if:

  • you were born in Sweden;
  • you have lived in Sweden at any time before 22;
  • you have lived in Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway for at least seven years in total (section 17); or
  • you would otherwise be stateless.

Unlike Norway’s rule, Sweden’s doesn’t depend on holding a second citizenship. The only protection for someone with a single citizenship is that statelessness exception. Section 14 also says nothing about passports, so holding a Swedish passport isn’t itself one of the listed exceptions.

It can reach your children. When someone loses citizenship under section 14, a child who got Swedish citizenship through that person loses it too, unless the other parent stays Swedish and the child also derives citizenship from them, or the child would be left stateless.

Applying to keep Swedish citizenship

  • When: after you turn 18 and before you turn 22.
  • Form: Ansökan om att få behålla svenskt medborgarskap (form 302021), which is only in Swedish. Sweden’s US missions say to sign it by pen; electronic signatures aren’t accepted.
  • Attach: properly made copies of your passport or other ID, and proof of citizenship if you became Swedish by application or notification.
  • Where: your nearest Swedish embassy or consulate-general, not an honorary consulate. If you’re visiting Sweden, you can post it to Migrationsverket, Medborgarskapsenheten, 601 70 Norrköping.
  • Cost: nothing.
  • Decision: sent to your home address or the embassy or consulate-general you choose.

Section 14 only says retention “may” be granted, and the Migration Agency’s page doesn’t set out the criteria. So don’t leave it to the last month, and include whatever shows your links to Sweden.

If you lost it at 22: the 2026 way back

This is new. Before 6 June 2026, someone who missed the deadline was generally left with naturalisation, which doesn’t reach back in time. After a 2023 EU Court of Justice ruling on Denmark’s equivalent rule (case C-689/21), Parliament added a paragraph to section 14: a person who lost citizenship at 22 may, on application, have it back with effect from the date it was lost.

  • The test: the Migration Agency asks whether the loss had disproportionate consequences for you and any family members in Sweden or another EU member state, from an EU law perspective. One example it gives is a family being split up because you can no longer stay in a country as a non-EU citizen.
  • Timing of the evidence: only your situation up to your 22nd birthday counts. Building ties now doesn’t help.
  • Who it can help: the agency says the EU law perspective is relevant if you lost citizenship after 1 January 1995, when Sweden joined the EU.
  • Evidence: if you weren’t a citizen of another EU country, documents showing ties to another EU country at 22, such as a right to live there, residence, work, study or extended stays with close relatives.
  • Deadline and cost: the government’s bill rejected a time limit, so you can apply any time after turning 22. It’s free.
  • Where: your nearest embassy or consulate-general, or by post to Norrköping if you’re visiting Sweden. The form is number 302011.

The bill says this doesn’t loosen the substantive test for keeping citizenship. For an American with no European ties before 22, this isn’t a general amnesty. If your children lost citizenship through you, ask the Migration Agency how a successful application affects them.

If you lost it before 2001

Since 6 June 2026, notification is limited to adult Nordic citizens, stateless children, young adults born in Sweden, and Swedish fathers of certain children born abroad. Everyone else must apply. For a former citizen, that means:

  • Citizens of Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway: if you have been a citizen there continuously since losing Swedish citizenship and have moved to Sweden, you can regain it by notification (section 19). The fee is SEK 475.
  • Everyone else: naturalisation. Former Swedish citizens need two years’ residence instead of eight (section 11 a), but the other conditions still apply, including a permanent residence permit, proof of identity, an orderly life, supporting yourself, and knowledge of Swedish and Swedish society.

Section 11 doesn’t list giving up another citizenship as a condition, so an American naturalising in Sweden can keep US citizenship. The Migration Agency said on 30 September 2026 that the Swedish language test may be introduced later than planned, although the knowledge requirement stays.

What descendants claiming by descent need to know

There’s nothing to apply for if you qualify. Under section 2, a child is Swedish at birth if a parent is Swedish, or a deceased parent was Swedish at death, wherever the child is born. Grandparents don’t count on their own. So the whole question is your parent’s status on the day you were born:

  1. Did your parent naturalise before 1 July 2001, before you were born? If they applied, they weren’t Swedish at your birth, and you didn’t inherit it. As we read the Act, section 14 is the only route with retroactive effect, so a parent’s later return by another route doesn’t change that.
  2. Was your parent born abroad and did they lose it at 22? The same applies if that happened before you were born. If it happened after you were born, section 14 may have taken yours as well.
  3. Was your Swedish parent your father? Since 1 April 2015 it makes no difference. For births from 1 July 2001 to 31 March 2015, a Swedish mother always passed it on, and a Swedish father did so if the child was born in Sweden or he was married to the mother. If a child born abroad had unmarried parents who later married, the child became Swedish on the marriage if under 18 and unmarried. Otherwise the father has to file a notification, which works only for a child still under 18, so an adult can’t use it. For births before 1 July 2001, the last version of the 1950 Act made a child Swedish at birth through the mother, or through a father married to her.
  4. If you were Swedish at birth, did you keep it at 22? See the rules above.

If you aren’t sure, section 21 lets you apply for a declaration of Swedish citizenship. The Swedish citizenship by descent guide has more on records.

Your other citizenship

Sweden’s rules only decide your Swedish citizenship. For Americans there’s no conflict: the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual says US citizens who naturalise abroad don’t automatically lose US citizenship and that an intent to keep it is presumed, and under 8 U.S.C. 1481 it’s lost only by a voluntary act meant to give it up. You must use a US passport to enter and leave the United States. The manual also notes that the US doesn’t encourage dual nationality, and that the other country has a predominant claim on you while you’re there. More in European citizenship by descent for Americans.

If you want out, section 15 lets someone who is or wants to become a citizen of another country apply for release. It’s free. A person who holds no other citizenship yet gets a conditional decision and is released only on getting a new citizenship within a year.

Practical steps

  1. Register a child born abroad. The Migration Agency says to contact the Swedish Tax Agency to get the child into the population register.
  2. Put the dates in a calendar. The application window opens on the 18th birthday and closes the day before the 22nd.
  3. Keep evidence of time in Sweden: travel dates, school records, and anything else that shows stays.
  4. Apply to retain if you can’t clearly show you’ve lived there or visited regularly. It’s free, so there’s little reason to gamble.
  5. Keep the decision with your passport.

To check whether you have a claim at all, use our free citizenship by descent checker. For how Sweden compares with other countries, see dual citizenship by descent, country by country, and the neighbours’ versions of this rule on Norwegian, Danish and Finnish dual citizenship.

Frequently asked questions

Does Sweden allow dual citizenship with the USA?

Yes. Since 1 July 2001 a Swede who becomes an American stays Swedish, and an American who becomes Swedish doesn’t have to give up US citizenship. US law doesn’t make you choose either. If you were born outside Sweden and have never lived there, though, section 14 of the Citizenship Act can end your Swedish citizenship on your 22nd birthday.

Will I lose Swedish citizenship at 22?

Only if all three of these are true: you were born outside Sweden, you have never lived there, and you haven’t been there in circumstances that show a connection, such as a lengthy stay or regular shorter ones before 22. You don’t lose it if that would leave you stateless, or if you have lived in Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway for at least seven years in total.

How do I keep Swedish citizenship if I’ve never lived in Sweden?

Apply to retain it after you turn 18 and before you turn 22. The form is free and only in Swedish. Hand it in at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general with copies of your passport, or post it to the Migration Agency in Norrköping if you are visiting Sweden. In the US, honorary consulates don’t accept it, and the form must be signed by pen.

I turned 22 and lost Swedish citizenship. Can I get it back?

Possibly. Since 6 June 2026 you can apply to regain it, with no deadline and no fee. The Migration Agency looks at whether losing it had disproportionate consequences for you and your family in Sweden or another EU country, using only your situation before you turned 22. If approved, you count as Swedish from your 22nd birthday. It isn’t automatic, so expect to need real evidence of your ties.

My parent became an American before 2001. Did they lose Swedish citizenship?

Very likely, if they acquired it by application or express consent. Section 7 of the 1950 Act ended Swedish citizenship in that case. If you were born after that, your parent wasn’t Swedish when you were born, so you didn’t inherit it. The notification route for people who lost it this way was repealed on 6 June 2026, so a former citizen now generally has to naturalise.

Can I get Swedish citizenship through my grandparents?

No. Section 2 passes citizenship from a parent at birth, so a Swedish grandparent helps only if your parent was Swedish when you were born. That means your parent must not have lost it first, whether by naturalising before 2001 or under the age-22 rule. If they lost it at 22, a child who got citizenship through them lost it too, unless the child also got it from the other parent.

My father is Swedish, my parents weren’t married, and I was born abroad before 2015. Am I Swedish?

Not automatically, unless your parents later married while you were under 18 and unmarried. Otherwise your father has to file a notification, and that’s possible only while you are under 18. He must have been Swedish when you were born, and paternity must be established. For births on or after 1 April 2015 this problem no longer exists.

Official sources

Checked against these sources on 6 November 2026. The Act and bills were read in Swedish and the translations are ours. The State Department’s public dual nationality page refused automated access that day, so the US position is taken from its Foreign Affairs Manual and the US Code. Only the Swedish Migration Agency can decide your case; confirm with it or a Swedish embassy before your 22nd birthday.