'Devastated' – Swedish citizenship hopefuls fear for the future as deadline looms episode artwork

EPISODE · May 26, 2026 · 26 MIN

'Devastated' – Swedish citizenship hopefuls fear for the future as deadline looms

from Sweden in Focus

With just two weeks left until Sweden introduces a new citizenship law, how are applicants who are stuck in the queue feeling about their chances of becoming Swedish?And what do they have to say about the government’s decision not to introduce transitional rules, meaning that they’ll be judged according to tougher new criteria, including longer residency, as well as language and knowledge requirements?Around 100,000 applicants are currently waiting to become naturalised Swedes and The Local Sweden’s editor Emma Löfgren recently caught up with some of them.In this week’s episode we hear from four of the people Emma spoke to: Victoria Heisler, Sigrid Holmwood, Volodymr Rubinets, and Ffion McEvoy. READ ALSO:All The Local's coverage of new Swedish citizenship rulesGet Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+  Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With just two weeks left until Sweden introduces a new citizenship law, how are applicants who are stuck in the queue feeling about their chances of becoming Swedish?And what do they have to say about the government’s decision not to introduce transitional rules, meaning that they’ll be judged according to tougher new criteria, including longer residency, as well as language and knowledge requirements?Around 100,000 applicants are currently waiting to become naturalised Swedes and The Local Sweden’s editor Emma Löfgren recently caught up with some of them.In this week’s episode we hear from four of the people Emma spoke to: Victoria Heisler, Sigrid Holmwood, Volodymr Rubinets, and Ffion McEvoy. READ ALSO:All The Local's coverage of new Swedish citizenship rulesGet Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+For new members: Get Membership+  Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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'Devastated' – Swedish citizenship hopefuls fear for the future as deadline looms

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This episode is 26 minutes long.

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This episode was published on May 26, 2026.

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With just two weeks left until Sweden introduces a new citizenship law, how are applicants who are stuck in the queue feeling about their chances of becoming Swedish?And what do they have to say about the government’s decision not to introduce...

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