Sweden: Child should be able to acquire citizenship as part of parent’s naturalisation claim

Date: 
Thursday, December 19, 2019

On 19 December 2019, the Swedish Migration Court of Appeal published its judgment (MIG 2019:26) on the possibility for the Migration Agency to refuse a minor the acquisition of the citizenship as part of their parent’s naturalization claim due to the child’s criminal record.

In November 2018, the applicant parent was granted Swedish citizenship. The son (17 years old), who had been living in Sweden since he was 3, was included in the parent’s claim but his request was refused because of his conviction of theft.

The Migration Court of Appeal considered that, in accordance with the Swedish Citizenship Act, good conduct is to be considered a prerequisite for an adults’ naturalization. However no reference is made in relation to the claim of the applicant’s child and, in this sense, only the legislator is entitled to clarify the scope of the rule.

The Migration Court of Appeal found that in assessing a child’s application, the requirement of good conduct cannot be considered in the same way as that for an adult. However, it has to consider also other elements including the age, the length of residence in the country and the seriousness of the crimes committed. For these reasons, the Court held that the applicant should also acquire citizenship.

Based on an unofficial translation by the EWLU team.


This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the ELENA Weekly Legal Update. The purpose of these updates is to inform asylum lawyers and legal organizations supporting asylum seekers and refugees of recent developments in the field of asylum law. Please note that the information provided is taken from publicly available information on the internet. Every reasonable effort is made to make the content accurate and up to date at the time each item is pusexblished but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE.                                             

 

Keywords: 
Best interest of the child
Child Specific Considerations