What do you need to know for the Swedish citizenship test?

Updated 1 October 2026: The August test has taken place: 875 people wrote it on 15 August at Stockholmsmässan in Älvsjö. The results are published at the end of October, a retake is confirmed for those who fail, and tests held in 2027 cost 2,000 SEK. The date and place of the next sitting have not been published. The August format, about 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes with four options per question, only in Swedish, is covered in UHR publishes the test format: 60 questions, 90 minutes, only in Swedish.

On 6 June 2026 the Citizenship Act changed. One of the new requirements is that you must be able to show basic knowledge of Swedish and of Swedish society. One of the ways to show this knowledge is to take the citizenship test, which is administered by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet, UHR).

Good to know: The first test was written on 15 August 2026 in Stockholm and checked only knowledge about Swedish society. A test in Swedish will be introduced later. Bli Svensk is an independent study material; for official information, see uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet.

UHR has produced a study material about Swedish society that you can read before the test. That material is the basis for the content of this blog and of the app. It is divided into 13 chapters, covering the areas the test on society is based on.

The 13 chapters of the study material

1. Landet Sverige (the country of Sweden)

Sweden’s geography, climate and nature. You can read about how the country is divided (Götaland, Svealand, Norrland), the largest lakes (Vänern, Vättern, Mälaren), natural resources such as iron ore and forest, and how Sweden works against climate change.

2. Sveriges demokratiska system (Sweden’s democratic system)

What democracy means, how free elections work, what the rule of law involves. Also the threats to democracy: low voter turnout, false information on social media, segregation.

3. Så här styrs Sverige (how Sweden is governed)

How political power is divided between the state (the Riksdag, the government, public agencies), the regions (21 of them, mainly responsible for healthcare) and the municipalities (290 of them, responsible for schools, care of the elderly and more). That Sweden is a constitutional monarchy.

4. Politiska val och partier (political elections and parties)

How often elections are held (every four years), who has the right to vote (from 18), what proportional elections mean, and which eight parties sit in the Riksdag today.

5. Lag och rätt (law and justice)

Sweden’s four fundamental laws: regeringsformen (the Instrument of Government), tryckfrihetsförordningen (the Freedom of the Press Act), yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen (the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression) and successionsordningen (the Act of Succession). Allemansrätten, the right of public access to nature. The justice system: police, prosecutors, courts. That the age of criminal responsibility is 15.

6. Mediernas roll (the role of the media)

That the media in Sweden are free. What offentlighetsprincipen (the principle of public access to official records) and meddelarskyddet (the protection of sources) mean. The difference between commercial media and public service (SR, SVT, UR). The importance of source criticism.

7. Mänskliga rättigheter (human rights)

The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948. The Discrimination Act. Equality between the sexes, the consent law (samtyckeslagen), the law against buying sex (sexköpslagen). The Convention on the Rights of the Child (law in Sweden since 2020). The five national minorities (Jews, Roma, Sámi, Sweden Finns, Tornedalians). The rights of LGBTQI people.

8. Arbetsmarknad och privatekonomi (the labour market and personal finance)

How the Swedish labour market works: the public versus the private sector, trade unions, collective agreements. That wages are set through negotiations, not by the state. Unemployment insurance (a-kassan). Common taxes.

9. Välfärdssamhället (the welfare society)

How welfare is financed (taxes), and who is responsible for what (the state, the regions, the municipalities). The levels of healthcare: primary care, hospital care and more.

10. Sveriges moderna historia (Sweden’s modern history)

From a farming society to an industrial society in the 1800s. The road to democracy (1921, the first election in which everyone could vote). The people’s home (folkhemmet). The Swedish model and the Saltsjöbaden Agreement of 1938. Sweden during the world wars. The record years, 1945–1976. The Million Programme (miljonprogrammet). The transition to an information society and digitalisation.

11. Sverige och omvärlden (Sweden and the world)

Nordic cooperation (the Nordic Council). EU membership (since 1995). The four freedoms. The Council of Europe. The UN. Sida. Swedish defence and security policy: neutrality, NATO membership from 2024, total defence duty (totalförsvarsplikt).

12. En sekulär stat och ett mångreligiöst land (a secular state and a multi-religious country)

That Sweden is religiously neutral. The Freedom of Religion Act of 1951. That the state and the Church of Sweden separated in 2000. An overview of the world religions in Sweden: Christianity (the Church of Sweden has about 5 million members), Islam (the second largest), Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism.

13. Traditioner och högtider (traditions and holidays)

New Year, Easter, Walpurgis Night (valborg), the First of May, the national day on 6 June, Midsummer, All Saints’ Day, Advent, Lucia, Christmas. Also newer traditions such as Eid al-Fitr and Nowruz.

How deep does your knowledge need to be?

The August 2026 test was the first (UHR calls it a trial test, utprövningsprov). UHR has published the format, about 60 questions, 90 minutes, multiple choice with four options, and five official sample questions, but the pass mark has still not been made public. What we know about the August test is that:

• It was based on the study material about Swedish society that UHR has produced.
• It was given only in Swedish: there was no translation into home languages.
• It consisted of about 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, four options per question of which one was correct, and was written on paper.
• UHR had said there would be generous time at the test, because it was the first time the questions were used for real.
• UHR has not yet published the test time and number of questions for the next sitting.

Expect to spend about 15–25 hours of study spread over 3–6 weeks. That is usually enough for someone who already has basic Swedish and wants to cover all 13 areas.

How to study

The official study material is free at uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet/utbildningsmaterial. UHR points out clearly that practice tests from other providers (us included) are not quality-checked by UHR: we are not official, we are an independent complement.

Does everyone have to take the test?

No. It is Migrationsverket that decides whether the test is needed in your case; you will get a letter if it is. The knowledge requirement can also be met in other ways than through the test. For the new rules from 6 June 2026, read up at migrationsverket.se.

Further reading

• The Swedish citizenship test 2026: everything you need to know
• Swedish citizenship test sample questions: what the questions look like
• How hard is the Swedish citizenship test?