First Swedish citizenship test draws nearly 1,000 applicants

Nearly 1,000 people took Sweden’s first citizenship test in social studies in Stockholm on Saturday, SVT reported. The test is part of new requirements for Swedish citizenship.

Since June 6, applicants have been required to demonstrate knowledge of Swedish society and the Swedish language to qualify for citizenship.

The social studies test consists of about 60 multiple-choice questions, each with four possible answers. According to the Swedish Council for Higher Education, the questions correspond to the knowledge level expected in ninth grade. The Swedish language test will be held at a later date.

Perwin Chikh Mohamad travelled from Helsingborg to take the test. She said some questions were difficult but believed it had gone well.

“Some questions were a little complicated, I can say. But I think it went well,” she said.

She found questions about how power is divided between the state and municipalities particularly difficult. Historical questions about events in the 19th century and the year women gained the right to vote were also challenging, she said.

Her husband, Gulal Ahmad, said he believed the new rules were excessive and had delayed his wife’s citizenship application. He said she had lived in Sweden for 10 years, while he was a Swedish citizen and both of their children were born in the country.

“She has applied for citizenship for more than five years. She meets all the Swedish Migration Agency’s current requirements: a job, income, language skills and no offences. But the new rules apply to her as well,” he said.

Saturday’s test was a pilot, so it was free of charge. Participants can also retake it if they fail. In the future, retakes will not be possible and applicants will instead have to submit a new citizenship application.

Participants had different views on the difficulty of the test. Suzan Alyousef accompanied her husband, who took the test after studying intensively for two weeks.

“He said it was extremely difficult. He could not answer everything. I think many Swedes would not be able to answer those questions,” she said.

Others welcomed the test. Oscar Martinez said it was easy and that introducing it was a positive step.

“If you want to live here in Sweden, you have to integrate into Swedish society and know about its culture, traditions, politics and society,” he said.

The pass mark has not yet been decided. The Swedish Council for Higher Education will analyse the combined test results during the autumn and issue a decision soon.