The new Administrative Law Act that came into force in 2018 is about a person being able to apply to an authority to have their case decided more quickly.
With regard to the application for Swedish citizenship, this means that those who have waited for six months can demand that their case be decided by the authority within four weeks.
Waiting time: 13 months
But the law has proved difficult to follow and is not complied with by the Swedish Migration Board.
The average waiting time is instead 13 months.
According to the Swedish Migration Board, the reason is a lack of resources.
- I can regret that they have to wait for a decision, says Fredrik Söderberg Bruce, acting press manager at the Swedish Migration Board.
According to Fredrik Söderberg Bruce, the long waiting time is due to the fact that so many people came in 2014 and 2015 who are now applying to become Swedish citizens.
The court does not want to make stricter demands
Anyone who, despite allegations from the Swedish Migration Agency, does not get their case on citizenship decided can turn to the Migration Court.
In 2019-2020, the court made the decision in more than 45,000 cases that the Swedish Migration Agency would decide cases where people applied for Swedish citizenship as soon as possible.
But no exact time limit is specified and sharper wording than "soon" does not give the court.
- It would still not lead to anything because it is a lack of resources at the Swedish Migration Board.
If we say that they will make a decision within a certain time, they will still not do it, says Fredrik Löndahl who is chief counsel at the administrative court in Malmö, where one of Sweden's four Migration Courts is located.
Does it make sense to apply for a request to have your case settled?
- After all, you get a message that cases must be decided as soon as possible.
If you do not get the message, you end up even further back in the queue.
After all, they prioritize cases that have received a court decision, says Fredrik Löndahl.