So many passed the new citizenship test

Since June 6 this year, new, stricter rules apply to those applying for Swedish citizenship. As part of the process, the Migration Agency can now instruct applicants to write tests to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the Swedish language and Swedish society.

Stockholm University has been given the task of producing the language test, but the work on the Swedish test has dragged on. The University and Higher Education Council, UHR, does not expect to be able to organize exam sessions until 2028 at the earliest.

In August, however, a first examination was held in the test with social issues, developed at the University of Gothenburg. The test takers have now received their results.

875 people wrote the exam and of them 697 passed. In order to be approved, at least 28 correct out of a possible 40 were required. This means that 79.6 percent of the participants passed the pass mark.

- When we have spoken to the test designers, they say that if you do well on a test like this based on knowledge levels and expectations, the result should be somewhere around 80 percent passing and 20 percent failing. So I would say that based on the analysis they have done, the test has turned out well, says Andreas Sandberg, program manager for citizenship tests at UHR.

Examples of questions that can be included in the test can be found on UHR's website. Among things that participants are expected to know is the title of Sweden's head of state (king) and which country was part of Sweden for almost 700 years (Finland).

The test that was conducted in August contained 40 questions about Swedish society and a further 20 questions where the result was not counted towards the pass threshold, but which is used to help the test designers find the right level for the questions.

The next opportunity to write the exam will be in April-May next year and for those who missed the exam, there is the opportunity to try again.

- The 20 percent who do not succeed will be allowed to take a retest, but that is unique to this testing occasion, so it will not be like that in the long run, says Marvin Hansson, press spokesperson at the Swedish Migration Agency.

- For those who have passed this part for citizenship, the next part comes and the investigation continues. And then there are other ways to prove one's language skills, for example, he continues.