Around 13,000 Swedish Citizenship Cases Are Court-Ordered — and Many Still Won't Beat the 6 June Deadline

The mechanism: "request to conclude" and what it triggers

Swedish administrative law gives applicants a tool to push back when an agency drags. Under Section 12 of the Administrative Procedure Act (förvaltningslagen), if an authority has not decided your case within a reasonable time, you can file a begäran om att avgöra ärendet — a request to conclude the case. For citizenship cases, this becomes available six months after applying.

Once filed:

• The agency has four weeks to either decide the case or issue a formal refusal of the request.
• If the agency refuses, the refusal can be appealed to a migration court (migrationsdomstolen).
• The court reviews whether the agency has met its legal duty to handle the case promptly. If it has not, the court can issue a föreläggande — a court order — directing Migrationsverket to decide the case promptly.

So a "court-ordered case" is one where this whole sequence has happened: long wait → request to conclude → refused → appealed → court ordered the agency to decide.

The 13,000 figure — and what it doesn't promise

According to SVT, citing Migrationsverket, "in cirka 13 000 öppna ärenden så har även en domstol förelagt myndigheten att avgöra ärendet snarast" — in around 13,000 open cases, a court has ordered the agency to decide promptly. A Migrationsverket section head put the uncertainty plainly to SVT: "Vi vet inte hur många ärenden av de cirka 13 000 fallen som vi hinner med" — we don't know how many of those 13,000 cases we will manage to complete in time. Here is the critical nuance:

• The court orders Migrationsverket to decide the case promptly (snarast).
• The court does not set a fixed deadline date.
• "Promptly" is interpreted by the agency in the context of its overall caseload and its oldest-first processing policy.

The result: even a court-ordered case can land on the wrong side of 6 June 2026 — and at that point, the case is assessed under the new citizenship rules (8-year residence, income, conduct, knowledge). The court order does not freeze the legal regime in place.

Why requests to conclude no longer fast-track

Up until late 2025, a request to conclude was often the most effective single tool an applicant had. That has changed. In late 2025, Migrationsverket moved to a stricter oldest-first processing model — it now prioritises the oldest cases in the queue, not cases that happen to have a request to conclude or a court order attached.

The effect has been counter-intuitive: in 2025–2026 reporting, requests to conclude have generally not accelerated citizenship cases the way they used to. Some users report waits on the request itself stretching out, simply because the request itself enters a queue.

This is not a verdict on whether you should file one. It is a reality check: if your strategy depends on a request to conclude pushing you across the 6 June 2026 finish line, that strategy is unreliable.

Should you still file a request to conclude?

There are still situations where it is the right move:

• You have waited substantially over six months and you have not had meaningful contact (e.g., no in-person identity check invitation, no requests for information).
• You believe the agency has stopped working your case. A formal request and the four-week clock create a paper trail that is useful if you later escalate.
• You want to preserve your appeal rights. If you intend to push to migrationsdomstolen, a denied request to conclude is the procedural step that opens that door.

What it will probably not do:

• Guarantee a decision before 6 June 2026.
• Lock in the old citizenship rules for your decision.
• Move you ahead of older cases.

What you can actually do with this information

1. Plan for the new rules. Assume your decision will land under the 6 June 2026 framework — 8 years' residence as the general rule, income requirement of three income base amounts per year, an orderly and honourable life, and knowledge of Swedish society. See our 2026 rules breakdown.
2. Treat the civics test as the controllable part. Of all the new requirements, the knowledge requirement is the one you can directly prepare for. See our August 2026 test guide.
3. Respond instantly to Migrationsverket. Use Mina sidor; do not miss an in-person identity check invitation; keep your details current. Missing the identity check can cost you citizenship.
4. Don't pay anyone for a "fast track." No one — lawyer, consultant, or agency — can guarantee a Migrationsverket decision date. The system is structured against that.
5. If you genuinely meet the criteria for a request to conclude (well past six months, no progress), file one through Mina sidor or by the channel Migrationsverket publishes. It is free.

Frequently asked questions

What is a "request to conclude" a citizenship case?

It is a written request, under Section 12 of the Administrative Procedure Act (förvaltningslagen), that asks Migrationsverket to decide your case. It can be filed after six months of waiting. The agency must, within four weeks, either decide the case or refuse the request — a refusal can be appealed to the migration court.

How many citizenship cases are under a court order?

According to SVT, citing Migrationsverket, in around 13,000 open citizenship cases a court has ordered (föreläggande) the agency to decide the matter promptly. A Migrationsverket section head told SVT they did not know how many of the ~13,000 cases would be completed in time. Many are at risk of not being decided before the new rules take effect on 6 June 2026.

If a court has ordered a decision, will I beat the 6 June 2026 deadline?

Not necessarily. A court order requires Migrationsverket to decide the case promptly, but it does not specify a date. Decisions made on or after 6 June 2026 are assessed under the new citizenship rules, even when accelerated by a court order.

Is filing a request to conclude still worth it in 2026?

The picture has changed. Since Migrationsverket moved to oldest-first processing in late 2025, requests to conclude no longer reliably accelerate citizenship cases — and reporting indicates they may take longer to handle than before. There is no general right to be prioritized.

How do I file a request to conclude?

You file a written request with Migrationsverket asking it to decide your case. It is free of charge and can be done once per case (per round). Migrationsverket's website explains the formal channel, including via Mina sidor.

If Migrationsverket refuses the request, what can I do?

A refusal of a request to conclude can be appealed to a migration court (migrationsdomstolen). The court reviews whether Migrationsverket has met its legal duty to handle the case promptly. A court order from the appeal can require the agency to decide — but, as above, does not bind the decision date.

A note on these rules

This article summarises Section 12 of the Administrative Procedure Act, Migrationsverket's published guidance on case handling, and 2025–2026 reporting (including SVT) on court-ordered citizenship cases. The 13,000 figure is based on SVT's reporting of agency figures and may shift over time. For your specific case, consult Migrationsverket or a qualified Swedish lawyer. This is general information, not legal advice.