Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration Vol. 7 No. 2 of refugee and non-refugee stateless people, recognised that a relatively low number of people recorded as stateless managed to acquire Swedish citizenship (UNHCR, 2016). The Act on Swedish Citizenship details the criteria by which a non-national can become a Swedish citizen, following the hemvist principle. This principle, which is specific to Sweden, implies that a person has a strict subjective purpose of continuous residence and is seeking regular employment and setting up a permanent home in Sweden (Brochmann & Seland, 2010). Section 11 of the Act on Swedish Citizenship sets out the naturalisation criteria, which require that the applicant has 1) established their identity, 2) is eighteen years old, 3) holds a permanent residence permit (or permanently resides legally) in Sweden, 4) has resided in Sweden for five years (four for refugees or stateless people) 11 , and 5) has led and can be expected to lead a respectable life (Regeringskansliet, 2006). These provisions have been a useful means for ending individual’s need for protection as both a refugee and as a stateless person. Previously refugees were granted permanent residence, which was effectively an automatic pathway to citizenship. However, if the individual has been in Sweden under an incorrect identity, or “impeded” their deportation, it may ‘harm… the possibility of obtaining citizenship after three years’ (ibid). The Citizenship Unit of the SMA, the authority responsible for assessing naturalisation notifications and applications, can undertake an assessment of nationality or statelessness of an applicant. Yet, the Citizenship Unit ‘does not follow any specific guidelines when determining statelessness, instead, each case officer is expected to be able to make the determination based on the available information regarding the applicant and the nationality laws of relevant countries’ (UNHCR, 2016: 41). As mentioned previously, stateless people may face obstacles in proving their identity. This situation is exacerbated by the Citizenship Unit of the SMA not having law, policy or guidance to follow to ensure that their identity and credibility assessments are conducted accurately, fairly and transparently when determining nationality or statelessness. Further problematising this, the evidentiary benchmarks for proving ones’ identity is also higher in the naturalisation procedure than during the asylum application (Bernitz, 2013).12 Even where the law seeks to ostensibly facilitate access to citizenship for certain stateless people, the problem of establishing identity remains.13 11 For those with permanent residence permits, they may be able to acquire Swedish citizenship after three years if they are married to, or in a registered partnership with, a Swedish citizen and have lived with them for two years (Migrationsverket, 2017). 12 As Bernitz (2013: 2-3) details, ‘As to the first naturalization requirement, that the applicant can prove his or her identity, there are rather strict guidelines in practice. The proof of identity requirement has been tightened up over the years. Exceptions are possible, but only in certain situations. The identity may be proven by showing the national passport in the original or showing an identity document in the original or, if that is not possible, a close relative attesting to the applicant’s identity… Original driving licenses and birth certificates are not normally accepted as proof of identity.’ 13 For example, those who can naturalise through a notification procedure, rather than through the application procedure, have to be 1) aged between 18 to 21 years old, 2) be stateless, 3) have been in Sweden since they were 15 and 4) hold a permanent residence permit (Migrationsverket, 2016e). The applicant must have held a permanent residence permit at the age of 15 to qualify. Therefore, if their identity had yet to be established at this time, they would not qualify for naturalisation by notification, and would have to go through the more demanding naturalisation by application procedure (ibid). Similarly, it is unclear how the applicant would prove they are stateless, given the lack of statelessness determination procedure in Sweden and the lack of mechanisms to appeal an incorrect assessment of nationality. 28