PM 531.1 — Underlag för utredning av svenskt medborgarskap (Polisen)

What is PM 531.1 - Swedish citizenship check (passport from abroad)?

PM 531.1, "Underlag för utredning av svenskt medborgarskap", is the Swedish Police Authority's (Polismyndigheten) form for investigating Swedish citizenship. Everyone who applies for a Swedish passport or national identity card has to prove their identity, their Swedish citizenship and their other personal details. Swedish authorities hold much less information about people who live abroad, and especially about those who have never been registered in Sweden, so Polisen asks you to always fill in this form for your passport appointment.

The form asks how you became a Swedish citizen, whether you also hold another citizenship, where you have lived in Sweden and abroad, and who your parents are. Polisen says that filling it in and printing it at home makes the visit quicker and the handling more efficient.

FileIt walks you through each part in plain English, pre-fills your name, email and today's date from the People in your FileIt vault, prints every date in the YYMMDD style the form asks for, and checks your personal identity number's check digit before you print. Your answers are printed into Polisen's own PDF, which is saved in your vault. You sign it by hand and bring it to the appointment yourself — FileIt doesn't send anything to the police.

Who needs to fill out PM 531.1 - Swedish citizenship check (passport from abroad)?

• Swedish citizens who live abroad and are applying for a Swedish passport or national identity card.
• People born abroad to a Swedish parent who have never lived in Sweden and need to show they are Swedish citizens.
• People who emigrated from Sweden and are no longer registered (folkbokförda) there.
• Dual citizens — the form asks about any foreign citizenship and how it was acquired.
• Parents or guardians of a child under 18 who is applying: the guardian certifies the details on page 2.
• Applicants who became Swedish by application, by notification (anmälan) or another way, not only at birth.

When to use PM 531.1 - Swedish citizenship check (passport from abroad)

• Every time you apply for a Swedish passport or national ID card while living abroad — Polisen says the form should always be filled in.
• Before your appointment, so you can print it and bring it with you; Polisen says this makes the visit quicker.
• When you are applying for the first time and have never been registered in Sweden, since the police have little information about you.
• When your citizenship has to be investigated because the way you acquired it isn't visible in Swedish registers.

What you need before you start

• Your Swedish personal identity number (personnummer) or coordination number (samordningsnummer). Polisen says an application can't start without one; if you have neither, the passport office requests a coordination number from Skatteverket, which means proving your identity in person.
• A valid identity document, for example the passport of the country you live in or an EEA national ID card — and your other passport if you have dual citizenship.
• Documents that show your Swedish citizenship, such as a personbevis (extract from the population register), a citizenship certificate (medborgarskapsbevis) or a residence permit in your country.
• Originals, or copies certified by a notary public (Notarius Publicus) — or by an embassy, consulate or honorary consulate if there is no notary nearby.
• The dates you acquired Swedish and any foreign citizenship, and the date you emigrated from Sweden if you reported a move abroad.
• A list of the periods and places you have lived in Sweden and in other countries, with your occupation in each.
• For both parents (or adoptive parents): names, personal identity numbers if they have them, place and country of birth, last residence in Sweden, citizenships, and the date they married.
• Sometimes documents about your parents or earlier generations — Polisen says which documents are needed differs from case to case, so bring everything you have.

What’s on PM 531.1 - Swedish citizenship check (passport from abroad)

The 2025 edition has 2 pages. FileIt asks for it in 11 parts:

1. 1. Personal details (Personuppgifter)Applicant
2. 2. Temporary address while in Sweden (Tillfällig adress vid vistelse i Sverige)Applicant
3. 3. How you became a Swedish citizen (Förvärv av svenskt medborgarskap)Applicant
4. 4. Foreign citizenship (Förvärv av utländskt medborgarskap)Applicant
5. 5. Residence or visits in Sweden (Bosättning/besök i Sverige)Applicant
6. 6. Retention of Swedish citizenship (bibehållande)Applicant
7. 7. Residence in Sweden (Bosättning i Sverige)Applicant
8. 8. Residence in countries other than Sweden (Bosättning i annat land än Sverige)Applicant
9. 9. Parents' details (Personuppgifter - föräldrar)Applicant
10. Declaration on honour (Intygar på heder och samvete)Applicant
11. Guardian's declaration - applicant under 18 (vårdnadshavare)Guardian (applicant under 18)

How to fill out PM 531.1 - Swedish citizenship check (passport from abroad), step by step

1 Header: Datum and Diarienummer

Give the date you fill in the form. The case number (diarienummer) is for the police, so leave it empty. FileIt prints the date as YYMMDD.

2 1. Personuppgifter (personal details)

Your personal identity or coordination number in the format YYMMDD-NNNN, your surname, all your first names and the name you are called by (tilltalsnamn). Then your address, postcode, town and country where you live now, phone and mobile numbers with the country code, and your email address.

The last question asks whether you have reported your move abroad to Skatteverket. If you have, give the date you emigrated.

3 2. Tillfällig adress vid vistelse i Sverige (temporary address in Sweden)

Only if you are staying in Sweden for a while — for example while applying at a passport office there. Give that temporary address and a phone number with the country code.

4 3. Förvärv av svenskt medborgarskap (how you became Swedish)

Tick whether you became a Swedish citizen at birth, after an application, by notification (anmälan) or in another way. If it was another way, say how. Unless it was at birth, give the date you acquired Swedish citizenship.

5 4. Förvärv av utländskt medborgarskap (foreign citizenship)

Say whether you have acquired another citizenship. If you have, name the country, give the date and tick how you got it: at birth, after an application, by notification, through marriage or another way.

The form has a special line for women who married a foreign citizen between 1 January 1951 and 30 June 2001: give the date of the marriage and the husband's citizenship at the time.

6 5. Bosättning/besök i Sverige (residence or visits in Sweden)

Tick the one line that describes you. It tells you which later parts to answer: born in Sweden (parts 8 and 9), born abroad but lived in Sweden, before turning 22 or later (parts 7, 8 and 9), or born abroad and never lived in Sweden (5a, 6, 8 and 9).

If you have never lived in Sweden, list your visits in the 5a table: where you stayed, from and to (YYMMDD), and the reason for the visit. There is room for five visits.

7 6. Bibehållande av svenskt medborgarskap (retention before 22)

For people born abroad who have never lived in Sweden: did you apply to keep your Swedish citizenship before you turned 22? If you did and received a decision, tick 'Om ja' and give the date of the decision.

8 7. Bosättning i Sverige (residence in Sweden)

If you were born abroad but have lived in Sweden, list each period: the place, from and to dates, and what you did there (work, school, studies). Up to five rows.

9 8. Bosättning i annat land än Sverige (residence in other countries)

Everyone answers this part. List each country you have lived in other than Sweden, the from and to dates, and your occupation. If you still live there, leave the end date empty.

10 9. Personuppgifter – föräldrar (parents)

Details of your father / parent and your mother / parent — your adoptive parents if you are adopted. For each: personal identity or coordination number if they have one, surname, all first names, the name they use, place and country of birth, last place of residence in Sweden, citizenship (list all), the date any non-Swedish citizenship was acquired and the date they emigrated from Sweden. The date your parents married goes in both parents' boxes.

11 Intygar på heder och samvete (declaration and signatures)

You certify on your honour that the details are correct: date, place, your handwritten signature and your name in print. If the applicant is under 18, a guardian (vårdnadshavare) completes the right-hand box in the same way. FileIt prints the dates, places and names; the signatures are handwritten.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving out your personal identity or coordination number — Polisen says an application can't be started without one.
• Writing dates in another format: the form asks for YYMMDD (for example 190815 for 15 August 2019). FileIt formats them for you.
• Ticking more than one line in part 5, or answering the wrong follow-up parts — the line you tick decides whether you answer 5a and 6 or part 7.
• Forgetting part 8 — everyone lists the countries they have lived in other than Sweden.
• Bringing ordinary photocopies: documents must be originals or copies certified by a notary public, an embassy or a consulate.
• Forgetting the guardian's declaration for a child under 18.
• Leaving out a second citizenship or your other passport — dual citizens are asked to bring the other country's passport too.

After you fill it out

Print the form, sign the declaration by hand and, for a child, have a guardian sign too. Polisen also offers a print-only version of the form to fill in by hand; FileIt fills the digital one, which prints the same layout.

Bring the signed form to your passport appointment together with a valid identity document and every document you have that shows your identity and citizenship — originals or certified copies. Polisen says the documents needed only become clear once the application has started, so bring them all. FileIt doesn't send the form anywhere.

A copy of the filled form stays in your FileIt vault, so the next time you renew a passport from abroad you can start from your earlier answers and update what has changed.

PM 531.1 - Swedish citizenship check (passport from abroad): frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Polismyndigheten (Swedish Police Authority, Polisen): https://polisen.se/a027bade63c5ce99a5d81672364e16bc/siteassets/blanketter/polisens-blanketter-531-1.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://polisen.se/tjanster-tillstand/pass-och-nationellt-id-kort/utlandsboende/
• Edition shown on this page: PM 531.1 Ver. 2025-02-10/17 (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Polismyndigheten (Swedish Police Authority, Polisen) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-26.

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