The Migration Agency starts handling citizenship cases in order of application date, Nobel Prize week puts Stockholm in the spotlight, and new rules for unemployment insurance. Here’s what changes in Sweden this October.
Migration Agency begins processing citizenship cases in order of application date
Sara Sjudin, a section head at the Migration Agency told The Local in August that case handlers at the agency would begin handling cases in order of application from October, ending the system where so-called ‘complete cases’ which could be handled simply were given priority.
Sjudin said she hoped that focusing on the cases with the earliest application date would allow the agency to clear its backlog of four-year-old cases by the end of 2025.
October 6th-13th: Nobel prizes announced
On Monday October 6th, the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology will kick off a week of announcements in Sweden, followed by the physics prize on October 7th, the chemistry prize on October 9th and the literary prize on October 8th. The final Nobel Prize, the peace prize, will be announced by the Norwegian Nobel committee in Oslo on Friday October 10th.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is announced on October 13th.
The Nobel Prize ceremony takes place in Stockholm each year on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
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New rules for a-kassa unemployment insurance
Sweden’s new law on a-kassa unemployment comes into force on October 1st, 2025. Under the new law, the right to unemployment benefits will be based on how much you have earned, and not, as today, on how much you have worked. The amount of money you receive will depend on how long you have been a member of the unemployment fund and how much you earned before becoming unemployed.
If you have earned at least 11,000 kronor a month for between four and seven months, you can receive compensation for 100 days. If you have been earning for eight to ten months, you can receive compensation for 200 days, and if you have been earning for 11 months or more, you are eligible for the full insurance of 300 days.
The amount of compensation will be reduced by 10 percent after 100 compensation days. After that, it is reduced by 5 percent every hundredth day.
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October 23rd to 25th: Moderate Party to vote on ‘integration zones’
The Moderate Party will meet in Västerås to hold its big annual policy meeting, with votes expected on a new plan for so-called ‘integration zones’, where lower tax rates will encourage immigrant Swedes to get jobs and start businesses, a plan on a so-called Sweden Contract which new immigrants to Sweden would have to sign, and plans to ‘screen’ new arrivals to Sweden for signs of ‘honour culture’.
Other party congresses
It’s not just the Moderates holding an important party congress. The Green Party will meet to hold its party congress between October 17th and October 19th. The Left Party will hold its Vänsterdagar party meeting between October 24th and October 26th, although this is a meeting for discussion with no policy decisions made.
October 4th: Cinnamon Bun Day
Swedes love their cinnamon buns so much they even gave the baked goods their own annual day – kanelbullens dag – which is marked on October 4th each year.
The holiday was invented in 1999 by the Home Baking Council (Hembakningsrådet), a club of baking ingredient producers now run by Danish sugar company Dansukker. The company wanted to create a baking tradition in honour of its 40th anniversary. This is one of our favourite cinnamon bun recipes.
October 25th: Clocks go back
Winter time will start on October 26th, lasting until March 29th, 2026.
This means that you’ll need to put your clock back an hour at 2am on Sunday October 26th (or whenever you head to bed on the 25th, if you’re not too keen on getting up early just to change your clock).
Luckily, this means you’ll get an extra hour in bed on Sunday, but the evenings will feel a lot darker after the time change.
Digital clocks on computers or phones should update automatically, but get ready to frantically search for the manual to your oven so you can figure out how to change its display on the 26th.
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October 31st: Halloween (kind of)
Halloween may not be as big in Sweden as it is elsewhere – Swedes traditionally celebrate All Saints on November 1st instead – but you’re likely to still see kids out on the streets dressed up around October 31st.
Although Halloween technically falls on the last day of October, many Swedish families celebrate the weekend before or the weekend after. Individual streets and housing associations often agree on a date together so that parents are prepared with sweets and decorations for any trick-or-treaters.
The custom of trick or treating is called bus eller godis in Swedish, and there’s growing consensus that children should only knock on doors which have some kind of Halloween decorations outside, even if it’s just a pumpkin on the doorstep, and respect those who do not wish to take part.
Theme parks like Gröna Lund in Stockholm and Liseberg in Gothenburg will also host Halloween events throughout October.
September 28th to Oct 2nd, and October 20th: Durga Puja and Diwali
Diwali falls on October 20th this year, with events held by Indian associations in all of Sweden’s major cities.
The Durga Puja festival, from September 28th to October 2nd, is celebrated with events in all of Sweden’s major cities. There are events in Stockholm, Helsingborg, Gothenburg, and Uppsala ‒ if you know of anywhere else hosting an event, let us know!
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OTHER NEW LAWS
New rules on payments for participation in labour market programmes
Activity support, or aktivitetsstöd, the payments unemployed people in Sweden receive from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency when taking part in programmes designed to improve their employability, are undergoing a similar change to a-kassa.
The minimum daily benefit is being raised from 223 kronor to 365 kronor, while the maximum income base for compensation reducing from 34,000 kronor per month to 30,008 kronor a month after 300 days of unemployment.
People on the lowest, basic level of support will also see their payments reduce, with the level of aktivitetsstöd reducing by 5 percent every 100 days from day 301 until reaching a minimum level of 365 kronor per day.
End to separate collection of textile waste
From October 1st, ripped or stained textiles will no longer be collected in a separate recycling container, and should be disposed of along with general rubbish.
On January 1st this year, Sweden brought in a new law requiring textile waste to be recycled but recycling centres lack the capacity to do this.
Police allowed to monitor children’s calls, texts and online activity
From October 1st, police and security police in Sweden will gain the power to monitor the calls, texts and online activity of children under the age of 15, with many of the new rules set to expire automatically in either three or five years.
The rule was voted through parliament on September 17th, with the Social Democrats, Centre Party and Sweden’s Democrats all supporting the government parties, and only the Left Party voting against the measure. The Green Party abstained.