Vote
Perhaps the most obvious way of influencing politics, and one many non-citizens might overlook, is by voting.
There are three different levels of government in Sweden: the national parliament (Riksdag) which has 349 seats, the 20 county councils (landsting), and 290 municipal assemblies (kommunfullmäktige).
Sweden holds elections for each of these three bodies every four years, always on the second Sunday in September, so the next will be held on September 13th, 2026.
You need to be a Swedish citizen to vote in parliamentary elections, but some non-Swedish citizens have the right to vote in county and municipal elections.
This applies if you're an EU, Icelandic or Norwegian citizen, or if you've been registered in the Swedish population register for three consecutive years before the vote.
It may not seem like a huge deal voting for county and municipal elections, but these two bodies hold a lot of power in Sweden and are responsible for things like education, public transport and healthcare.
EU citizens living in Sweden can also vote in EU elections, which happen once every five years. The last EU election was in summer 2024.
Sign or write a petition
Another way you can get involved is by starting a petition or namninsamling. This is, as the Swedish name suggests, a collection of names to show that everyone who has signed the petition agrees with a certain issue or problem, and a proposed solution.
As far as petitions are concerned, it's important to make sure that you're sending it to the right person. Should it be sent to a politician or business leader? Would it be more effective if you get a friend or colleague to translate it into Swedish? How will you spread it to make sure as many people as possible see it?
You can generally find the email address of government politicians on the Swedish government website, and the contact details of parliamentary politicians on parliament's website.
Make a citizen's proposal
A citizen's proposal or medborgarförslag is similar to a petition in that it's a way you can attempt to influence or suggest a solution to a public official, but the process is a bit different.
A citizen's proposal is submitted to your local district council – so Stockholmers submit theirs to Stockholm council, while Malmöites would submit theirs to Malmö council, and so on.
They can also only cover something which your local council is actually responsible for, such as schools or preschools, social services or parks, for example.
If you accidentally send one to the wrong place, they'll usually try and forward it on to the right department.
There are a few things you need to bear in mind when writing one.
You'll need to submit it in writing, although this can be either via email or post. You should also keep it brief and simple, but make it clear that it's a proposal to the council. Provide your name and contact details, including your address and potentially also phone number and email, and you'll need to send it to the council you live in, so you can't address a proposal to a council in another city.
You'll receive written confirmation once the council has received your proposal and if they decide to raise it at a meeting you'll be invited to attend and put forward arguments in favour.
Respond to the consultation stage of a law proposal
All laws which go through the Swedish legislative process will at some point go out for remiss or consultation to relevant government agencies or organisations, municipalities and other stakeholders, who can submit responses.
The government department responsible for the proposed law decides which organisations or individuals are invited to submit responses, although that doesn't bar anyone else from submitting their own response.
All submissions, both invited and not invited, remain on the record within the government department and become part of the underlag, the underlying decision-making process behind the new law.
In 2019, the Brits in Sweden interest group replied to a consultation response regarding Swedish rules for British citizens following Brexit which ended up being included in the final bill.
If you want to submit a response to a consultation, you'll need to keep an eye on the status of the law in question on the government's website and be sure to submit your response before the consultation deadline.
Join a local political party or interest organisation
You can also influence politics by joining a political party (you don't need to be a Swedish citizen to do this) or an interest organisation.
You can find sign up details on each political party's website, where you'll also be able to state whether you're willing to offer your time to help them campaign. You'll have to pay a membership fee.
As far as interest organisations are concerned, then your best bet is to find an organisation based on the issue or group important to you, whether that's a group focused on issues which affect a certain nationality, groups focusing on LGBT issues or groups which focus on a single policy area like the environment, for example.
Protest
The right to protest is protected in the Swedish constitution, but there are still some rules you'll need to follow if you want to organise a demo.
If you're planning on holding your demo in public, which you probably are, you'll need to apply for a permit for a “public gathering” from the Swedish police well in advance. You can do this in English on their website.
You'll need to fill in a form including the address you plan to hold the demo alongside a map or diagram with any details of tents or other structures you wish to set up, an estimate of the amount of people you expect to attend, and potentially a safety plan. You can then email or post that to the police in the region where the demo will be held. There's also a small fee of 360 kronor.
Contact politicians working on a specific political issue
Whether you want to influence local, regional or foreign policy, you can always reach out to politicians with your viewpoints. You can do this via a petition, mentioned above, or by sending an email or letter to them with your viewpoints.
You can reach out to municipal or county officials with local issues, or your MP.
Although Swedish MPs technically represent a constituency or valkrets, you don't have one specific MP or congressman for your area and you don't need to reach out to the specific MP for your region, either. It's often a better idea to find someone who works with your specific political issue, such as an MP working in the relevant committee in parliament, or the MP serving as its party's spokesperson on a particular issue. You should be able to find their details on the Swedish parliament website.
Write an opinion piece or contact the media
Are you good with words? Then why not try writing an opinion piece. These can help raise the profile of an issue by bringing it to the attention of the wider public. It's often a good idea to try and tie it to a recent news story or debate and offer a different perspective. If you want to contact us here at The Local or send us an opinion piece, you can get in touch at news@thelocal.se.