The administrative court of appeal overturned a decision by the Swedish Police Authority to reject a passport application. The Swedish Police Authority found that the applicant had not proved that she had been present in Sweden to such an extent before the age of 22 that she had retained her citizenship after that date. The administrative court of appeal was of the opinion that this interpretation could only be effected in conjunction with the first occasion on which the citizenship was adduced after 22 years of age. The applicant’s passport had been renewed on two occasions after 22 years of age, and with this in consideration the administrative court of appeal found that the applicant had proved that she had not lost her Swedish citizenship at that occasion.
The Supreme Administrative Court stated that the fact that the examination in a passport matter entails an assessment of the question of citizenship is not the same as the passport authority taking a decision regarding citizenship. A decision to issue a passport may thus not be adduced with binding effect in another matter in which citizenship is the subject of examination, and the passport authority shall, in conjunction with every application, conduct an examination of whether the conditions for issuing a passport have been met. Since the administrative court of appeal did not proceed on this basis in its examination, the judgment of the administrative court of appeal was overturned and the case was remanded for new proceedings.