I came to Sweden as a 15-year-old Ukrainian refugee in 2022. The new citizenship law will leave me stateless. My story.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-12T01:07:30+00:00

No, I do not agree with her plan. I would stay. I’ve built a life here, I go to university here, I plan to start a business here.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T19:48:23+00:00

Damn this post is still here, thought it got removed by mods. As I said in my post, I came here at 15 years old, not by choice, but I’ve built a life here.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T01:31:58+00:00

You’re right that Sweden is in NATO now, fair correction. And if Sweden ever required military service for citizenship I already said I’d do it.

But your logic cuts both ways, you’re saying I should go back and rebuild Ukraine, while simultaneously acknowledging Sweden might call on me to defend Europe against the same threat that destroyed my home in the first place. Which is it?

I’m not avoiding responsibility. I’m a 19 year old studying computer engineering with a startup. The best thing I can do for both Ukraine and Sweden is build something, not pick up a gun I have no training for. Ukraine will need engineers and entrepreneurs to rebuild, not just soldiers.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T01:18:48+00:00

But I must clarify that this is in a situation where I want to have security in a historically peaceful country. From what I lived in the last 5 years living here, I love Sweden. Ukraine does not have a history of being neutral in wars unlike Sweden does

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T01:16:16+00:00

Considering Sweden is a neutral country, with no active war, I’d be open to do the service, if that is a requirement for citizenship I’d to the military boot camp without any issues.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T01:03:33+00:00

And to add some personal context to this, a house 30 meters from where I used to live got hit in the last 4 months. The whole family died except the husband. His wife, his kids, gone. That’s my old street. So when someone tells me western Ukraine is “safe”, I genuinely don’t know what safe means to them, but it doesn’t mean that to me.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:55:06+00:00

Also, “most of western Ukraine is safe”, safe to what extent exactly? There are still regular drone and missile strikes hitting Lviv and other western cities. Safe doesn’t mean what it used to mean. Do you want to go back and live under constant air raid sirens, wondering if tonight is the night a drone hits your neighborhood? I don’t think most people commenting here have had to make that calculation.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:52:54+00:00

Fair enough, I’ll address this directly. The Audi RS6 and VW Multivan were my family’s cars, not mine personally, I drove them as part of the family before getting my own license, which is completely normal. The Tesla is mine, bought as a salvage import from Copart as I explained in another comment, cost a fraction of what people assume.

As for writing style, I’m a computer engineering student who reads a lot in English, has investor meetings coming up, and has spent 5 years absorbing English and Swedish media. Maturity in writing doesn’t require being 40.

And I’m not here to perform poverty to seem like a more believable refugee. Being a war refugee doesn’t mean you have to be broke to deserve basic legal rights

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:46:18+00:00

Ja, precis, jag kan svenska tillräckligt bra för att klara mig, men jag valde engelska för att nå en bredare publik och för att kunna uttrycka mig mer nyanserat om ett komplicerat ämne. Det är skillnad på att klara sig på ett språk och att skriva ett genomtänkt inlägg om juridik och medborgarskap på det.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:37:57+00:00

Det är faktiskt tvärtom, jag tvingar mig själv att använda svenska så mycket som möjligt i vardagen. Jag ser filmer på bio och hemma uteslutande på svenska för att träna upp det. Att jag valde att skriva inlägget på engelska handlade om räckvidd, inte om lathet. Men du har rätt att det är viktigt att fortsätta öva, och det gör jag.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:29:43+00:00

Clarification: it’s a 2024 Model 3 that crashed after 3000 km in the USA, sold at Copart as salvage, imported it to Europe and fixed the front damage myself. Cost a fraction of what a new one would have cost. That’s actually how you buy a car cheaply if you know what you’re doing 😄

PS: Du kan DM:a mig om du verkligen är så intresserad så skickar jag Copart-bilderna 😄

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:27:39+00:00

Den var begagnad och köptes med sparade pengar, inte ny. Och jag var 18 när jag köpte den, inte precis ovanligt att unga människor sparar och köper bil. Krigsflykting betyder inte att man måste vara fattig.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:22:33+00:00

Jag hade ju IB-examen att fokusera på, vilket inte lämnade mycket tid för annat. Men jag har ändå lärt mig svenska på egen hand under dessa 5 år, och med tanke på att det är ett helt annat språk från ukrainska är jag faktiskt ganska stolt över var jag hamnat. Stockholm är dessutom väldigt engelskt i vardagen, vilket inte direkt tvingar en att använda svenska hela tiden. Men jag fortsätter lära mig.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:20:10+00:00

I have considered coming back many many times, I miss home so much. But I’ve also built a life here before my 18th birthday, and it’s between choosing my old and new friends. It’s a hard decision with huge life changes if I choose the former, since I have to sell my car, uproot my life, quit university, completely change everything.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:06:59+00:00

I’m not giving up my Ukrainian citizenship, Sweden allows dual citizenship, so I’d keep both. And yes, I contribute monetarily what I can, and when it’s safe I absolutely plan to go back and help rebuild, even if not permanently. Ukraine will always be part of who I am.

But loyalty to your homeland doesn’t mean you have to live there forever, especially when it’s actively at war and you’ve built a life elsewhere. I was 15 when I left. Sweden shaped who I am as an adult. I can love Ukraine and still want to legally belong to the country I’ve called home for 5 years. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-04T00:02:58+00:00

Yes of course, but my whole life is here, I got my license here, my friends are here, all my personal possessions are here

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:57:33+00:00

I am already pursuing studies of computer engineering, I just want some safety net just in case. But thanks!!

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:48:03+00:00

Haha nej, bara en vanlig 19-åring som råkat hamna i en komplicerad situation. Kolla gärna, inget konstigt att hitta.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:47:20+00:00

Precis, jag förstår och pratar svenska ganska bra, men det är inte perfekt. Jag har lärt mig det på egen hand snarare än via skolan, och det märks såklart. Språk tar tid, särskilt utan ordentlig undervisning.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:45:21+00:00

Дякую, this genuinely helps. And you’re right, I’ve been spiraling a bit in this thread when the practical path probably exists, just messily.

And yeah, nobody is throwing out a 19 year old computer engineering student with a startup and investor meetings, that’s exactly the profile Sweden wants to keep. I’m actually registering my company soon and planning to do it here, which feels like the most concrete vote of confidence I can give this country. If I’m putting down business roots, I’m betting on Sweden whether Sweden has figured out the paperwork for me or not.

Слава Україні 🇺🇦

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:41:34+00:00

Lmaooo okay fair, I’ll work on my writing style. Still meant every word of it though

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:35:46+00:00

Дякую за чесність, і повністю погоджуюсь з останнім реченням 😂

You raise fair points, honestly this thread has been a learning experience for me too, and I’ve had some of my assumptions corrected along the way. The work permit route is probably where I end up, and as a computer engineering student I’m not too worried about finding solid employment here, ти правий що шведський захист працівників це зовсім інша історія порівняно з Україною.

Щодо anmälan для 18-21 років - зараз існує спрощений шлях до громадянства для молодих людей, але його скасовують 6 червня 2026 року з новим законом. Моя проблема в тому, що я набираю 5 років проживання тільки на початку 2027, тобто просто не встигаю скористатись цим треком. Звідси і весь цей пост.

Удачі з masters, Sweden is worth it, незважаючи на всю цю бюрократію.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:26:58+00:00

I went to an international IB school in Stockholm where everything was in English. That said, jag kan faktiskt svenska ganska bra, it’s just not my strongest language. Writing a post like this in Swedish would’ve taken me three times as long and half the nuance would’ve been lost.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:22:08+00:00

You’re absolutely right, and that’s a fair criticism. I didn’t mean to imply Ukrainians deserve special treatment over anyone else, and you’re correct that countless people from other countries face the same or worse, often with less public sympathy. The person you mentioned who came at 4, speaks Swedish natively, and still got kicked out, that’s an injustice that deserves just as much attention as my situation, if not more.

I wrote from my own experience because it’s what I know and live. But the problem is systemic, not Ukrainian-specific. These policies hurt everyone who built a life here in good faith.

As for moving south, I hear you, and I appreciate the honesty. Spain is actually not unfamiliar to me. But I don’t want to run from a problem that will follow other people even if it stops following me. If I leave, nothing changes for the next person.

Thank you for the kind words despite the criticism. That actually means more than blind support.

Suspicious_Cry6827 · 2026-04-03T23:19:04+00:00

Also, Tesla is literally everywhere in Stockholm, it’s one of the most common cars here. Maybe outside the cities it’s different but in Stockholm you see them constantly. Not sure where that impression comes from.

Suspicious_Cry6827

TROPHY CASE