The government and the Sweden Democrats presented their proposal on Thursday to introduce a language requirement in elderly care. According to Tidöpartierna, the purpose is to increase safety and quality in care. However, the proposal has been criticized for being unclear – there is no prohibition on hiring staff without sufficient language skills, and there is no fixed schedule for when everyone should meet the requirements.
At Thursday’s press conference, Minister for the Elderly and Social Insurance Anna Tenje (M), Minister for Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD), SD’s social policy spokesperson Jessica Stegrud, and Liberal Senior Policy Spokesperson Malin Danielsson presented the Council on Legislation’s referral ‘Ett språkkrav inom äldreomsorgen’ (A language requirement in elderly care).
Launches starting July 1 next year
According to the proposal, from July 1, 2026, the Social Services Act will state that social services boards and private providers in elderly care ‘must work to ensure that staff have a level of knowledge of the Swedish language that is relevant for carrying out interventions.’ The relevant level is specified as B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
– The elderly must be able to understand and make themselves understood. A language requirement in elderly care is therefore much anticipated. We introduce this to strengthen quality and patient safety, increase security, and enhance the elderly’s participation, said Anna Tenje.
READ ALSO: Shocking treatment of the elderly at a notorious nursing home
Jakob Forssmed emphasized the aspect of safety.
– It is fundamental for security and dignity that people receiving care in elderly care can make themselves understood and have a reasonable chance of understanding the staff they meet. Unfortunately, we see significant deficiencies, with associated risks.
READ ALSO: Sweden’s shame: The welfare state that abandoned its elderly
Malin Danielsson (L) also highlighted the economic investments being made.
– By increasing the allocation for the Elderly Care Lift to 1.8 billion SEK per year in 2026 and 2027, and including language development measures, we ensure that healthcare personnel have the right tools to provide the elderly with the care they deserve.
Stegrud: ‘Elderly care should not be an integration project’
Sverigedemokraterna’s Jessica Stegrud made it clear that the language requirement is about putting the needs of the elderly at the center – not about integration policy.
– We too often see how language deficiencies in elderly care lead to misunderstandings, insecurity, and in the worst case, significant risks for the elderly. This change marks a clear shift – elderly care should put the needs of the elderly at the center, not serve as an integration project, she said.
However, she also acknowledged that the change will occur gradually and not as quickly as many elderly people and their relatives had hoped.
– The transition must be gradual because a very large proportion of those working in elderly care do not have sufficient language skills. Our proposal is a pragmatic way to actually move forward.
No prohibition on hiring without language skills
Despite the government’s talk of ‘language requirements,’ it will not be an absolute requirement to work in elderly care. Municipalities and private providers can still hire people who do not speak Swedish, but they must work to gradually raise the language level.
– With this proposal, we are not pulling the rug out from under the municipalities with the significant shortage of skills that exist, said Anna Tenje to Aftonbladet.
READ ALSO: Seven out of ten without education in nursing homes
According to the government, the language requirement means that the employer is responsible for language development – not that individual employees must meet the requirements from day one.
This means that new and existing employees can study Swedish during working hours with the support of the Elderly Care Lift, i.e., at the taxpayers’ expense – even if they have been in Sweden for so long that they should already know the language and have previously participated in other taxpayer-funded Swedish language education such as Swedish for Immigrants (SFI).
Unclear when everyone should speak Swedish
Criticism is directed at the government for not setting a deadline for when everyone in elderly care should reach the prescribed language level.
For example, the newspaper Senioren notes that the government does not specify an end date, but only proposes that municipalities should educate their staff. However, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) will be able to inspect and impose fines on municipalities that do not begin the work.
Aftonbladet also emphasizes that this is a requirement for ‘language training’ rather than an actual employment requirement, while Arbetet reports that the trade union Kommunal welcomes the initiative – as long as it is used to strengthen the staff, not to dismiss them.
– It is obvious that one should be able to speak Swedish. One should be able to communicate with both the elderly and their colleagues. However, there is a heavy responsibility on employers to provide the right conditions, says Malin Ragnegård, Kommunal’s chairperson, to the newspaper.
The union does not place a similar ‘heavy responsibility’ on the individual who has come to Sweden to make an effort to learn the language.
Municipalities receive funding – and are assigned responsibility
To implement the language boost, municipalities will be allocated 90 million SEK in 2026, 165 million SEK in 2027, and 150 million SEK per year from 2028 onwards.
Additionally, 23 million SEK annually will be allocated for relevant authorities to follow up on the reform and support municipalities.
The government expects that the legislative changes and language support will contribute to both increased quality in healthcare and a safer working environment. However, in practice, staff in elderly care will need to combine work with Swedish studies – something that is seen as both an opportunity and a challenge in an already pressured sector.
A reform with support – and question marks
The government’s proposal has been welcomed by many as an important step in raising the competence in elderly care. However, critics argue that it risks becoming a ‘soft language requirement’ without real effect, as municipalities can still hire people who do not speak Swedish.
The timeframe is also unclear – no one knows when elderly care will actually be staffed by personnel who speak Swedish at the level now established by the government.
Not just language skills that are lacking
It is not only in terms of language skills that there are deficiencies in elderly care. Reports have been frequent about other serious misconduct, ranging from a lack of education and competence to the elderly being subjected to neglect, theft, humiliation, and sexual abuse by the staff.
Yet, Tidöpartierna argues that the proposal marks a clear change towards quality and safety.
The entire press conference can be viewed below.