On March 6, the Swedish Migration Agency paused teenage deportations after the Tidöpartierna agreed to review legislation, with no new deportation decisions for youth up to 21 years old to be made pending new laws, according to agency statements. The government announced a pause on teenage deportations, a political agreement designed to push the agency to delay decisions if an upcoming law is expected to be more favorable to the applicants concerned, not an immediate statutory moratorium, sources indicate. In practice, this means a temporary stop to deportations, according to research from multiple sources. The parties are working on the assumption that the Swedish Migration Agency will pause further deportation decisions until the new legislation is in place. Migrationsverket’s Director-General Maria Mindhammar had already said in February that the agency could wait before taking more decisions if the government presented a proposal that clearly improved the situation for the affected young adults, she stated.
A key limitation is that the pause does not apply to youths with legally binding deportation orders. Young people who already have a legally binding deportation decision must still leave the country. The Migration Agency states that deportation orders remain in effect for those with legally binding decisions, despite the government's pause announcement. The Migration Court says that youths with existing deportation orders are not covered by the pause. The Migration Agency cannot overturn decisions that are already legally binding and no longer under their jurisdiction, according to Jesper Tengroth, presschef vid Migrationsverket. The Migration Agency states that decisions not yet legally binding can be appealed, but if a court has upheld the deportation, it must be enforced, Tengroth added.
The issue of teenage deportations concerns young people whose parents have the right to be in Sweden, but who themselves do not meet the requirements for a residence permit when they turn 18. Children who become adults and had temporary residence permits can no longer claim family ties as a reason to stay. The issue has centred on young people who arrived in Sweden as part of family migration, often through a parent’s work permit, and who have spent much of their childhood in the country. In several high-profile cases, families were allowed to remain in Sweden while sons or daughters who had turned 18 were told they no longer qualified for residence and could be deported. These cases became known in Sweden as 'teenage deportations' and have triggered widespread criticism.
Individual cases highlight the human impact and ongoing deportations despite the pause. Nardine Raed Awad, a 21-year-old, initially believed she could stay in Sweden after the pause announcement but later learned her deportation to Egypt is still enforced. She must leave Sweden on Thursday, having come to Sweden from Egypt in August 2022 as a 17-year-old with her mother and lived in Flemingsberg, Huddinge. Nardine has a deportation decision that has gained legal force but not yet been enforced, and she must leave the country in one week. Shahrdad Sherbabaki, 26 years old, is to be deported to Iran and has lived in Sweden with his mother for 12 years. Zaina Kawasmi, 23 years old, is affected by teenage deportations and received a deportation notice after living in Sweden for 14 years, with her first deportation date moved from February 25 to May 7 after an operation, and she will travel alone to Jordan while her family stays in Sweden, based on the Migration Agency's assessment that she does not have a sufficiently strong connection to Sweden.
More affected youths are facing imminent deportation. Najib and Aliya, twins aged 21, are detained in a migration detention center and face deportation to Somalia, a country they have not been to since age 12 and where they do not speak the language fluently, having been detained for nearly six months. Nadine is to be deported alone to Egypt in ten days. Diya Hassan, 21, and Kani Hassan, 19, from Örebro face deportation to Iraq, despite their parents having permanent residency and their younger brother being a Swedish citizen, with Diya receiving her deportation order in 2024 and Kani receiving hers while in her final year of high school. Ayla Rostami, 21, from Märsta has a deportation order despite her family being allowed to stay in Sweden. Mate, 17, faces deportation to Georgia, a country he has never been to, despite having lived his entire life in Sweden. Nadia Veselova, 21, received a deportation order to Belarus and has four weeks to leave Sweden. Wafiq Faruq Choudhury, 20, received a final deportation order to Bangladesh despite the pause on teenage deportations.
He is hoping for an end to what he describes as an absurd situation.
Reactions have come from opposition, business community, and public figures. The opposition tried to pass a stop law covering all current deportations, but it was rejected in parliament. The move amounts to a significant reversal for the Swedish government and its parliamentary ally, as just days earlier, government parties and the Sweden Democrats had rejected an opposition-backed proposal for a temporary stop to the deportations in parliament. Liberal leader and Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson publicly called for a rapid legal fix. Engineers of Sweden and representatives of Sweden’s technology industry warned that the policy could hurt the country’s long-term skills supply by discouraging international workers from moving to Sweden. The issue has triggered criticism from opposition parties, civil society, and parts of the business community, which argued that the rules risked making Sweden less attractive for highly skilled workers and could split families. It has been an important point for the SD, but the government parties do not think that the proposals presented by a state investigator last fall were up to the mark. The issue of teen deportations continues to dominate the headlines in Sweden, with pressure mounting on the government to take action to stop the deportation of high school students.
Statistical context shows the scale of affected youths. At least 92 youths received decisions classified as teenage deportations in 2025, with at least 63 having lived in Sweden for over five years and at least 60 studying, mostly in high school, according to data.
Legal and procedural complexities add challenges for affected individuals. The Migration Agency will take time before individuals in Nardine's situation get a clear decision about their future, as there is no legal paragraph to base a decision on even if they apply from their home country, according to Jesper Tengroth. Sadia Umar was released from detention after Dagens Nyheter's reporting, and her deportation order expired, allowing her to reapply for asylum, while her two adult sons, Adan (20) and Falak (19), were deported to Pakistan while she and her youngest son were granted refugee status. Besnik Barani, a software developer from Kosovo, has appealed a Migration Agency decision to deport his daughter, and according to shows.acast.com, Besnik Barani described hoping for an end to what he calls an absurd situation.
Key unknowns remain about implementation and impact. It is unclear how many youths with legally binding deportation orders are still facing deportation despite the announced pause. The specific criteria that will define the 'dependency relationship' in the proposed legal 'ventil' for family migration have not been detailed. When exactly the new legislation on teenage deportations will be finalized and implemented is uncertain, and what will happen to youths who are deported and then reapply for residence from their home countries, given the lack of legal framework, remains to be seen. How the government will address the cases of youths already detained or with imminent deportation dates, such as Nardine Raed Awad, is also unknown.
Implications for Sweden's migration system and international reputation are significant. The issue has triggered criticism from opposition parties, civil society, and parts of the business community, which argued that the rules risked making Sweden less attractive for highly skilled workers and could split families. Engineers of Sweden and representatives of Sweden’s technology industry warned that the policy could hurt the country’s long-term skills supply by discouraging international workers from moving to Sweden. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that for those who have already received deportation orders, cases with final judgments may make a new application, and the court may decide on them again, adding that it is free to submit a new application, but the young person must first leave the country within the given time to avoid a travel ban. Jimmie Åkesson, Sverigedemokraternas leader, said he wants an immediate stop to teenage deportations until a new legal provision is introduced.