The Swedish Migration Agency paused teenage deportations on March 6 after the governing Tidö parties agreed to review legislation, the agency and government confirmed. No new deportation decisions for young people up to age 21 will be made pending new legislation, according to officials. The government announced a pause on teenage deportations pending legislative changes, and the Migration Agency has paused ongoing cases awaiting new legislation. In practice, this means a temporary stop to deportations, multiple reports indicate.
However, significant limitations apply to this pause. Young people with final deportation orders that have gained legal force must still leave the country. Decisions that have not gained legal force can be appealed, but those confirmed by a court must be enforced, according to Jesper Tengroth, press chief at the Migration Agency. The agency cannot revoke decisions that are already finalized and no longer theirs, Tengroth added. At least 92 youths received decisions classified as 'teenage deportations' last year, according to multiple reports. Of those 92, at least 63 have been in Sweden for over five years, and at least 60 are studying, mostly in high school, the same reports show.
Specific cases highlight the ongoing challenges despite the announced pause. Najib and Aliya remain in detention despite the government's promised pause, according to multiple reports. They are to be deported to Somalia, a country they haven't been to since age 12 and where they don't speak the language fluently, the reports state. Somalia currently does not accept them due to lack of proper documentation, according to the same sources. The Migration Agency considers Najib and Aliya, now over 18, adults who can manage on their own, the agency said. Similarly, the basis for Zaina Kawasmi's deportation was that she does not have a sufficiently strong connection to Sweden, according to the Migration Agency. Kani is considered an adult at 18 and able to manage on her own in Iraq, the agency added.
The political context involves tensions between the coalition agreement and opposition proposals. The opposition tried to pass a stop law covering all current deportations, but it was rejected in parliament, according to multiple reports. Just days earlier, government parties and the Sweden Democrats had rejected an opposition-backed proposal for a temporary stop to the deportations in parliament, research indicates. Liberal leader and Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson publicly called for a rapid legal fix, according to reports. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson said the deportations should be paused pending a longer-term solution, sources said.
The mechanism of the pause represents a political agreement rather than a statutory moratorium. The change announced on Friday does not appear to be an immediate statutory moratorium but a political agreement designed to push the agency to delay decisions if an upcoming law is expected to be more favourable, research indicates. The Tidö parties are working on the assumption that the Swedish Migration Agency will pause further deportation decisions until the new legislation is in place, according to research. The Migration Agency’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, research shows.
Legislative changes will include an exception clause for dependency in family migration. The press conference discussed clarifying the 'ventil' (exception clause) in the family immigration investigation, requiring a dependency relationship between the teenager and the adult, according to officials. The Tidö parties want to clarify a legal 'safety valve' in family migration rules so that a stronger dependency between the teenager and the adult family member can be taken into account, research indicates. The government is working on legislative changes - a mechanism - so that close relatives can obtain residence permits in more situations, according to research. Teenage deportations are paused and a 'ventil' (exception clause) will be introduced in legislation, the government said.
Additional reforms involve changes to permanent residence permits and track-switching provisions. The government is complementing the investigation on changes to permanent residence permits, according to the government. The Tidö parties also agree to appoint an internal investigation that will urgently look into the issue of revoking already granted permanent residence permits, research shows. It has been an important point for the Sweden Democrats, but the government parties do not think that the proposals presented by a state investigator last fall were up to the mark, according to research. The government is opening for track-switchers (people switching from asylum to work permits meeting salary requirements) to apply for new work permits in Sweden.
Najib, 21, describes being treated like criminals when detained by criminal care and border police.
Labor immigration reforms include new salary requirements and care profession exemptions. One prerequisite is that the person has an income that reaches the salary requirement, which will be increased to 33,400 kronor in June, research indicates. Another announcement is that professions in healthcare and social care will be exempt from the salary requirement when the special shortage occupation list is presented, according to research. A lower salary requirement will be introduced for labor immigration in certain care and nursing professions, the government said.
Industry representatives have expressed concerns about the policy's impact on Sweden's skills supply. 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, research shows.
Special provisions apply to Ukrainians and specific refugee cases. Ukrainians will get reasonable conditions for continued residence permits in Sweden, according to the government. The Migration Agency granted Sadia Umar and her son Arsh refugee status based on religious grounds, the agency confirmed.
Age-related provisions mean children who become adults lose family ties claims. Children who become adults and had temporary residence permits can no longer claim family ties as a reason to stay, according to officials.
The Migration Agency faces operational challenges and uncertainties. The agency says it will take time before Nardine and others in her situation get a clear decision about the future, as there is no legal paragraph to base a decision on for a new application from abroad, according to Jesper Tengroth, press chief at the Migration Agency.
Several key unknowns remain regarding implementation. The specific legal criteria that will define the 'ventil' (exception clause) for dependency in family migration have not been finalized. The exact timeline for implementing the legislative changes is unclear.
Further unknowns concern the scope of affected individuals and procedural handling. How many individuals with final deportation orders are currently affected by the pause not applying to them remains undetermined. The Migration Agency's approach to handling new applications from abroad for those who have left under final orders is also uncertain.
The long-term impact on Sweden's workforce attraction remains to be seen. What impact the policy changes will have on Sweden's ability to attract and retain international workers in the long term is unknown, though industry warnings suggest potential negative effects.