Sweden presented a bill on Thursday to make the toughening of its immigration rules permanent, by making permanent certain previously temporary rules established to limit the reception of refugees following the 2015 migration crisis.
The bill presented by the Social Democratic government allied with the Greens must replace the current temporary legislation in force since 2016 and extended in 2019 for lack of political consensus on a lasting law.
According to the plan, refugees will now be granted three-year residence permits, which will only be convertible into permanent residence rights if they meet requirements such as knowledge of Swedish or sufficient income.
Before the 2016 screw-up, permanent residence permits were used under Swedish law, one of the most welcoming in Europe at the time.
In relation to its population, Sweden was the country in the European Union to receive the most refugees in 2015, with more than 160,000 arrivals, including many Syrians.
In a decade, the country of 10.3 million people has granted asylum and family reunification to more than 400,000 people, according to immigration officials.
Amid the rise of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, the main Swedish parties, including the ruling Social Democrats, had made a turnaround towards a stricter policy for the past five years, which has resulted in a drop in permits stay.
Justice and Migration Minister Morgan Johansson on Thursday defended a project that “guarantees a long-term sustainable regulatory framework” while ensuring that the principle of time-limited residence permits “does not have to ‘disproportionate effects’.
“These basic rules are in line with those of most other EU countries,” he pleaded at a press conference.
The obligation to be able to provide for the needs of family members when applying for family reunification, introduced in the temporary law, will also be part of the new law.
Temporary residence permits for children and adults in “particularly painful” circumstances may also be issued, but not to people in an irregular situation.
The current temporary law, last extended in 2019, is due to expire this summer. The new law is due to enter into force in July.