Sweden, long considered a welcoming land, closes its doors to migrants

The government led by conservatives allied to the far right has just announced the establishment of return assistance worth 30,000 euros.

The metro takes us from downtown Stockholm to Rinkeby, a multicultural neighborhood in the northern suburbs of the capital. Emil Eneblad, the spokesperson for the Young Democrats of Sweden, a far-right anti-immigration party, wants to show us this area, “disfigured”according to him, by “mass migration” : “Look! You have an Islamic cultural center, you have Arabic on the facades.”

His party, allied to the conservative government, is at the origin of the proposal for aid for the return of migrants amounting to 30,000 euros. Who can claim it? The outlines of the text are still vague, recognize the parliamentarians, but the measure, planned for 2026, targets migrants who have been living in Sweden for years, such as Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans, who live there with a temporary residence permit. .

“If you have arrived here in the last ten years, and you do not want to be part of our society, then this money is for youspecifies Emil Eneblad. It’s very generous, and it’s a lot of money for people who return to Iraq or Syria, build a new life, start a business…”. And he warns: “If you take this money, then it will be impossible for you to return to Sweden.”

Like his party’s proposals, today the Swedes are calling for stricter control of immigration. In 2015, this country of ten million inhabitants welcomed more than 163,000 asylum seekers with open arms, three times more than usual. This is, by far, the highest number per capita in Europe. However, the authorities were overwhelmed. Furthermore, in recent years, the country has been facing a very sharp increase in crime, with a gang war which has left more than 53 dead and 363 shootings in 2023.

The far right today exceeds 20% of votes in Sweden. “Our integration policy has failed”analyzes a woman, whom we meet in the streets of downtown Stockholm. “Too many people came to us, we opened our borders without restriction… And now we have to do something, because everything is going in the wrong directionshe continues. We have shootings, gangs, criminal gangs. It costs society a lot of money.”

An allocation of 800 euros already exists to help migrants return, but “no one uses it” explained, during a press conference on September 12, the spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats on migration issues, Ludvig Aspling. According to this parliamentarian, by increasing the amount to 30,000 euros, more migrants will use it. An investigation report commissioned by the government and made public in August, however, recommended against substantially increasing this allocation, judging it to be ineffective in view of its cost.

As for the migrants we met, most assure that they will refuse the proposal. Like Abuzar, a 26-year-old Afghan student who arrived in Stockholm in 2015. His three-year residence permit expires in November 2025 and must therefore reapply. “I’m afraid that the migration agency won’t renew my residence permit. They don’t want us”he laments, recalling that he has been living in the region for nine years. The young man says it without hesitation, he will categorically refuse to return to Afghanistan, even for 30,000 euros: “The situation is too dangerous with the Taliban who have taken power. And we have our whole life here, we learned Swedish, we studied here, we want the chance to stay!”

“We came from Afghanistan not because we need money: we came to look for a place where we can live. I don’t think we will find anyone who will accept money in exchange for dying .”

Abuzar, Afghan student

at franceinfo

For George Joseph, lawyer and director of the Caritas center in Sweden, “the government has managed to introduce a very strict immigration policy. Before, we offered permanent residence permits, whereas today they are all temporary. There are also restrictions on family reunification. For example, you need to have a very large apartment and sufficient, substantial income. This sends a very strong signal to migrants: don’t choose Sweden.”

This summer, the authorities announced – with pride – that, for the first time in 50 years, in Sweden, more migrants are leaving the country than arriving. Asylum requests have indeed reached their lowest level since 1997.